USA > New York > Onondaga County > Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II > Part 41
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Mr. Leslie furnished entirely from his own collections the only complete list of the names of 364 Union volunteers who enlisted from the town of Skaneateles, or en - listed elsewhere, but belonged to this town, giving rank, company, and regiment, in alphabetical order, which list was published in the Free Press. He has also collected some of the most valuable files of original local newspapers, had them bound in volumes, and presented them to the Skaneateles Library Association for preserva- tion. He has erected a beautiful memorial tablet in St. James's church in memory of the sons of that church who lost their lives in defence of the Union. He has also published several series of the lives of early prominent residents of the town, notably of Lydia P. Mott, a prominent promoter of female education, who established "The Friend's Female Boarding School," which was known as " The Hive." Many of the ladies of Auburn and surrounding country were educated at this school, which was discontinued about seventy years ago. Mr. Leslie's labor is of a character that will survive and perpetuate his memory to coming generations. All of his valuable historical work has been done gratuitously.
April 16, 1845, Mr. Leslie married Miss Millicent A., daughter of Chauncey II. and Hannah H. Coe, of Canandaigua, N. Y. She died March 15, 1890. After the death of her husband Mrs. Hannah H. Coe married, in 1839, Capt. Nash De Cost, and spent the remainder of her life in Skaneateles, where she died April 27, 1884, and where the captain's death occurred in 1858.
ISAAC N. SHERMAN.
ISAAC N. SHERMAN was born in Chatham, Columbia County, N. Y., on the 12th of August, 1838, and is a son of John and Sally Ann Sherman, natives respectively of Rhode Island and this State. John Sherman died in August, 1854.
Mr. Sherman came to Marcellus in 1865 and established a paper manufactory, which he first conducted in partnership with his brother, Lorenzo D., under the firm name of Sherman Brothers. Later S. D. Tompkins became a partner, but upon his
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death his interest was repurchased by the original proprietors, and the establishment was again conducted by Sherman Brothers until September, 1893, when Lorenzo D. died and Isaac N. became sole owner. This factory is among the chief industries of the town, its product being shipped throughout the New England and Middle States. Its specialty is the manufacture of wrapping paper.
As a citizen Mr. Sherman takes a lively interest in local affairs. He married Mary E. Rosier, of Marcellus, and they have had three children, as follows: John R., born April 10, 1872; Charles M., who died August 9, 1895, aged nineteen ; and Fred D., who died February 20, 1896, at the age of sixteen.
A. H. ALLEN.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON ALLEN, youngest son of Daniel Allen and Abi Burr, was born near Delphi, the town of Pompey, N. Y., in 1805, and began at an early age to participate in the severe labor attendant upon a farmer's life at that period. He married, in 1830, Sally B. Savage, of Delphi, who proved a true helpmeet-a hope- ful, energetic, deeply pious woman, full of good works.
Mr. Allen's vocation was that of a farmer, and he tilled the family homestead farm, believing in the trite saying of Franklin, that "He who by the plow would thrive, himself must either hold or drive," and pushing his business with such energy and fixedness of purpose that his efforts were crowned with rich success. Honorable, upright, respected by all who knew him, the steadfast hater of oppression and wrong, and the unswerving champion of liberty, truth and Christianity, he was a pillar of strength in the community and in the church. Early in life he became one of the working members of the First Baptist church in Delphi, whose walls for long years echoed his songs of praise; and no matter who was remiss in duty or shirked labor or responsibility, he was always prompt, always faithful, ever ready to do good; his religion was no holiday garb, but a part of himself, he acted it, he believed in it, he lived it. He gave to every duty and service, of whatever nature, a conscientious fidelity that ennobled it and casts a halo over his whole life. He was deacon of the church for several years.
He removed to Syracuse in 1867 and died there in 1875. Mrs. Allen died there 111 1886, and both are buried in the old cemetery at Delphi. They had six children, all of whom died in early life except two daughters, Mary Elizabeth, who died in 1860 at the age of twenty-one years, and Adaline L. The latter is one of the alumni of Cazenovia Seminary and married, June 30, 1858, James L. Hill, youngest son of Col. Ensign Hill. The children of James L. Hill and Adaline L. Allen are Everard Allen Hill, born in Pompey, December 3, 1860, married July 30, 1891, Olivia Ger- trude Douglass and has two children, Hope Hill and Charles James Hill; Mary Grace Hill, born in Syracuse July 5, 1867, married October 30, 1890, Girard Mead Parce, and has one child, Marjorie.
Maj. Daniel Allen. father of the subject, was one of the earliest settlers in Pom- pey. Born in Pennsylvania in 1766, he went in early manhood to Canaan, Colum- bia county, N. Y., and entered the employ of Gideon Burr, whose daughter, Abi
HAMILTON ALLEN.
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Burr, he married in 1790. (The wife of Gideon Burr was Hannah Edwards, sister of Jonathan Edwards.)
Daniel Allen and Ozias Burr, his brother-in-law, came to Pompey in 1792 and settled two miles north of Delphi. Their names are found in the records of the first town meeting of Pompey, where they were given positions of trust. Daniel Allen was a man of thrift, energy, and enterprise. He had seven children, four only marrying and having families. Daniel, Ethan, and Hamilton were farmers in Pompey Hollow. Herrick was a merchant (most of his life associated with J. M. Taylor) in Delphi, Syracuse, and New York. Daniel Allen and Abi, his wife, are buried in Delphi, N. Y.
Ozias Burr, brother of Abi Burr, was a man of great worth and influence, was supervisor of the town for eight years, judge of the County Court and member of the Assembly for several years. His sitting on the bench, with a ruffled shirt and barefooted, is one of the pleasant traditions of the family, and a curious illustration of the customs of the day. He is buried in a small burying place on his old farm two miles north of Delphi.
JOHN LEGG.
JOHN LEGG, of Skaneateles, was one of the pioneers in that part of Onondaga county. The town was sparsely settled when he came there in 1804, and it was men with such character as he possessed that gave to Skaneateles that stimulus in progress which has made it one of the foremost communities in the State. He was but twenty-one years of age when he settled near where now is situated the village of Skaneateles, and there was then only one house in the village, so Mr. Legg erected the second dwelling in this section of the town. He engaged in carriage manu- facturing and built up a prosperous and extensive business, being one of the largest in the State at the time. He in the early part of his life took a prominent place in the development and improvement of Skaneateles and Onondaga county; and as the years went on his strong personality and business sagacity contributed largely to the thrift and progress of his adopted town. He was energetic, industrious, with frugal habits and an upright honest heart; possessing all these qualities, his success was assured, and the result was the accumulation of a competence much beyond the ordinary achievement of those days. And while he labored for individual success he also had a mind and heart filled with generous impluses manifested in deeds of benevolence. When he settled in Skaneateles his fortune consisted wholly in the personal qualifications which entered both into his public and private life, begetting the respect and confidence of all who knew him. Mr. Legg was born in Belcher- town, Mass., March, 1733, and died at Skaneateles December 19, 1857.
He married, November 25, 1805, Emma Colvin, a native of Cambridge, N. Y. She was born February 5, 1783, and died August 14, 1853. She was a woman of sterling Christian character, with kind heart and charitable impulses. They had two sons and one daughter: John Furman, the eldest son, died in infancy; David Colvin Legg was born December 14, 1814, and died March 28, 1883; Juliette, the
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daughter and the oldest of three children, was born March 23, 1811. She married, in 1835, Joel Thayer, whose biography appears elsewhere in this history; and also a more complete account of the life Juliette Legg Thayer, his wife.
EDWARD MOIR.
EDWARD MOIR was born in Tillicoultry, Clackmananshire, Scotland, October 26, 1846, and moved with his parents to Canada in 1856, locating in Galt, Ontario, where he received the best public and grammar school advantages the place afforded. There he also obtained his first experience in woolen mills, with which he has ever since been actively and prominently connected. Subsequently he moved with his parents to Waterloo, Ontario, where he was also employed in woolen mills, and at a later period had charge of the Paton mills in Sherbrooke, Quebec, for three years. At the end of that time he purchased and enlarged the Auburn Mills at Peterboro, Ontario, and afterward conducted for about eight years the woolen mills at Cornwall, in the same province. In all these various enterprises he met with uni- form success, and obtained a practical experience as valuable as it was extensive.
In 1884 Mr. Moir removed to Marcellus, Onondaga county, and assumed charge of the original Crown Mill, situated just north of the village corporation. To this the Moses mill, known as the Marcellus Woolen Mill, situated in the village, was added by purchase, and since then he has conducted both establishments under the name of the Crown Mills. Both are located on Nine Mile Creek, a stream noted for its picturesque scenery and valuable water-power, with which each is operated, using steam as an auxiliary when required. Upon them rests principally the prosperity of the village, and their success can be estimated from the fact that during the stringent seasons of 1893 and 1894, and even since then, the suspension was of very short duration. They have been running largely on full time while many similar concerns throughout the country were idle, a fact which illustrates conclusively the able and business-like management of Mr. Moir, their energetic and progressive manager. Their product is varied and extensive, new styles and patterns being made up twice each year, and is shipped into almost every State in the Union.
Mr. Moir takes a deep interest in the welfare of the community and liberally sup- ports all worthy movements. Public spirited, enterprising, and benevolent, he is actively identified with the village and many of its institutions, and manifests a laudable pride in its general prosperity. He is a staunch Republican and influential in local affairs, but his business interests and responsibilities are too large to admit of his devoting much time to politics. He is a 32d degree Mason, being a member and past master of Cornwall Lodge No. 125, F. & A. M., and a member of Gren- ville Chapter No. 22, R. A. M., both of Canada, and also a member of Salemtown Commandery, K. T., and the Scottish Rite bodies in the Valley of Auburn, N. Y.
He was married, first, on February 25, 1875, to Miss Maud Macfarlane, of Peter- boro, Ontario, Canada, who died in Marcellus in November, 1886, leaving three chil- dren: John Macfarlane, Mary Winnifred, and Edward Erskine. Mr. Moir married for his second wife, on September 30, 1891, Miss Clara Mead Lyon, of New York city, and a native of Greenwich, Conn.
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J. DENSMORE POTTER.
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J. DENSMORE POTTER, M. D.
J. DENSMORE POTTER, M. D., was born in Taylor, Cortland county, January 14, 1834, a son of Paris and Nancy (Jones) Potter, he born in Rhode Island in 1796 and she in Otsego county in 1801. The grandfather was Pardon Potter, also of Rhode Island, who died in Cortland county, aged eighty seven. His wife was Rhoda Car- ver, who died in Otsego county where they lived for a time. The father of our sub- ject was an active politician, and known as " Old Hickory." He was a mason by trade, and also a local preacher, and his death occurred February 28, 1876, and that of his wife in 1864. J. D. Potter was reared on the farm, educated in the district school and select school at Union Valley and also at De Ruyter Academy, from which he graduated in 1861. He then taught school twelve years, one year in Illinois, after which he studied medicine with Dr. S. S. Clark of De Ruyter, and graduated at the Buffalo Medical College in 1866. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Co. C, 157th N. Y. Vols., and served till January, 1863, being commissioned second lieutenant. Dr. Potter began the practice of medicine at De Ruyter, but soon came to Delphi, where he has since had a very successful practice. He is an Odd Fellow, a member of the State Medical Society, and of Onondaga County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1881. In 1893 he was made pension examining surgeon at Syra- cuse. In 1866 he married Hattie E. Thompson of Delphi, Onondaga county, and they have had four children : Densmore E., who married Alice House in 1889; Bates D., who died aged eight years; Fred W., who died in infancy; and H. Lillian, born in 1880. She is now studying music in Syracuse.
RUFUS COSSITT.
AMONG the pioneers of Onondaga county the Cossitt family occupies a conspicuous and an honorable position. During one full century its members, inheriting the noblest characteristics of a respected ancestry, have zealously participated in local growth and development, in various business and commercial enterprises, in civil and professional life, and in religious and educational matters. Ranking generally as quiet, substantial, and unostentatious citizens they have filled important spheres in the history of this section of the Empire State and left an indelible impress in the communities they honored by their presence. The earliest days of Syracuse witnessed the hospitality of Sterling Cossitt, who about 1815 became the proprietor of Bogardus's Tavern, which stood on the site of the Empire House, and from him the embryo city acquired the every-day appellation of "Cossitt's Corners."
Rufus Cossitt was born in Granby, Conn., in 1790, and came to Marcellus with his father, Major Martin Cossitt, in 1794. Fours years later the family settled in Mar- cellus village, then known as Nine Mile Creek, where the major died. The latter derived his title from official services in the State militia, and was prominent in the early settlement of that town. His grandfather, Raney Cossitt, son of Raney 2d, was driven out of France with other Huguenots on account of religious convictions, and emigrating to America settled in Connecticut, where he died. Rufus Cossitt ob- tained a good education, was graduated at Hamilton College, read law, was admitted
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to the bar, and practiced his profession for many years at Onondaga Hill as partner of B. D. Noxon, when that village was the county seat and afterward. He was one of the noted lawyers of his day, and during a long and successful career became widely known as an eminent practitioner. He occupied a prominent place at the bar of Onondaga county, and won the esteem, respect, and confidence of all with whom he came in contact.
Mr. Cossitt took a keen interest in the affairs of his town and participated more or less in all public movements. He contributed generously to every worthy enter- prise, aided in various ways in promoting the general welfare, and zealously assisted in advancing the cause of education and religion. His father, Major Martin Cossitt, was one of the original trustees of the Eastern Religious Society, which was organ ized in Marcellus in May, 1802, and which in 1803 built in that village the first church edifice in Onondaga county and the first in fact between New Hartford, Oneida county, and the Pacific Ocean. Rufus Cossitt, in November, 1849, was elected clerk of the county of Onondaga, succeeding Vivus W. Smith, and served in that capacity with ability and credit during one term of three years.
Mr. Cossitt's wife was Eliza, daughter of Baltus Van Kleeck, whose paternal ancestor of the same name built the first school house within the present limits of the city of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1702. It stood on land subsequently owned by Matthew Vassar, who in 1861 founded thereon Vassar College, the first semin- ary of learning for imparting full collegiate education to women established in the world. The Van Kleeck house, a substantial stone structure, was used for purposes of defense and afterward as the meeting place of the inhabitants to consult upon measures of public welfare; in it also assembled the State Legislature under Gov- ernor Clinton in January, 1778, and the State Convention to consider the Federal Constitution on June 17, 1788, when Gov. George Clinton was elected president of that body. Rufus Cossitt died in 1878. His wife was a descendant of the noted Aneke Jans Bogardus, and in the last years of her life signed the quit-claim deed of the Trinity church property in New York city. Mr. and Mrs. Cossitt had one son and three daughters.
Davis Cossitt, son of Rufus and Eliza (Van Kleeck) Cossitt, was born at Onondaga Hill in 1826, and received his education in the public schools and Onondaga Acad- emy. He remained on the farm until 1862, when he enlisted in Co. D, 122d N. Y. Vols. Before the regiment left for the front he was made first lieutenant and four months later was promoted captain, a position he held until he was wounded at Fort Stevens on January 12, 1864, which incapacitated him from further service in the field. He had been in every engagement in which his regiment took part, and had served with distinction and great credit. After being confined in the hospital for about ten months he was honorably discharged in December. 1864, and returning home to Onondaga Hill resumed the management of his farm, which he had pur- chased when seventeen years old and upon which he has since resided.
In politics, in which he has long taken an active interest, Mr. Cossitt is a staunch Republican, and for many years he was a recognized local leader of that party. He represented the town of Onondaga on the Board of Supervisors for three terms and in November, 1873, was elected sheriff of the county, serving in that capacity with rare ability from January 1, 1874, to December 31, 1876. He is a prominent mem-
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ber of Root Post No 151, G. A. R., of Syracuse, and of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion.
Mr. Cossitt was married in 1872 to Miss Mary Geddes, daughter of George Geddes, who died on the 25th of April, 1891.
ROBERT GERE.
ROBERT GERE was born in Groton, Conn., November 26, 1796, received a common school education, and spent his boyhood on the parental farm in his native town. About 1820 he removed to Florida, Montgomery county, N. Y., and became a contrac- tor on the original Erie Canal, in which he was very success- ful. In the spring of 1824 he came with his family to Geddes, settling on a farm about one and one-half miles west of that village, where two brothers, William S. and Charles, located on farms adjoining his, one pre- ceding and the other following him. All purchased their lands from the State, and much of the property still remains in the family. Mr. Gere early gave the site and erected a school house, which he main- tained individually for fifteen years. He also united with a few others in organizing an Episcopal church in Geddes vil- ROBERT GERE. lage.
He was for fifty years actively engaged in manufacturing salt, and in 1832 also embarked in lumbering, engaging with the late Joseph Breed in getting out and shipping to tidewater a large quantity of pine lumber from Cicero swamp. In 1835-36 he and the late Hon. Elizur Clark were heavy contractors in the manufac- ture and delivery of rails and ties for the Utica and Schenectady and the Auburn and Syracuse Railroads. His house was the depot for the latter road when it was operated by horses, before the deep cut farther east was worked through in 1839. In 1843 he removed to Syracuse, formed a partnership with William H. Alexander and Christopher C. Bradley, and engaged in the furnace and foundry business. In 1848 he was appointed superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs and ably filled that office until 1851, when he resigned to become a contractor for the construction of the locks at Salina and the section work of the Liverpool level of the Oswego Canal.
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Soon afterward he and Horace and Hamilton White founded the Geddes Coarse Salt Company, of which he was president until his death. He was the originator, founder, and chief supporter of this and many other industries, including various iron foundries, etc. He was an able business man, energetic, enterprising, and pro- gressive, and contributed materially to the growth and prosperity to both the village and town of Geddes and the village and city of Syracuse. He possessed positive traits of character, great strength of will, a genial, kindly nature, and simplicity of demeanor.
Mr. Gere was married October 25, 1820, to Miss Sophia Stanton, and their children who survived him are Hon. R. Nelson, George C., Anna (Mrs. James J. Belden), Hon. William H. H., and N. Stanton. The sons have held prominent positions in the social, civil, and business life of the county. Mr. Gere died in Syracuse on December 18, 1877.
JAMES JEROME BELDEN.
HON. JAMES JEROME BELDEN, of Syracuse, N. Y., son of Royal Denison Belden, was born in Fabius, Onondaga county, September 30, 1825. He is a direct descend- ant of Richard Belden, of England, who settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1636, founding a family which has numbered among its members officers of the American Revolution, judges, legislators, and successful business men. Mr. Belden's great- grandfather, Moses Belding, of Northfield, Mass., avenged the death of his twin brother, Aaron, who was scalped by the Indians; and Augustus Belding, a genera- tion later, marched in the first company to Cambridge at the Lexington alarm. Among Mr. Belden's ancestors were Capt. Benjamin Wright, Joseph Chamberlain, and Stephen Belding, of the Colonial wars. The original spelling of the name (Belden) was restored by Dr. Joshua Belding in 1772, but not by this line of the family until 1820.
Mr. Belden was educated in Fabius, and at an early age became a clerk in a store in his native town. He immediately showed unusual business ability, and soon left Fabius for wider fields. In 1850 Mr. Belden went to California, where with keen in- sight he engaged in commercial affairs instead of mining. He returned to Syracuse in 1853 and married Anna, daughter of Robert Gere. He then turned his attention to the construction of public works and was first associated with Robert Gere, later with his brother, the late A. Cadwell Belden, and Dr. Henry D. Denison. Among the most important contracts were the first street railways of Detroit and other cities, the enlargement of the locks on the Welland Canal, the Syracuse Northern Railroad, part of the West Shore Railroad, the Croton Reservoir, the Hell Gate im- provements, dredging New York and other harbors, and improving the canals of the State.
The Robert Gere Bank, founded by Mr. Belden and his brother, the late A. C. Belden, in 1880, moved into its present handsome building in 1894. In addition to his property in Syracuse he has large real estate investments in New York city, notably the Manhattan Hotel now in process of erection. He is trustee in the Oak- wood Cemetery Association, trustee of Syracuse University, and president of the Syracuse Gas Company.
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In 1877 the people of Syracuse showed their confidence in Mr. Belden by non- inating him for mayor without his knowledge or consent. He was elected by an unusual majority and gained lasting admiration for the vigor and ability with which hie discharged his duty. He was re-elected the following year by a very largely in- creased majority. He was elected to the 50th Congress and re-elected to the 51st, 52d, and 53d Congresses, and then declined a renomination.
Mr. Belden accepts criticism with good nature, defends his convictions with de- termination, has great force of character and tenacity of purpose, and is as well known for his quiet benevolence as for his political prominence and financial success.
AUGUSTUS CADWELL BELDEN.
AUGUSTUS CADWELL BELDEN, eldest son of Royal Denison Belden, was born in Fabius, June 20, 1820. His grandfathers, Augustus Belding and John Cadwell. were among the pioneers of Onondaga county, coming from Massachusetts and Connecticut early in the century. The old Cadwell house in Fabius, built in 1814, is still standing.
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