USA > New York > Wayne County > Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, Pt. 2 & 3 > Part 34
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Calkins, William M., was born in Butler in 1829. His parents, John. and Phoebe C. Calkins, were pioneers of their locality. They reared a family of eight children, of whom but two beside onr subject are now living : Martin now at West Butler, and Em- eline at South Butler. William long before the attainment of his majority had grap- pled with the stern realities of life, and until about 1863 was engaged in boating, since which time farming has claimed his whole attention. He married March 26, 1853. Hannah, daughter of Delos and Hannah Sampson of Salem, Mass., neither of whom is now living. Mr. Sampson died March 4, 1870. and his wife April 25. 1891. Will- iam and Hannah Calkins have seven children : Martin, born May 21, 1856: Mary J., born October 15, 1858, died June 4, 1863 ; Rhoda E., born February 9, 1861 ; H. Eugene, born October 28, 1863; William E., born March 12, 1866; Addison, born Oc- tober 1, 1869; J. Ensign, born August 1, 1871 ; C. Albert born November 5, 1874. This family have in their possession an ancient trunk dating from about 1790, studded with brass nails, forming the initials "E. P." for Ebenezer Pierce, the grandfather of Mrs. Calkins, then a resident of Salem, Mass. Mrs. Calkins's father served in the War of 1812.
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Campbell, Rev. Grove E., was born August 13, 1862, a son of Henry and Samantha (Walker) Campbell, residents of Yates county, where Grove was born. The latter was educated at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, from which he graduated at the age of twenty-four. October 13, 1888, he was admitted upon probation to the Central New York M. E. Conference, entering into full connection October 11, 1890, receiving ordin - ation at the hands of Bishop Ninde. His first pastorate was at Sodus Point, where he remained four years. October 27, 1885, he married Ida L., daughter of Peter and Jane Pulver, of Yates county. Her father was born in Otsego in 1818, and died September 14, 1875. Mrs. Pulver was born in Scotland in 1820, and is still living in the old home in Italy, N. Y. Mrs. Campbell is a graduate of Genesee Wesleyan Musical Institute, and is recognized as a musician (both vocal and instrumental) of rare ability. They have one danghter, Ruth, born September 13, 1893. Mr, Campbell assumed the pastor- ate of the M. E. Church at Savannah in 1893, and evinces rare and magnetic qualities in his chosen calling, having already augmented his church membership by fifty souls.
Clark, Byron G., of Savannah, was born October 19, 1835, at Whitehall, N. Y., a son of Garrett Clark, who came to Rose in 1836, where he was for many years a successful teacher and also town superintendent of schools. His wife was Electa, daughter of Benjamin Seely, of Rose. He died at West Butler in 1844. Byron was the only son, but had four sisters, of whom two are now living, in Iowa. His school days were passed at Watkins, where he later learned the iron molder's trade and he was clerk in a general store at Wolcott, three years. In 1856 he came to Savannah, and married, January 1, 1858, Tryphena Hogan, of Savannah. Mr. Clark is a Republican, and has served as commissioner 'of loans six years. He is now traveling for E. W. Gillett, of Chicago. His children are : Mary Belle, born January 14, 1860, died July 14, of the same year ; Melburn, born September 26, 1862, who spent several years as a traveling salesman in New England, and is now a resident of this town; and Bertram G., born July 1, 1868. At the age of fifteen the latter entered the employ of A. J. Conroe and was six years in the store of Smith Brothers, and one year with D. J. Cotton. In 1891 he entered into a partnership with the latter, the firm being Cotton & Clark, and is recognized as a man of ability and integrity. He is a Republican, and has served as collector two years. He is a Mason, and a member of the K. S. F. & I. February 15, 1893, Bertram married Minnie, daughter of L. D. Reamer, of Savannab. For the past six years Mrs. Clark has been organist of the M. E. Church, of which society both are members.
Dunham, Jerry, is a man of sterling worth and integrity, occupying a handsome resi- dence nearly adjacent to that of his brother Henry, and which has been his home for thirty years. His wife is Pamelia, daughter of Jonathan Miles, of Bennington, Yates county, who died July 21, 1850, and his wife Amelia March 10, 1837. Her marriage to Jerry Dunham took place May 5, 1856, and their children were: Anna E., now the wife of Delos Cotten, of Savannah ; John H., born July 17, 1870, and died when eight years of age ; and Addie E., born February 26, 1875. She was educated at Adrian College, Michigan, taking special course in inusic and languages. She was a member of the Presbyterian church. Our subject who was born here, October 21, 1833, and who has lived a consistent Christian life since twelve years of age, is a member of the Methodist church, as is also his wife, who was born March 17, 1835, at Bennington, Yates county, and who was prior to her marriage a successful teacher.
Ferris, O'Connell, was born in Savannah August 21, 1844. His parents, Joseph and Lucretia Ferris, were among the earliest settlers in northern Savannah, and were peo- ple of considerable prominence and highly esteemed, Joseph being for twelve years a justice of the peace. Lucretia died in 1874 and Joseph in 1885, leaving five children : Julia, now the wife of Vaughn Sweet, of Cayuga; Sarah, wife of Aaron Hall, of Savannah: Dolly, wife of John Davis, of Savannah ; O'Connell, onr subject, and Nel- son, who married Ida Simmons, of Cayuga. O'Connell acquired a good common
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school education, and at twenty-one years of age began operating a farin of 130 acres in Savannah, giving his whole attention to that business, of which he has made an en- tire success, pointing with pardonable pride to handsome and commodious barns erected in 1891. His wife is Lucy, daughter of Frederick Patrick of Marcellus, Mich. They were married December 23, 1871, and have four children living: Lulu, born June G, 1874, died October 9, 1883 ; Grace, born July 25, 1877; Eva, born August 3, 1879; Floyd, born December 17, 1884 ; and Flossy, born July 2, 1891.
Ingersoll, Mrs. John, was born in Savannah in 1848, daughter of John and Maria Spore, the former of whom died April 8, 1886, and the latter October 9, 1880. She married, March 18, 1869, John, son of George and Polly Ingersoll, of Savannah, and had two children: John LeG., born July 18, 1872, who died when one year of age ; and Hattie E., born October 3, 1873. John Ingersoll was a Republican, who served nine years as commissioner of highways. He died April 9, 1893, mourned by a large circle of friends.
Monroe, Mrs. Allida, was born in Savannah March 10, 1851, daughter of Alonzo and Charity Dean. She married, June 11, 1873, Willis M. Monroe, who was born in Sa- vannah December 12, 1847. He acquired a good education by his own efforts, and for some years varied the monotony of farm life by teaching school winters. In Decem- ber, 1891, he entered the employ of the N. Y.C. railroad as trainman, running between Syracuse and Buffalo. He suffered a slight injury in June, 1892, but resumed his em- ployment in September. November 14, 1893, he met a tragic death while in the per- formance of his duty at Lyons, N. Y., being found in an unconscious condition beside his train with a bullet hole in his temple and never regained consciousness before his death, the next evening. It was supposed that he was attacked by tramps and shot while resisting their assault, but at this writing the identity of his murderer has not been established. The press of his native town speak of him as a kind husband and father, and a noble citizen. A loving wife and three children survive him, and have the sympathy of the entire community. The children so tragically orphaned are : Edna, born October 11, 1878; Leslie V., and Lena V., born December 14, 1835.
Magraw, George R., was born at Clyde May 6, 1856. His parents were Hezekiah and Mary Magraw, the latter of whom died in 1864 and the former lives in New York. They had three children : Frank, George, and Ruez. George has been engaged in boat . ing since seventeen years of age, now operating two boats transporting grain from Buffalo to New York, besides a farm of sixty acres lying three miles south of Savannah. lle married, March 30, 1880, Emily, daughter of Jacob Helm, of Savannah, and they have two daughters: Maud, born January 15, 1883; and Florence, born October '10, 1885.
Merriman, HI. E., was born at his present home, four miles northeast of Savannah, a son of Elisha (died in 1877), and Maria, daughter of Henry Winegar of Savannah, whose children were : George, born February 10, 1847; and Henry E., born April 22, 1849. George conducts a banking business in Hartford, Mich. Henry has always fol- lowed farming. By his first wife he had these children : Frank, born Jannary 30, 1876, died December 9, 1893 ; Fred G., born September 4, 1877 ; George Q. and Henry Q .. twins born February 7, 1885. George Q., deceased. Mrs. Merriman died March 2, 1885, aged thirty-two years. Mr. Merriman married second, February 12, 1889, Ella Pinckney, of Victor, Oswego county.
Mesner, John, of Savannah, is the son of Joseph and Fredericka Mesner of Wurtem- burg, Germany, where he was born February 27, 1834. At the age of eighteen he emigrated to America, coming directly to Clyde, where he learned the trade of baker, at which he worked three years. October 12, 1865, he married Caroline Bergter, of Savannah, and settled on his present farm, a mile west of the village. His children are
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as follows : Lilly, born July 27, 1866, wife of W. P. Rector, of this place, by whom he has two sons, William F., born September 7, 1878, and Charles F., born February 7, 1880, both living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Mesner are members of the Lutheran Church.
Merritt, Gordon, was born April 6, 1826, and at the age of ten he came from New Jersey with his parents, William and Elizabeth Merritt. They engaged in farming in South Butler, where William died in 1884, at the age of eighty-four. William and Elizabeth liad twelve children, of whom none survive but our subject, and one sister, Rachel, widow of J. H. McCoon, late of Butler. Gordon acquired a good education at the common schools, and at the age of twenty-one he bought thirty acres of land in Savannah, and in 1877 moved to his present location, a farm of 130 acres, tliree miles north of the village. March 22, 1849, he married Nancy, daughter of Reuben Conant, of Savannah, by whom he had two children: William, born June 22, 1850; and Ernest G., born August 24, 1873. William married July 1, 1868, Annie Burgduff, of Butler. Ernest graduated in 1892 from Cornell University, with the degree of B. S., and now occupies a position in Hoosick Falls High School, as professor of languages.
Male, Edwin B., was born in County Kent, in 1848. His parents, Samuel and Har- riet Male, came to America when Edwin was five years of age. Of a family of fourteen children he is the only representative now living in Wayne county. Until 1886 he was engaged chiefly in farming in the western portion of the town, and in that year he pur- chased the Casey House on Railroad street, Savannah, and has since conducted it as a restaurant and billiard parlor. March 1, 1877, he married Julia E. Burch of Lyons, and they have six daughters: Harriet E., born March 12, 1878; Keene B., born March 29, 1879; Grace G., born March 31, 1880; Carrie HI., born November 30, 1881; Frances J., born January 30, 1883 ; and Ruth E., born January 7, 1892. Mr. Male is a man of good business ability, and of great personal popularity among all classes of people. Both he and his family are held in high esteem here, are members of the Episcopal church, and at the present he has just entered upon his duties as postmaster, succeeding Horace W. Smith in that office, his appointment dating from April 1, 1894.
Newton, HI. E., is the son of John and Rachael (Ward) Newton, of Otsego county, one of six children, he and one sister being the only survivors. He was born May 29, 1835, and at the age of four years came to Madison county with his parents. He was left an orphan in early youth, his father dying in 1850. He learned the trade of cooper, besides which he kept a general store at Bridgeport, Madison county, until 1867, when he sold out, and after a year spent in bookkeeping at Manlius Center, he came to Sa- vannah in 1870. Immediately subsequent to the fire of 1885, which laid so great a part of . Savannah in ruins, he built the present hotel bearing his name, and opened it to the publie in May, 1886. The Newton House is a commodious, modern hotel, and is patronized largely by commercial travelers. April 28, 1890, Mr. Newton married Rena, daughter of John Thompson, of Savannah.
Olmstead, H. M., was born on the farm which is now his home, on Crusoe Island, October 10, 1848. His father, J. M. Olmstead, was also born in Savannah in 1823, and now lives at Seneca Falls, his wife, Angelique, having died in 1850. Herbert is their only child, and his present home was also the home of his grandfather, Millard Olmstead, a pioneer. Robert married, December 12, 1877, Isadore, daughter of the late Ralph Van Dyke. She was born and reared in Savannah. She has'two sons: Arthur H .. born March 13, 1881, and Edwin R., born January 12, 1884. Mr. Olmstead is much esteemed in Savannah. He is a Republican and has served as assessor. He is a charter member of the A.O.U. W. Lodge at Savannah.
Pomeroy, E. P., was born August 17, 1839, at Elbridge the son of Lemuel S. and Mary Ann (Elder) Pomeroy. Leonard S. was born at Otisco February 1, 1812, and
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became a graduate of Hamilton College and of the Anburn Theological Seminary, but owing to ill-health was forced to give up the idea of a pastorate. He later, however, became principal of Munroe Collegiate Institute, and in 1871 began an eight-year pas- torate of the Presbyterian church at Savannah, where he died February 19, 1879. He married, May 23, 1837, Mary Ann Elder, who died July 18, 1852. E. P. Pomeroy was educated at Onondaga Academy, and married, Jannary 14, 1866, Jennie E. De Golia, of Otisco. After conducting a general store at Pompey Hill for several years he came to Savannah in 1879, where he was a teacher in the village school for two years, and then adopted his present vocation of traveling salesman. Mr. Pomeroy is very unassuming, but a gentleman of wide and varied attainments, and highly esteemed by all who know him.
Roberts, Cyrus, of Savannah, was born in Tyre May 4, 1813. His father, Bethial Roberts, was a pioneer in that locality, practicing surveying and also teaching school. Cyrus studied medicine at Geneva and has practiced to some extent, but has been chiefly engaged in farming. In 1838 he married Sally, daughter of John Beach, of Tyre, and who died in 1850, leaving three children, one of whom is living in New York city. In 1852 he again married, Mary A. Tillow, of Savannah, and they have had one child, Willis Roberts, born in 1866. Dr. Roberts sustained a paralytic shock in 1893, and is in a feeble condition.
Stevens, Elford, one of the representative business men of Savannah, was born in Jefferson county, November 4, 1851, a son of Benoni P. and Olive (Jenks) Stevens, now of Butler Center, who settled in this county in 1865. Benoni Stevens is now pastor of the Adventist Church at South Butler. Elford received his education at Wolcott High School, and his first independent business venture was the establishment of an evaporator for frnit at Savannah, in 1889, which has become an important industry, and he is also a partner in business with Charles Wood. December 4, 1877, Mr. Stevens married Carrie, daughter of Horace B. and Lydia (Wilcox) Chapin, of Worthville, Jef- ferson connty, and their children are: May L., born November 11, 1878; Bink P., born November 28, 1881, died September 2, 1884; Grace E., born Angust 8, 1888, died in infancy ; and Ray O., born Angust 11, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are members of the Second Adventist Church of South Butler. Mr. Stevens served as trustee in 1893.
Severance, Smith, son of J. H., and Emma Severance, was born at Savannah, No- vember 3, 1871. His father came from Junins, Seneca county in 1860. His mother is a danghter of Smith and Phoebe D. Williams of Savannah. They married December 16, 1869 and have two children, a daughter, Myrtie, born March 18, 1874. Smith Severance is at present a traveling salesman for a proprietary medicine. His genial manners and sunny temperament, with excellent business abilities, have made for him a wide circle of friends.
Spoor, Abijah, of Savannah, the son of John and Marian (Beebe) Spoor, of Albany county, was born September 3, 1827, and in early manhood he settled on a farin two miles north of Savannah (1848), having at the time no capital whatever. He has, however. by untiring industry and frugality, added to his original purchase twenty-five acres, until his possessions now embrace 150 acres of excellent tillable land. In 1857 he married Caroline Van Nortwiek, of Butler, and they have five children ; Harriet, wife of John II, Bixby ; Adelbert R., William Ellsworth, Frank L. and Eimna.
Swift, Rev. Philip, Savannah, was born July 9, 1830, in Herkimer county. His parents, Philip and Fanny (Russ) Swift of Connecticut, reared a family of eleven chil- dren, of whom Philip is the only living representative now in Wayne. He was edu- cated chiefly at a select school in Little Falls, Herkimer county, receiving in 1862 an exhorter's license from the Methodist Protestant Conference, and assuming the duties of his first pastorate at North Wolcott, Wayne county, in 1863. He married September
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10, 1851, Martha, daughter of Peter and Clarissa (Dewey) Rankin, and they had one son, Harvey L., who died October 11, 1859. Mr. Swift's last pastoral charge was at Conquest, Cayuga county, where in the summer of 1892, he was disabled by a partial sunstroke which has, unfortunately, affected his vocal organs so much as to necessitate for a time abandonment of public speaking, and this enforced retirement from his chosen field of labor is being spent at his pleasant home in Savannah.
Sedore, Ira B., Savannah, was born here October 5, 1825. His father, Conrad Sedore, born in Rensselaer county in 1801, came to Wayne in 1823 and settled on a farm near Savannah. He was a man of marked force of character, a life-long and steadfast Republican, serving as inspector of schools and commissioner of gospel and school funds. He married, in 1824, Harriet Hall. of Massachusetts, and they had seven children, of whom, besides Ira, only two are now living. In his early manhood Ira conducted the farm in Wolcott, and married, February 11, 1852, Ruth A. Caywood, of Savannah. Mr. Sedore is practically a self-educated man, and had the resolution and perseverance to fit himself for the ministry, joining the Onondaga County Methodist Protestant Conference in 1857, and becoming a fully ordained exhorter in 1862. At the present writing, while occupying no specific field of labor, he still holds the super- numerary relation to his church, always in readiness for the call of duty.
Spoore, John L., Savannah. John and Maria (Beebe) Spoore, of Albany county, came into the county of Wayne in 1837, and settled upon a farm near South Butler, living the quiet and uneventful lives inseparable from that pursuit until the death of Mrs. Spoore in 1879, and of John the elder in 1884, at the age of eighty-three years. Subject of sketch was born October 5, 1823, in Albany county, was chiefly engaged in farming, and married January 1, 1852, Mary E. Shotwell, of Port Byron, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Shotwell. They had one daughter, Grace L., born in Savannah July 6, 1856. She married December 29, 1875, George P. Waggoner, of Meridian, Cayuga county, and died May 28, 1889, leaving three children, one of whom is adopted by its grandparents, a ray of sunshine to their otherwise lonely home. Mr. Spoore is at pres- ent overseer of the poor, an office practically forced upon him as he is a life-long Repub- lican in politics and possesses a large degree of the esteem of his townsmen. He is a dealer to some extent in agricultural implements, making a specialty of plows. In his house the writer was shown some objects of great antiquarian interest, among them spoons dating back 200 years marked " Marie Le Grange," who was the great-aunt of Mr. Spoore, and a massive iron-bound chest, in which, during the Revolution, moncy and plate were stored, and the chest buried in a secluded place, secure from British depredation. The theatre of this dramatic episode was at the foot of the Helderbergs in Albany county.
Taylor, the late Henry, was one of the earliest settlers of Savannah, and was born in Wheeling, Va., January 8, 1801. His mother, a widow, moved to New York State in 1803, settling first in Seneca county. At the age of eleven years Henry started out for himself, and settled on Crusoe Island, now the town of Savannah, his mother hav- ing inarried previous to this, her second husband. He worked on a farm in the southern part of the town for several years, attending school winters and working for his board. About 1822 he bought a traet of land where the village now stands, then an almost un- broken wilderness. In 1825 he married Ardilla De Mott, and they began housekeeping in the little log cabin where the Hamilton block now stands. He also engaged largely in hunting and trapping, during the spring and fall months, having made as high as $500 as the proceeds of one season, Auburn at that time being the nearest market. He was an expert with the canoe, excelling all other trappers, and during his pioneer life he had many a thrilling encounter with wild animals of the forests. He died at Savannah December 2, 1893, aged ninety-three years, mourned by all classes to whom his figure was a familiar one. He built the first frame house in Savannah, having at
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one time been sole owner of one square mile here. No one man in all Savannah could with more truth be called a "landmark " than Mr. Taylor. His wife, Ardilla De Mott, died in 1876. Their children were: Frank, Fidelia, Jacob H., Lawton, Charles, David, William, George and Jennie, wife of Mr. Phelps, of Savannalı.
Vought N. C., of Savannah, was born at Wolcott in 1835, a son of N. C. and Mary (Lent) Vonght, originally from Peekskill. The elder Vought settled on a farm in Wol- cott, Wayne county in 1825. In 1849 he followed the trail of the Argonauts as far as Wisconsin, where he remained till his death in 1850. The subject of our sketch is one of a family of twelve children, every one of whom lived to maturity, a fact of more than ordinary interest, as indicative of the simple and vigorous lives of our ancestors. The mother of this remarkable group died in 1840, when our subject was but five years old. About 1853 he became master of a trade, that of carpenter and joiner, and later (at one time in partnership with Horace Wadsworth) a builder, and there is no reason to doubt that he has built, personally, more houses and barns than any other one man in Wayne. In 1860 he married Ancy Dratt, of South Butler, by whom he had these children : Dora, born in 1862, and Edward born in 1864, died in 1865. Mr. Vought again married in April, 1866, Mahala Palmer, daughter of William Palmer of Butler, a most estimable lady. She and Mr. Vought are members of the M. E. Church.
Vanderpool, George, is the son of Stephen and Juda Vanderpool of Schodack, Rens- selaer county, N. Y., where he was born August 24, 1814. George came to Savannah in 1852, and since 1862 has occupied his present home on a farm four miles north of the village. He has one brother, Stephen, living at Butler. October 27, 1838, he mar- ried Hannah Green of Schodack, by whom he had seven children ; Mary A., born July 29, 1840, now the wife of William Link of Galen ; Gilbert, born September 2, 1843, died April 30, 1870; James, born May 16, 1846, now a resident of Savannah; Phoebe and Stephen, born March 11, 1849. Stephen lives at Wolcott, and Phoebe in Syra- cuse, the wife of Augustus Daniels; and Adaline, born April 1, 1852, died December 20, 1860. Hannah Vanderpool died January 30, 1879, aged sixty-three years, and Mr. Vanderpool married, second, March 4, 1880, Mrs. Eliza A. Smith of Clyde, the mother by a former husband of William E. Ellis, the latter now a resident of Clyde. William E. Ellis was one of the thirty-six officers and men who went out in the ill-fated Pro- teus under Lieutenant Grecley in 1881. His scholarly note-books record in detail the in- credible hardships they endured, until driven to insanity and cannibalism. His body was recovered from Lady Franklin Bay, where he met so lonely and terrible a death in 1883, and is interred at Clyde, N. Y.
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