USA > New York > Wayne County > Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, Pt. 2 & 3 > Part 51
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Price, Seward F., was born on the old homestead two miles south of Newark village February 17, 1845. Ilis education was acquired in the district schools, also attended the Union School and Academy five years, and delivered the valedictory address for the graduating class, January 13, 1869, he married Sarah L., daughter of Henry R. Peirson of this village, and they have three sons, George II., Harry B. and Seward P. Mr. Price is one of Arcadia's representative men and one of her best farmers.
Pearsall, John T., was born in Huron, Wayne county, in 1856, and is a son of Henry
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who came from Saratoga to Seneca connty, and about 1845 settled in the town of Huron and engaged in farming. He married Jane Turbush, and their children were : John O. (deceased), William II., Eleanor, Esther, George, Amanda, John T., Phoebe and Edward. William II. settled in Huron, where he died; Eleanor married Cyrus E. Fitch and settled in Butler ; Esther married James McChire and settled in Tompkins county ; George settled in Wolcott where he died ; Amanda married Frank W. Hagen and settled in Niagara county ; Phoebe married, first, Anthony Curtis and second Abraham Griswold, and settled in Wolcott; Edward settled in Sodus; John settled in Sodus and is an enterprising farmer. He was for several years excise commissioner, and in 1893 was elected assessor. He married in 1893 Delia L., daughter of John Bates of Sodus, by whom he has two children, Leo B. and Theda J.
Pratt, Elizabeth A .- Her father, Isaac Soverhill, was born in New Jersey December 6, 1809, coming to the town of Phelps with his parents when a boy, where he was edu- cated in the schools of his day and came to this county soon afterward. September 1, 1831, he married Maria Cline, formerly of Columbia county, and they had two daugh- ters, Elizabeth A., as above, and Gertrude J., who died aged thirteen. He died December 19, 1866, and his wife July 27, 1876. December 15, 1859, Elizabeth A. Soverhill married Morrison Pratt of the town of Marion, and they have five children, I. Byron, Gertie M., Anna E., Marion E .. and Leland M. T. Byron married Anna Whal- ing and has one daughter. The youngest son is the farmer for his father. Mrs. Pratt's grandfather, Isaac Soverhill, was born in New Jersey January 24, 1774. Ile married Elizabeth Dobbins of his native place, a sister of General Dobbins of Revolutionary fame, and came to this State. They had nine children : Samuel, Jemima A., Justus D., James M., Isaac, Eliza J., John G., Hugh W. D. and Charles W.In 1817 Isaac Sover- hill bought from the land office a tract of land three and a half miles northeast of Newark village, and Mrs. Pratt now resides on a part of the original purchase. A cousin, Cornelius P. Soverhill, was born in Marion, Wayne county, June 8, 1843, son of the late Justin D. Soverhill. In early life he was a farmer and now a resident of New- ark, dealing in coal, wood, etc. Ile married Mary Langdon, of Clyde, and they have one daughter, Ada J., who is a student in the Union School and Academy. Mr. Sover- hill was a soldier in the late war, and is a member of Vosburg Post No. 99, G. A. R., Department of New York.
Potter, James, was born in Lyons in 1828 and is a son of Elry Potter, who was a native of Eastown, Rensselaer county. He served in the War of 1812, holding the rank of sergeant. He came to Wayne county in ISIl and settled in Lyons, taking up a farm of 160 acres, He remained until 1838, when he removed to Sodus, purchasing a farm in the southeast part of the town, where he spent the remainder of his life and died in 1883. He married Elizabeth Hay, and they had ton children : Maria, who mar- ried William Sutherland; Eliza, who married Samuel Warren; David settled in Lyons and was a farmer. Ile married Anna E. Woodworth; Jane married Samuel Clary ; Elry settled in Michigan ; Horace was a farmer and settled in Sodus. He married Har- riet Thompson; Conrad was a ship carpenter. He first settled in Michigan and later in the South ; William was a shoemaker and settled in Lyons. He married Susan Price ; Harvey lived and died on the homestead in Sodus. He married Clarissa Allen; James Potter in his early life run a boat on the canal eleven years, but for over forty years has been a farmer in Sodus. He is a member of the Sodus Grange, and married Elsie Burns.
Peck, Winslow J., was born on the old homestead two miles west of Newark August 31, 1841. He was educated in the common schools, has had a variety of occupations, and is now a farmer and fruit grower. He has been section foreman of the West Shore Railway six years. He has also followed the canal several years, owning the boat F. M. Allerton. December 17, 1862, he married Levina J. Shaver, formerly of Broome county. His father, Abram, was born in Nelson, Madison county September 4, 1805.
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He married three tines, first Martha Holdridge of his native place and they had two sons, Andrew and Germaine, who reside in Michigan. For Ins second wife he married Asenath Heath, of Penfield, Monroe county, by whom he had four children, Martha J., Adaline M., Winslow J., as above, and Sarah A. For his third wife he married Rhoda E. Covey, of Penfield, formerly of Columbia county, and they had two daughters, Grace A. and Bertha E., the eldest residing in Kansas and the other a teacher at home. Mr. Peek has resided on this homestead fifty-five years. His grandfather, Abram, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mis. Peek's father, George Shaver, was born in Greenbush, Columbia county, in 1818, and came here with his parents when a boy. Ile married Hannah Shartz, of this town, and they had five children. Mr. Peek is a member of Newark Lodge No. 83 F. & A. M.
Patrick, the late Isaac N., was born in Pittsford, Monroe county, November 7, 1822, and came to this town with his parents when three years old. He was educated in the distriet schools and was always a farmer. December 23, 1859, he married Mary Ann Derry, who was born April 10, 1840, in Fendrayton, Cambridgeshire, England. They had two children, Sarah E., who married John C. Penoyer, of Bristol, Ontario county, and they had three children. Walter J. was born February 8, 1865, was educated in the district schools and at Newark Union School and Academy, and is the farmer on the home farm. February 7, 1884, he married Julia 1. Bloom of this town, and they had one son, Newton d., born April 17, 1888, who died Angust. 7, 1893. Patrick died March 22, 1888, mourned by a bereaved wife and family. He was a member of the Masonic order. His grandfather, John, was born March 1, 1788, and was a captain in the War of 1812. Mrs. Patrick's brother, Aldred Derry, was a soldier in the late war in the cavalry branch of the service, was promoted to the position of colonel. John Patrick was a manufacturer of plows. The Patrick family located on this homestead abont 1828. The ancestry of this family is Scotch and English.
Pitts, Jesse G., was born in Chatham, Columbia county, June 7, 1823, and was edn- cated in the common schools and Kinderhook Academy. In 1815 he came to Geneva, Ontario county, where he engaged in saddlery business, including harnesses and trunks until 1852. He then came to Newark, where he embarked in the hardware business, in company with Eli Van Valkenburg, under the firm name of Pitts & Van Valkenburg. They sold out in 1854, and Mr. Pitts then went on his farm, north of the village and sold timber, remaining two years. June 2, 1859, he married Helen R. Day of West- field, Mass., and they have one adopted daughter, Lonisa, now Mrs. Calvin P. M. Vary, a banker in this place. They have two children : Grace and Calvin. Mr. Pitts has re- sided in New York seven years, also in Brooklyn seven years, returning to Newark abont 1873, where he has conducted a boot and shoe business about twenty years, in- elnding the manufacture of moccasins under letters patent about six or eight thou- sand dozen pairs anally, selling them to jobbers and the finding trade. Mr. Pitts' father, John W., was born at the old home in Columbia county in 1795, and came here at an early date. He married Polly Gifford. of his native town, and has six children. Ile died in 1874 and his wife in middle life. Mrs. Pitts' father, David M. Day, was born in Westfield, Mass. He married Eliza Johnson of Bristol, Conn., and they had two children : Helen R. and Martin. Both father and mother are deceased. Mr. Pitts' father was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Pulver, John, was born in Schoharie, N. Y., in 1807, a son of John M., who came to Sodus in 1829. Their ancestors came from Holland in an early day and settled in Dutchess county. John M. married Rebecca Millis, and their children were : Serene, John, Jane, Dorcas, William, Daniel, Anson and Jerome. John settled in Sodas and is engaged in farming. He married Mrs. Lucinda, widow of William Ellsworth, Ami Ellsworth, the pioneer of the family in Wayne county came from East Windsor, Conn., on foot in 1800, and took up 100 acres of land on the lake west of Sodns Point. Ile built a log house and returned to Connectient for his family. They endured all the
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hardships that fall to the lot of a settler in a new country. ITis wife was Chloe Allen, and in 1807 learning that she had inherited some property in Connecticut, she made the journey there and back on horseback alone. Their children were : Ami, Sophia, Hul- dah, Aurelia, Julia A., Levi, Ann, William, who settled on the homestead and was a prosperous and enterprising farmer. He married Lucinda I. Selby of Palmyra, and died in 1853.
Potwine, Thomas HI., the first of the family to settle in Wayne county, came from East Windsor, Conn., in 1835 and settled in the eastern part of Sodus, purchasing a farm north of the Ridge. The family were of English and French descent. Caleb the father of Thomas H. was a son of the Rev. Thomas Potwine, who was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at East Windsor from 1753 to 1802. Thomas HI. was a man of thrift and energy. He was a regular attendant and liberal supporter of the Sodus Presbyterian Church. He married Jane Trumbull, a descendent of Governor Trum- bull of Connecticut, and their children were : Mary, who married William Sergeant of Sodus; Thomas, who died in early manhood, and Charles, who settled in Sodns, and is a prominent farmer. He is a member of Sodus Lodge, No. 392, F. & A. M., and Wayne Chapter. He married Emma A, daughter of John Gates of Sodus, and they had five eluldren : Henry HI., Charles J., Nora E., Morris M. and William T. Thomas H. Potwine died March 15, 1894.
Proseus, Elias, was born in Columbia county in 1819, and is a son of John, whose father, Jolm Prosens, sr., came from Germany and settled in Columbia county, ard in 1831 came to Sodus and purchased a farm northeast of the village on the lake road. He was a prosperous and thrifty farmer. He married Hannah Coon, and their children were: John, Peter I., Henry, Hannah, Betsey, Ira, Anson, Jonas and Margaret L. John Proseus, jr., died in Columbia county in 1821. He married Ella Carnun, and their children were : Hiram, who married Catherine Harvey of Sodus and settled in Wiseon- sin ; Elias and Robert, who never married. They settled on the Prosens homestead in Sodus and were farmers. Robert died in 1893. Elias Proseus has held the office of highway commissioner three years.
Oaks, Charles G., was born in Rose August 22, 1834, son of Charles G., and Sallie S. (Hills) Oaks, he a native of Craftsbury, Vt., and she a native of Pittstown, N. Y. The father of our subject was reared on a farm and started in life at the age of twelve, his father dying at that time. He learned the cooper's trade and also followed farming. He came to Rose in 1830 and here lived and died. He owned ninety acres of land. He was a strong temperance man. Subject was reared on a farm and educated in Red Creek Academy. He followed teaching several terms, and then followed farming and also worked at the cooper's trade. He traveled for Ellwanger & Barry, nurserymen of Rochester, for two years. He was also engaged in selling maps for two years previous to the war, and owns a fruit farm of fifty acres known as the Robert Wilson farm. In 1885 he engaged in the manufacture of boxes and the sale of paints, oils, ete., in partner- ship with his son Charles W., and the firm is known as Oaks & Son. Subject was in the lumber business two years previous with HI. L. Munn. He enlisted in 1864 and served ten months, and was at Lee's surrender. He has been justice of the peace three years, and is a member of the I. O. G. T., of North Rose. He married Hulda A. Wil- son, a native of Rose and daughter of Robert and Catharine Wilson, natives of Dundee, Yates county, who came to Rose where they died. Mr. Oaks and wife have four chil- dren : Katie, wife of James Thomas, of Huron; Charles W., who is a partner with Ins father. He married Ellen, daughter of Calvin Winchell, by whom he has one child, Seth C .; Marilla, wife of Edgar Davis, of Central Falls, R. I .; and Bertie R., at home.
Ohinstead, Jolm H., was born in the town of Amsterdam, Montgomery county, and came to Phelps, Ontario county, with his parents when he was about four years of age. Ilis father died in Galen when subject was thirteen years old, and he was sent to Steuben
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county. He afterward returned to this county, and made his home with Roderick Price, working summers and attending district schools during the winter. April 11, 1844 he married Ruth, daughter of Samuel and Jane Lucas, of Arcadia, who was born March 20, 1822, and has resided where she now lives sixty-five years. They have eight children : Ruth A., Samuel L., John H., jr., Frank, Lorin R., Frances A., Adelia, and Theodore II. Mr. Olmstead's father, Dorus, was born in Amsterdam, in 1787, and mar- ried Margaret Hendrick of his native town, by whom he had ten children : Adelia, Abijah A., Catherine A., Phoebe, Abigail, Margaret, Marian John II .. as above, Peter and Charles. He died in 1832 and his wife October 17, 1848. Mrs. Olmstead's father, Samuel Lucas, was born in Middletown, Conn,, in 1790, and married Jane Gardiner, of Rhode Island. They came to Western New York in 1812, and had four children : Alma, Miranda, Angehne and Ruth. He died in 1860 and his wife in 1824.
Ostrander, Melvin, was born in Phelps, Ontario county Jannary 19, 1825, and came to this homestead with his parents in his tenth year. He was educated in the common schools and has always followed farming. November 20, 1855, he married Emma G. Harrington, of Arcadia, formerly of Junius, Seneca county, and they have had three sons : William H., born December 10, 1860, who is a farmer at home; Dorman D., born June 1, 1864, and is now a nursery salesman for C. W. Stuart & Co. He married Mary O'Neil, of East Palmyra and they have one son, Claire J., born June 14, 1888, and Clarence M., born October 15, 1869, who died in infancy. Mr. Ostrander's father, William, was born in Columbia county in 1776. He married twice. By his first wife he had these children : Levi, Hiram, Mary, Robert L., Silas, Anna, Harmon, Eliza, William, Phoebe, Marvin and Melvin as above. Mrs. Ostrander died when her youngest son was less than three years old, and he married second Mrs. Mary Turbush, of Phelps, and they had one danghter, Harriet. He died in September, 1855. Mrs. Ostrander's father, Isaac Harrington, was born in Otsego county March 3, 1793, and married Melinda Waterman. They had fourteen children. Mr. Harrington was a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in September, 1856, and his wife in 1867. Mr. Ostrander has resided on this homestead sixty years.
Nellis, Peter E., was born in Arcadia August 24, 1816, educated in the Union School and Academy of Newark. He has condueted a liquor store here for the past sixteen years, and also owns a farm in the town. He has been connected with the fire depart- ment, since its organization in 1859, first as torch boy, and is now its chief engineer. December 28, 1872, he married Caroline L., daughter of T. S. and Betsev A. Hooper of Newark, and they have two daughters, Blanche H. and E. Viola. Mr. Nellis's father, Azariah, was born at Fort Plain, Montgomery county April 14, 1822, and was a con- tractor on public works. He married Margaret A. Faihng, of Arcadia, by whom he had five children : Emogene, Peter E., Josephine, Georgiana and Margaret. Ile died in 1872, and his wife resides with her only son. The paternal great-grandfather was a soldier in the French and Indian war. The ancestry of the family is Dutch and Ger- man.
Nicholoy, William HI., was born in Arcadia on the homestead north of the village of Newark October 23, 1814, and was educated in the Union School and Academy of Newark. His early life was spent on the farm. In 1861 he came to Newark and became a partner with Edward Blackmar in the clothing and dry goods business, and was also with E. B. Marian one year in a general store. In 1871 he formed a co-partnership with S. B. Van Duser under the firm name of Nicholoy & Van Duser, selling dry goods, carpets, and custom clothing, and was subsequently changed to Nicholoy & Co., which continued till April 14, 1892. February 14, 1890, he was ap- pointed postmaster of Newark under the Harrison administration. July 5, 1870, he married Alice E. Eddy, of Taunton, Mass., and they have five children : Henry E., Emma B., Mary A., Ella, and William Everett. The eldest son is the assistant post- master and his oldest daughter stamp clerk. Mr. Nicholoy is one of the elders in the
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Presbyterian church, and is also president of the Enterprise Seed Company, which was organized January 1, 1894. His father, Jacob, was born in Arcadia, three miles north of Newark, January 14, 1819. January 21, 1842, he married Harriet E. Van Tassal, formerly of Columbia connty, and they have thirteen children : William H., Julia A., Catherine A., Harriet D., Esbon T., Alice E., Frances A., Mary L., Jacob HI., Lillie A., George Mellan, Jennie V., and Sarah E. The ancestry of the family is Dutch, German and English.
Norris Family, The .- The pioneer of this family in Wayne county was Job Baldwin Norris, who came to Sodus in 1816, and took up a farm. He was a native of New Jersey, and was a son of John Norris, a pioneer in that State, and a soldier in the Continental Army. John married Susan Baldwin, and settled in Mayence, Cayuga county, and later in Wayne. Job married Pamelia Foster, by whom he had four chil- dren : Rufus F., Mary. Samuel HI., and Frances. Samuel settled on the homestead, and though he has taken an active interest in all local affairs, has never cared for office. His first wife was Diantha Bennett, and his second, Arvilla D. Shirtz, by whom he has one son, William R., who lives near his father, engaged in farming and fruit evaporat- ing. Rufus F. Norris settled on a farm in the south part of the village of Sodus and became one of the leading men of the town. He was largely instrumental in the build- ing of the Sodus Point and Southern Railroad, of which he was vice-president and director for several years, and also one of the commissioners of the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad. He married Louise Kingsley, by whom he had these children : Ellen, Elliott B., Kingsley F., and Louise. Elliott B. Norris was born in Sodus June 25, 1845, and with the exception of the years 1867-68, when he was engaged in the mercantile trade at Greenville, Pa., has always lived there, being one of the largest farmers of the town, as well as one of its most progressive and enterprising business men. He is engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock, and was for several years engaged in the pro- duce business at Sodus. Since 1874 he has followed fruit evaporating. He is a prominent and active Democract, and in 1885 was candidate for member of Assembly. In 1890 he was again nominated, and elected. Mr. Norris was the author and intro- ducer of a bill making the sheriff and county clerkships salaried offices. He is a mem- ber of the Patrons of Husbandry and a charter member of Sodus Grange No. 73, of which he has been master many years. He is also chairman of the Legislative Com- mittee of the State Grange. In 1868 he married Georgianna Chipman, of Wolcott, and their children are : Mabel I., Floy E., Amy L., Louise E., and Mark Elliott. Will- iam R. Norris was born September 16, 1855, in the town of Sodus, son of Samuel H. Norris. He has always followed farming, takes an active part in politics, and has been candidate for supervisor. He married, in 1881, Carrie E. Synder, of Sodus.
Morse, Rollin E., was born in Newark May 8, 1842, educated in the Academy, and began as clerk in his father's store in 1857. In 1860 he became a merchant tailor and a dealer in men's furnishing goods until January, 1890, when he bought the Kenyon drug store, and has since done a successful drug and stationery business. October 16, 1860, he married Emma C., daughter of Dr. Lewis Herrick, of Albany, and they have had two children : Louis II. and Nellie, who died aged seven years. Horace II., father of our subject, was born in 1817, and began business as a merchant in Port Gibson, com- ng to Newark in 1836, where he engaged in the grocery, and later in the dry goods business. He married Mary Vanderhoof, of Plainsville, Ontario county, and they had one son, Rollin E. Horace HI. died June 6, 1887, and his wife In 1884. The ancestry of the family is English and Dutch. Mrs. Morse's father, Dr. Herrick, was born in Malden, N. Y., in 1816, and was n noted physician of his day. His sugar coated pills, and Dr. Herrick's plasters, have a world-wide reputation. His wife was Emum Potter, a relative of Bishop Potter, and they had four children : Helen E., Emma C., Richard P., and Robert L. Dr. Herrick died in 1878, and his wife in 1888. Mr. Morse is a member of Newark Lodge No. 83, F. & A. M., and of the I O.O.F. No. 250.
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Miller, Mrs. Mary L. - Her father, John Flyn, was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1822, was a farmer by occupation, and married Mary Powers, of his native place, and came to the United States in 1849, first locating at Auburn, N. Y., afterwards at Newark, where they made their permanent home. They had thirteen children, mme of whom survive: Michael, who resides in Newark; Mary L .; Thomas is a resident of Canada; John resides in Newark; William is a resident of Canada; Nelhe, now Mrs. William Tusk ; Anna, Catherine, and James, Mary L. married! William M. Miller, of Camden, Oneida county, N. Y., and they have two children : William A., and Rose E. The son was educated at Eastman's Commercial College, Ponghkeepsie ; the daughter is being educated in the academy. The son works in the factory of the Wayne County Preserving Company, of which Mrs. Miller is superintendent. In 1886 she organized and started the Lake Port Preserving Company in Canada, and superintended it two years, then returned here and has been superintendent the past five years. Mrs. Miller's efficiency commands good pay. In Canada she received one hundred dollars per month and board for herself and two children. Her father died in 1886, aged sixty-four years, her mother still survives. Mrs. Miller is a devoted Catholic, and is interested in the welfare and prosperity of her church.
Mills, Dr. William R., was born in the town of Arcadia, July 20, 1861. When six years old his parents moved to Washington, D. C., where they remained three years and then returned to Lyons. Here he was educated in the Union School and academy, and then entered the West Winfield Academy, where he graduated in 1879. He tanght school in various places for seven years and then began the study of dentistry with Dr. Forrester of Lyons. He afterward went to Philadelphia and attended the dental college in that city, from which he graduated in 1889, and then began a successful practice in Newark. Dr. Mills' father. Gustavus Mills, was born in the town of Columbia, Herkimer county, in 1817. He was reared on a farm and educated in the schools of his day. In 1861 he became a sutler in the 17th Inf., N. Y. Vols. ; was captured and spent six months in Libby prison, and after this was in the paymaster's department at Washington for three years, then became a commercial traveler. In 1840 he married Nancy Petrie, of his native county. Eight children were born to them, two dying in infancy and six still living : Emma, Marsh, Mason, Lizzie, John, and William, as above noted. Mr. Mills died in 1891, and his wife now resides with her son, Dr. William Mills. The ancestors of both the paternal and maternal sides served in the Revolutionary war and in the war of 1812.
Mielil, Philip, was born in Alsace, France, in 1834. His father was Jacob Miehl. Philip came to America in 1853 and settled in Rome, N. Y., where he remained until 1862, then went to Rochester, and in 1864 settled in the town of Sodus, south of the village. He is a cooper by trade, which business he conducted until 1889, then par- chased a farm which he has since operated. From 1880 to 1889 he was commissioner of highways for the town of Sodus. He is a member of the Grange at Sodns, and of the Presbyterian church at Joy. He married first, Thorita Hennager, by whom he had two sons and a daughter. Christopher, the older son, settled in Williamson, and is a wagonmaker ; Philip is a blacksmith at Alloway ; and Mary married William J. Cheatham, of Joy. Mr. Miehl married second, Mary A. Vight, and they had one daughter, Catherine, wife of James Robertson, of Rochester. For his third wife he married Sarah F. White.
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