Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University, Part 83

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 83

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Bradley, Daniel, who during many years of residence in Groton was better known as "Deacon " Bradley, was a native of Massachusetts and came to Groton among the early settlers. His children were as follows: Columbus, who lived and died in Syracuse ; Daniel, of the same place: Marilla, who married first Jesse Atwater, and after his death Dr. Chadwick; Joseph, who died in Syracuse; Hannah, who married Sidney Gooding; David, now of Chicago; Mary; Esther, who married Roswell Glov- er; Lemi, who died in Groton ; and a daughter who died young. Daniel died in this town about 1860. Lemi, son of Daniel, was born in Groton June 12, 1822, and spent his life on the farm. November 3, 1846, he married Urania Hart, and they had these children; George, now in Missouri; Daniel L., a contractor and builder of Groton, who married Mary, daughter of Corbright Morgan; William H., now in Minnesota: and Ada, who died young. Lemi Bradley died April 1, 1864, and his wife June 11, 1868.

Bishop, Alonson, M. D., was born in Exeter, Otsego county, in 1831, and educated at Marathon and Garrettsville Academies. In 1859 he began the study of medicine in the office of Drs. Bradford and Maynard at Marathon, and after two years went to Albany Medical College. From there he went to Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College, graduating in February, 1863. He practiced in Speedsville, Tompkins coun- ty, a short time and then came to Ithaca, where he was located until 1868. That year he spent in the New York Homeopathic College, where he took the degree of M. D. Returning to Ithaca he resumed his practice with Dr. E. J. Morgan, sr., which existed until 1880, when he located in New York city. After nine years of

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metropolitan practice he returned to his native county, and formed a co-partnership with his former partner, Dr. Morgan, sr. The firm of Drs. Bishop & Beaman was established in 1893, the junior member being Charles P. Beaman, of Philadelphia, Pa.

Brown, Ebenezer, the pioneer head of a large and highly respected family of Lan- sing, was born in Connecticut and came to Orange county, N. Y., at an early day. About 1794 he located in Lansing. Three children, Martha, Maria and Eunice, came with the family to this locality, and these children were born in Lansing: William, a soldier in the war of 1812, who was wounded on the Canadian border and died at Black Rock; Benoni, who still lives, aged ninety-five years; Sarah, who married Joseph Head; and James, who died in Ithaca. After the death of his first wife, Eb- enezer married Sarah Gee, the children of this union being: Electa, who married Al- vin Allen, and Julia, who became the wife of John Lanterman. Ebenezer died in 1846. Benoni Brown, familiarly known throughout Lansing and Groton as Deacon Brown, was born April 22, 1798, and has always lived on a farm. In 1826 he mar- ried Hannah L. Townley, by whom he had ten children: James W., who died in in- fancy; Effingham T .; Mary J. (wife of C. W. Conger); Ebenezer E. ; Addie R. (wife of J. G. Cobb); Fannie A. (wife of Wm. H. Fitch); Benton; Ellen (wife of C. H. Bacon); Charles (who died in the army in 1864); and Sara (wife of W. L. Cogshall). Hannah L. (Townley) Brown, died in July, 1876, aged seventy-one. Deacon Brown has been a prominent figure in local affairs for many years. For more than half a century he was deacon in the Congregational church at West Groton. He has been supervisor and held other town offices. He was originally a Democrat, but since the war has been a Republican. His father, Ebenezer Brown, was a Revolutionary sol- dier, and was one of the life guards of General Washington. The body of life guards was composed of fifteen soldiers. When he came to Lansing there was but one house where Ithaca now is, and that was a double log house, kept as a tavern by a man by the name of De Munn.

Buck, George E., was born in the town of Ithaca, July 20, 1854, a son of Edward, a native of Connecticut, born in East Glastonbury in 1812, who came to this section at the age of about eighteen. He was a dealer in jewelry, and a few years later estab- lished a grocery and restaurant on Aurora street. He was a Republican, and during the last year of his life was door-keeper at the Capitol at Albany. He died in 1866. Of his four children our subject was the first son. The second son is a graduate of the Boston School of Pharmacy, in which city he has since conducted a drug store. One son died at the age of seventeen years, and a daughter married H. W. Butler, of Iowa, she being now deceased. Her son is Edwin Butler. George was educated in the old Lancasterian School, and at the age of thirteen was taken out of school and put to work; he entered the grocery store of Stewart & Manchester as clerk, remain- ing one year. He was then employed variously until 1879, when in partnership with F. C. Mead he established a grocery at the corner of State and Corn streets. In 1881 they removed to the corner of Seneca and Plain streets, where he is now located. In 1884 Mr. Mead died, and our subject became sole proprietor, conducting one of the best exclusive grocery stores in the city, no tobacco being kept in the place. Mr. Buck is a prominent worker in the State Street Church. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum. In 1879 he married Libbie Matthews, of Ithaca, and they have six children. His mother is still living at the age of seventy-six.

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

Brooks, Arthur B., was born January 16, 1845, in Stratford, Conn. His father, Frederick, moved with his family to this country in the spring of 1853, having pur- chased the hatting business of Isaac Tichenor, which business he carried on until his death in 1871. Arthur B. was educated in the old Ithaca Academy, and at the age of sixteen entered the employ of George Halsey, and then occupied the store in which Mr. Brooks is now located, remaining with him for six months, during which time he assisted in moving the stock to the store now occupied by White & Burdick, and then went with Schuyler & Curtiss for about four years. In 1867 he went in partnership with John and J. C. Gauntlett, under the firm name of Gauntlett & Brooks. Mr. John Gauntlett died in 1876, but the business was continued by the surviving part- ners until 1890, when J. C. Gauntlett retired from business, and since then it has been conducted by Mr. Brooks alone. In 1892 he moved from the old stand, which for forty years had been occupied as a drug store, to his present location No. 30 East State street, where he first began as a clerk. His present store has been entirely re- fitted with new and modern fixtures. Mr. Brooks is putting up a number of prepa- rations, which are meeting with a ready sale, and also carries a full line of druggists' supplies, toilet articles, cigars, etc. In 1870 he married Mary, the daughter of John Gauntlett, and they have two sons, Alfred C., a graduate of Cornell University, class of '93, architecture, and John G., a graduate of the Ithaca High School, and is now studying pharmacy under his father.

Banfield, Isaac, was born June 7, 1813, in the town of Danby, and received his ed- ucation in the common schools of his day. At the age of twenty-four he married Laura Lewis, daughter of Eli and Cena Lewis, who died September 15, 1843, from which one child survives, Mrs. Susan Gardner, of Springport, Mich. At the age of thirty-three he again married Harriett C. Mabee, daughter of John and Catherine Mabee, who died March 10, 1853; one child, George F., of Danby, surviving. And August 3, 1853, he again married Laura Tuthill, daughter of Gideon and Marguett Tuthill, who lived until March 22, 1888. Mr. Banfield is a Democrat in politics, and one of the respected and substantial citizens of the locality.

Brewer, Byron, was born in Pultneyville, Wayne county, on the bank of Lake On- tario, June 1, 1845. The life he led as a boy, sporting, fishing, and sailing boats on the lake, fitted him admirably for the life of a sailor, and he followed the life of a sea- man for some eight years. He is one of the few whalers, once so numerous, we sometimes run across and whose reminiscences of those times when whaling was a large and profitable industry is perhaps more highly prized than any part of his sub- sequent life. After fourteen years of active life in the Western States he returned to this State, and in 1882 bought the old "White Mill" at Freeville, which he has made into a modern mill, making a specialty of fancy buckwheat flour, which is well and favorably known throughout the State and in many localities in Western and Southern States. In 1890 he took his son, Geo. A. Brewer, into partnership with him, and the firm is known as B. Brewer & Son. They are among the leading and substantial citizens of the town.

Brown, Holden T., was born in this town September 25, 1812. His father, Abra- ham Brown, was a native of Westchester county, and the maternal grandfather of our subject, Isaac Tripp, was a native of Rhode Island. Abraham Brown settled in Tompkins county when about thirty years of age, and followed chiefly farming,

FAMILY SKETCHES.

though he kept hotel also for about thirty years, the building standing within eighty rods of our subject's present home. His first hotel was a log house, but soon after he built a frame house, and had a large patronage, often having twenty- teams and their occupants to provide for at once. His wife was Susanna, daughter of Isaac Tripp, and they had six children, the youngest of whom was our subject, Holden T., who married in 1839 Margaret Crawford, of Newfield, by whom he had ten children, one deceased. The others are as follows: Hiram H., Ira T., H. W., E. A., Margaret A., Abraham M., Delia, Lina, Charles H., and May E. Mr. Brown is a Patron of Husbandry and in politics a Republican. Mrs. Margaret Brown died in 1872.

Barden, John, was born in New Hampshire in 1825 and is a descendant of old New England stock. The first of the family came to this country from Scotland early in the 17th century and suffered in common with others from the French and Indian wars. He was educated in the common schools of his day, after leaving which. he was for a time in his father's store and factory. In 1846 he engaged in railroad busi- ness. He assisted in the construction of the Northern Railroad of New Hampshire, and the Nashua and Wilton Railroad. In 1849 he came to Ithaca with contractor P. W. Jones, to construct the present Cayuga and Susquehanna branch of the D. L. & W. from Ithaca to Owego. The spring following he went to Scranton and was engaged in building the road from there to Great Bend. When the road was com- pleted he returned to Ithaca, where he has resided until the present time. Mr. Bar- den is a Democrat, and in 1889 was elected mayor of the city of Ithaca, which office he held two years. He has been director of Tompkins County Bank for over twelve years. He has been twice married; his first wife was Eliza A. Coddington, and his present wife Abby S. Shaw, of Towanda, Pa.

Buck, Benjamin, came from Great Bend, Pa., in 1805, with his wife and twelve children. Three more were born to them after coming here. He settled near the Baptist church in East Lansing, where he died in 1850, aged eighty-eight years. Daniel Buck, his second son, married Sallie Garrison, and settled on a farm in East Lansing. He died in 1856. He was a deacon in the Baptist church for more than forty years. By his marriage he had twelve children: Simeon, Levi, Nancy, Almi- ra, Louisa, Lorana, Benjamin, Phoebe, Lydia, Daniel, James, and Alvah B. The latter, Alvah B. Buck, was born August 12, 1834, and has always been a farmer. December 30, 1858, he married Helen M. Hatch, who died September 25, 1865. Oc- tober 11, 1866, he married Harriet E. Hatch, sister of his first wife, and they had four children : Fred H., Earle D., Ellard A., and Leon F. Alvah is a successful far- mer, living in Groton, who bought the "Hatch Home Farm" of 115 acres. Ede Hatch was born September 20, 1760. He was a native of Connecticut and served with the American army in the Revolution. He married Eunice Chapman, and in 1815 with his wife and nine children removed to New York State. About 1825 he settled on a farm in West Groton with his youngest son, Eleazer. In 1838 Eleazer married Maria Haring. She died in 1853, and in 1854 he married Lorena Buck (now Mrs. Alanson Tallmadge). The children of his first marriage were: Helen M., Sa- rah J., and Harriet E. Eleazer Hatch was a successful farmer and was prominently connected with the Baptist church. He died March 15, 1871. Phoebe Buck married Simeon Conger, January 7, 1846, and had five children: Annette, Eddie, N. P. Wil- b

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

lis, Charles Fay, and Fred B. Simeon was a mechanic and book-keeper at Groton village. He was also an occasional preacher, but was not ordained. He died in 1866.

Booth, John Isaac, was born in what is now Schuyler county, November 9, 1838, the son of John Isaac and Hannah (Thompson) Booth. The father was a farmer and school teacher, and our subject was brought up to farm work, while in the win- ter he attended the district school. Later on he attended the Burdett Academy. At the age of sixteen he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked about five years. About 1860 Mr. Booth came to Groton and found employment in the Separa- tor works, where he remained five years, and then entered upon a more active career as one of the firm of Williams & Booth, general furniture dealers and undertakers. About 1868 Mr. Williams retired from the firm, and a year later Smith Booth became associated with the business, and so continued until 1880. For eight years thereafter J. I. Booth was sole proprietor, and in 1888 George Alvin Booth acquired an interest in the firm, and the present firm of J. I. Booth & Son was formed. Their factory and sales- rooms on Main street are well stocked and supplied with all the machinery and equip- ment necessary for the conduct of their extensive business, and it is almost needless to say that from the time of its original beginning, in 1866, the business has been abundantly successful, while its senior proprietor has ever been regarded as one of Groton's first business men. In 1866 Mr. Booth married Sarah M. Hard, of which union four children have been born: Henrietta, wife of David L. Morey, of Bridge- port, Conn. ; George Alvin, in partnership with his father ; Emmett Ray, vice-presi- dent of the Owego Bridge Company; and Bertha Belle, wife of Guernsey B. Will- iams, who holds a resposible position in the large mercantile house of D. McCarthy & Co., of Syracuse.

Boice, James, was born in Caroline, May 24, 1843, a son of Emery, who was born in Ulster county, March 3, 1806, and came with his parents to this county at the age of ten years. Here he followed farming all his life, beginning with his father, Abram Boice, who gave the name to Boiceville, where he owned a farm of 150 acres. Emery started in life on the Erie Canal, which he followed two years, then began work on the farm. His wife was Penelope Krum, of Ulster county, by whom he had two chil- dren: William K. and James. The latter has followed his father's occupation of farm- ing, and was at home with his parents until the age of twenty-three, when he mar- ried Margaret F. Thomas, daughter of Benjamin Thomas, of Dryden, now Caroline, December 6, 1865, and about April 1, 1867, they settled on their present place of 135 acres. Mr. Boice is at present special agent of the dairy department of the State Agricultural Department, having received his appointment from Governor Flower in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Boice have had two children: Arthur J. and Nellie E. Our sub- ject is a Mason of Caroline Lodge No. 681. He is a Democrat, and has served as as- sessor and supervisor.

Bull, Justus, was born in Caroline, August 30, 1822. His father, Aaron, was one of the pioneer settlers of the town of Dryden, being a native of Connecticut, who set- tled on the place now owned by Aaron Schutt. He began with a limited stock of funds, but his father in-law gave him fifty acres of land, on which he started, and at that time Caroline, as it is now known, was a settlement of Dutch. Aaron Bull at one time kept a hotel in this town (about 1807), some ten years before the county of

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Tompkins was set off, and he became the owner of a great many acres of valuable land in this section, and also owned a distillery and a saw mill. In 1850 he went west and bought State lands in Wisconsin, which cost him several thousand dollars, and at his death he was preparing to retire to the West. He died April 21, 1859, aged seventy-five years. His wife was Mary Krum, and they had ten children. Our sub- ject has always lived in this town, where he was educated for a school teacher. In 1865 he married Amelia Rightmire, a native of Somerset county, N. J., and they have had five children: Julia E., born June 16, 1866; Durward B., born March 28, 1868; Maggie, born August 4, 1870; May E., born November 5, 1872; and Kate, born April 29, 1875. All were educated in the Brookton School and at Ithaca High School, and two in the Normal School at Cortland. One daughter has taught seventeen terms, being very successful in her work. Three of the children are school teachers, and the son lives at home with his parents. Four of the family are members of the Bap- tist church.

Robertson, Burnett F., was born in Dryden, April 12, 1845. the oldest of three chil- dren of Oakley and Sylvia Robertson. Burnett was brought up on a farm and edu- cated in the district schools and Groton Academy. He lived at home with his par- ents until his marriage on February 17, 1869, to Laura L., daughter of Volney and Samantha Stevens, of West Groton. Soon after his marriage our subject, with his brother, purchased the home farm, where he lived nine years, and then exchanged with his father for a farm north of McLean village. Here he lived till 1884, then re- moved to the Volney Stevens farm in West Groton. He is a Prohibitionist in poli- ties. Volney Stevens was the son of pioneer John Stevens, and was born January 13, 1809. He married Samantha, daughter of Nathan Benson. She was born March 21, 1808, and they had five children: Persis M., Manson, Ellen, Nathan B. (a mem- ber of Company F, 109th Regiment, who served three years), and Laura L., wife of our subject, Burnett Robertson. Volney Stevens died September 22, 1875, and his wife January 20, 1876.

Benton, Orange N., was born in Virgil, Cortland county, November 15, 1824, one of eleven children of Frederick and Rachel Benton. He lived on his father's farm until sixteen years of age, then started for himself and learned the carpenter's trade. In 1854 he married Phoebe Ann Mix, youngest daughter of Ethan and Welthea Mix, of Groton. Mr. and Mrs. Mix came to Groton in 1813 from Vermont. Imbued with true New England spirit, a tract of land was cleared and a handsome home built. They raised a family of nine children. Mr. Mix became a man of prominence in town af- fairs, being twice elected supervisor. He died in 1870, and his estimable wife a year later. Orange Benton and family came to Groton in 1866 and bought the old Hop- kins farm, a mile east of the village. They have had three children: Emily E., a teacher in the Groton Union School; Elmer M., who died in 1893 in Moravia, N. Y. He was a Christian gentleman, whose earnest, faithful work in places of trust lives after; and Olia S., who died in 1887 while visiting in Minneapolis, Minn. Mr. Ben- ton has had marked success in selecting and raising colts to fine horses, and has sold some of the handsomest carriage teams in the State.

Besemer, John J., was born in Caroline, July 12, 1822. James, his father, was also a native here, and lived on the farm now owned by J. A. D. Cooper. He followed farming all his life, and married Sallie Depew, taking the farm her

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

widowed mother then lived on, which farm he worked to within a year of his death, our subject then coming to the farm on which his father died, where he has since remained. James and wife had five children, of whom John J. was the second. He married Nelly C. Eignor, daughter of John Eignor of Caroline. He bought a farm on what is known as Bald Hill, where he stayed ten years, then came to his present place, known as the homestead. He is the father of seven children: Oscar, Charles, Frank, Arthur, John, Edwin and Erma; the first three children all died during the year 1863; the others are all in business for themselves, except Erma, who lives at home. Arthur is a physician in practice in Dundee; John works his father's farm, and lives on the farm ; Edwin is a salesman on the road. The children were educated in the High School at Ithaca, with the exception of Edwin. John J. had the benefit of a common school education. He is a Granger and also a member of the M. E. church at Slaterville, and in politics a Republican.

Benson, Nathan, was one of the early settlers in the western part of Groton, and was the head of a respected family in whose honor the locality known as Benson's Corners received its name. Mr. Benson was a man of influence in the early history of the town, and was identified with many of the prominent measures for the welfare of the locality. In his family were four boys and five girls, one of the former being Chandler Benson, subject of sketch. Like his father, Chandler was an im- portant man in West Groton, and is remembered as having been a successful farmer. He died March 8, 1872. Mr. Benson was three times married. His first wife was Maria Townley, by whom he had three children: Eveline, Addie and Elvira. His second wife was the daughter of Lewis Townley, and of this marriage there were no children who grew to maturity. Mr. Benson's third wife was Philena Buck, by whom he had three children: Giles H., Charles F. and Orlin D. Mr. Benson was originally a Whig and afterward a Republican, and was frequently elected to the office of assessor. Moreover, he was a successful farmer, and left a good farm to his children. Giles H. Benson was born in Groton, May 15, 1849, and has always lived in the town. October 25, 1871, he married Mary, daughter of John H. Haring, of Lansing, and they have one child. Mr. Benson lives on part of the old home farm, and his buildings are among the best in town.

Baldwin, M. M., M.A., LL. B .- By Mrs. B. H. Parliaman. Elisha Baldwin, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in New Marlborough, Conn. At the early age of sixteen he enlisted in the army of the Revolution and served six years, much of the time under Generals Lee and Washington. He was in the cele- brated battles at Brandywine and Monmouth. In the latter he stood but a short distance from General Lee, and distinctly heard the altercation between him and General Washington. His grandchildren loved to gather around him and listen with bated breath while he portrayed the fearful sufferings of Washington and his heroic army during that dreadful winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge. At the close of the war Mr. Baldwin retired from the service with only a few dollars of nearly worthless Continental money. He married, and, after several removals, settled at Clarence, Erie county, N. Y., where he brought up a large family of children. In 1818 he was granted an annual life pension, and his certificate was signed by Hon. John C. Calhoun, secretary of war. General Anson, the seventh child, was married to Huldah A. Murdock in April, 1819, the Rev. Glezea Fillmore, officiating. Miss

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Murdock was a daughter of Joshua Murdock, one of the first settlers of Venice, Cayuga county, and a sister of Hon. Lyman Murdock, projector of the " Murdock Railroad," so called. Mr. and Mrs. Geo. A. Baldwin soon settled at Royal Center, Niagara county, where three children were born to them: Marvin, Charlotte and Calvin. Here, at Royal Center Academy, Marvin accomplished a full college course of study, under the excellent management of Donald G. Fraser, A. M., and Edward D. Kennicott, A.M. He soon afterwards received the degree of M. A. from Genesee, now Hobart College, New York, under Dr. Benjamin Hale, president. Mr. Baldwin then entered the law and land offices of Hon. Washington Hunt, first judge of Niagara county and afterwards comptroller, member of congress and governor of the State. Before commencing practice he attended the Dane Law School of Harvard University, under Hon. Joseph Story of the United States Supreme Court, with whom he read "Story on the Constitution," and Hon. Simon Greenleaf, author of Greenleaf on "Evidence." He afterwards attended a course of lectures before the senior class of the Hamilton College Law School, and received the degree of LL.B. in course. In 1847 Mr. Baldwin married Francina, daughter of Isaac Morse, esq., a sister of Dr. Julius G. Morse, late of San Francisco. Finding the law un- suited to his taste, he decided to devote his life mainly to teaching. He has occupied successfully the proud and honorable, if onerous, position of principal of several of the best academies and seminaries of New York, leaving them in a much better and more flourishing condition than he found them in. He also received numerous appointments from the state superintendent of public instruction for instructing in teachers' institutes and for lecturing in important counties of this State. In July, 1861, after six years of faithful labor as principal of Medina Academy, Mr. Baldwin located at Groton, N. Y., where he managed the Groton Acrdemy for eleven years to general acceptation. In 1872 he sold to the school district his entire interest in the academy, of which he had purchased the stock in 1862. In March, 1882, the first building burned down, and a new one of brick has since been erected and finished at

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Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University, Part 83

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