USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume II > Part 33
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Clark, Willis G., Concord, p. o. Wyandale .- Foster's Historical Collection, pub- lished in 1817, refers to an indenture dated July 4, 1679, in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Charles II, whereby Jacob Clarke, son of Abraham Clarke, of Bristol, England, tailor, put himself apprentice to William Harris of Pawtuxet in New Eng- land, planter, to serve ten years to learn the calling of a planter. This Jacob Clark was the head of the family of Clarks of which the subject of our sketch is of the sixth generation in this country, the succession being. Abraham, Jacob, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham, Alanson, Willis G. Abraham Clark, grandfather of the last named, was born in the town of Gloucester, Providence county, State of Rhode Island, June 14, 1790, was married to Alice Blackmar of Thompson, Windham county, Conn., February 18, 1816; emigrated to the Holland Purchase in November, 1818, settling on Lot 14, T. 7, R. 8; afterward purchased 200 acres, part of lot 12, same town and range, and moved thereon; his wife dying July 2, 1852, he sold his farm to two of his sons, Lyman and Alanson, and having married bought fifty acres adjoining the Concord line, where he resided a short time when he sold out and re- moved to Evans Center, where he died April 25, 1864. By his first wife he had ten children, of whom Alanson, born April 3, 1824, and Julia C., only child by second marriage, now Mrs. Galvin of Evans, are the only residents of this county. Alanson was married to Florana Palmerton of Collins, February 26, 1854, and moved from North Collins to Concord in January, 1865. Willis Gaylord, their oldest son, was born in the town of North Collins, November 10, 1854; was brought up on the home farm, one half mile east of Wyandale post-office, and educated in the common and select schools in the vicinity, afterward attending Oberlin Commercial College, Oberlin, O., where he graduated in August, 1874; he has had a wide experience as a teacher, teaching his first term at eighteen years and last at thirty-eight, and still holds, at forty-three years of age, a valid first grade certificate. He was married February 3, 1886, to Mary J., daughter of Frederick L. Maltby of Eden; they have seven children: Frederick Alanson, born, April 20, 1887; Beulah Sophia, born November 19, 1888; Walter Roland, born December 5, 1890; Irma Florene, Norma Irene, twins, born October 3, 1892; Wilma Isabelle, born December 14, 1894; Willis Gaylord, jr., born December 27, 1896. Mr. Clark is one of the representative men of his town, serving eight years as justice of the peace, and in 1893 and 1894 rep- resenting the town of Concord on the Board of Supervisors; at present he is the supervisor-elect of the town for the years 1898-1899.
Leland, H. G., Concord, p. o. Springville, was born in Hinsdale, N. Y., August 18, 1847. His father, William O. Leland, is one of the most prominent men of that county, and is engaged in the mercantile and banking business, taking an active part in the development of his town and county interests. He married Amanda, daughter of Capt. William Vinton, and are the parents of four sons, three of whom are connected with the First National Bank of Springville. The family trace their ancestors from Henry Leland, who came from England in 1652 and settled in Massa- chusetts. A Leland was one of the pioneers of Cattaraugus county, where the family have been among the leaders since 1825. H. G. Leland was educated in the public schools in Hinsdale and Buffalo, and at the age of seventeen began his life work. He entered the Cuba National Bank in 1866, in connection with his father and Gen. Calvin T. Chamberlain, established a private banking house at Springville, which in
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1883 was merged into the First National Bank. In 1871 he married Bianca, daugh- ter of E. S. Pierce. Mr. Leland is one of the most prominent business men of Erie county, who is ever ready to aid and advance the best interests of his town and its people.
Ostrander, Aaron, Concord, p. o. Springville, was born in Montgomery county, N. Y., June 1, 1830. His father, Solomon Ostrander, and family, were among the early settlers of Schenectady county. In 1847 Albert, Jacob and Aaron came to the town of Concord and purchased a farm, making a specialty of dairying. In 1865 Mr. Ostrander married Diantha King.
Smith, Laban W., Concord, p. o. Springville, was born in the town of Concord, March 8, 1835, and is a son of William Smith, who came to the town of Concord with his parents about 1810, and was one of the pioneer settlers of the town. In 1828 he built one of the first grocery stores in Springville. He died in 1870 at the age of sixty-eight years. Laban W. was educated at Springville. In 1862 he was married to Mary A., daughter of Ezekiel Pingrey, one of the early pioneers of Cat- taraugus county; she was born March 31, 1841. They have had five children: Wal- lace L., born June 17, 1865, married, August 29, 1888, to Jennie E. Prior and have two children, Edward L., born October 14, 1889, and Florence L., born November 16, 1891; Alice H., born March 10, 1868, married, June 27, 1888, to T. T. Clark of Collins and have three children, Albert I., born November 2, 1889, Tracy G., born June 21, 1891, and Hattie E., born August 16, 1893; Albert E., born March 18, 1868, died June 16, 1869; Herbert R., born September 27, 1874, married, November 21, 1894, to Mamie E. Evans; Isidore E., born October 13, 1876.
Brooks, Mark N., M. D., Concord, p. o. Springville, was born in Colden, June 18, 1861, and is a son of Nathaniel Brooks, who was a native of Erie county. The family came from Vermont and the Hon. John Brooks was the first to come to Erie county, where he was a prominent man. Nathaniel Brooks married Betsey, daughter of Amasa Aldrich, who is a farmer. Dr. Brooks was educated at the Griffith Institute, graduating from the Buffalo Medical College in 1884, and in the same year estab- lished his present practice in Springville, N. Y. In 1887 he married Anna J., daugh- ter of David M. Woodward; they are the parents of one son and one daughter, Homer W. and Laura M. Dr. Brooks is a member of the Erie County Medical So- sciety and the New York State Medical Association, and is also a member of the United States Pension Examining Board.
Foote Family, The, 1897, Concord, p. o. Springville .- Harry Foote is of New Eng- land parentage, his ancestors having been among the first settlers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, arriving there in 1639. Born in Cattaraugus county A. D. 1832, March 22, educated in the common schools of those times, attending district school in winter and working on the farm in summer, implies but a limited knowledge of the curriculum of that day; alternating teaching with farming and mechanical pur- suits for a few years, but for the past thirty years has made farming the primary avocation of life; living on the old homestead in Concord, Erie county, N. Y., fifty- three years, or from March, 1839, to October 7, 1892, when he moved to Springville, N. Y., where he now resides a retired farmer. February 11, 1864, he married Jennie Rollo Calkins, born August 23, 1838, daughter of William Calkins. His
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father, Ransford Thomas Foote, was a native of Watertown, Litchfield county, Conn., where he was born January 6, 1806. He was a man of marked integrity and always willing to extend a helping hand to his fellow man. The vicissitudes of pioneer life were manfully met and by indefatigable perseverance he ultimately hewed out a comfortable home amidst the primeval wilderness of the Holland Land Purchase. His wife, Susan Atwood Foote, was born in Woodbury, Litchfield county, Conn., December 2, 1805; they were married November 16, 1828, in Con- necticut, moved to Unadilla in 1829 where they remained one year, and then came to Otto, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., in 1830, three score and seven years ago, where they lived for six years, and then moved to Colden, Erie county, engaging in the boot and shoe manufacturing business for three years, and in March, 1839, moved to Concord, Erie county, when thirty-three years old, and continued to reside on the old homestead until his decease, April 6, 1891, aged eighty-five years and three months, having lived on the same farm fifty-two years continuously. The wayfarer always met with the hospitable hand of welcome at their humble home. Susan Atwood Foote died September 12, 1890, aged eighty-four years, nine months and ten days. Their married life embraced a period of nearly sixty-two years. The memo- ries of a pleasant life on the farm associated with father and mother come back with responsive emotions. The same silver streams go purling on their course-the ripples will ripple on just as happy-the sunshine will kiss the hills and valleys just as warmly and lovingly-the herds of cattle will be ruminating on the green pas- tures just as meekly and quietly, but other eyes will be looking on them-other hearts will throb and burn with hopes, ambitions, loves, joys and sorrows as of old. The grateful sunbeams kissing landscapes are mementoes of a happy life on the old farm. Wishing to perpetuate some of the more impressive incidents of pioneer life of the Foote family, I herewith transcribe the following reminiscences as dictated by Susan Foote to a local historian and biographical writer (Erasmus Briggs), who compiled an elaborate town history of Concord in 1883. The following from the pages of Briggs's history will strikingly serve to illustrate the marked difference in the methods, manner of life, economy and persistent push of the times and people of three-quarters of a century ago: " It took us four days to go from Buffalo to Otto, Cattaraugus county; the first winter we lived in a log house with another family named Butterfield; the house was 18 by 20 feet, the floor was split out of basswood logs, and there was but one six-lighted window. The sash were small slats nailed together and paper was pasted over the sash, then greased and used as a substitute for glass, and in the center there was a small piece of glass, as large as the palm of one's hand, fitted so that we could look out. The chimney had a stone back up a few feet, but no jambs; the top was finished out with sticks. Some time during the first winter, about ten o'clock one night, I was up at work hatcheling flax, all the others in the house having gone to bed, when I heard my geese squall fearfully outside, near the house. I went out and saw a large animal near the geese. I tried to scare him, but he stood there some time, and when he turned up his head to look at me, his eyes shown like two balls of fire; he finally went away. I told Mr. Butter- field what I had seen, and he went out and examined the tracks, and said it was a catamount. The wolves then were very numerous. I have often listened to their howlings in the night, and they very often killed sheep in the neighborhood and in the different parts of the town, and the inhabitants generally turned out at different
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times to hunt and destroy them out of town. Deer were very thick then; I have frequently seen them in the fields and near the house. One morning I looked out and saw five fine deer feeding beside the garden fence. The second year after we we came to Otto we had managed to get two cows, and I made butter and had saved up a considerable quantity. I wanted some groceries, and Mr. Foote took his oxen and carried me and some of the neighboring women to Lodi (now Gowanda) ten miles to trade. We started before daylight and forded the Cattaraugus Creek, and when we arrived at Mr. Plumb's store he asked us what we wanted to get for our butter. I told him I would like to get some groceries; he said he could not sell groceries for butter, but would let me have shelf goods: he said he was then paying six cents for butter (just previous he had paid five cents). So I had to sell my butter for shelf goods and go home without any groceries. Since that time I have sold butter for fifty cents a pound, cash. The second year after we came to Otto our tax was one dollar and fifty cents, and when Mr. Allen, the collector, came for the tax, Mr. Foote told him he had no money and that he knew of no way to get any. Mr. Allen kindly said to him that he had some money and that he would pay the tax, and Mr. Foote, who was a shoemaker, might come over to his house and make up some shoes for his family, which he did. We afterwards in the time and during the late Civil war paid $150 tax per year, and we paid the tax easier than we could raise that one dollar and fifty cents in money at that time, such being the scarcity and great difficulty in getting money. The first farm vehicle we had for winter use was an ox-sled, shaped and fashioned from the crooked trunk of a tree, and for summer use we had a cart made from the cross section of the trunk of a large tree. Our only way of carrying on trade relations with the commercial center [Buffalo] was by the use of ox teams, and the time necessary to make the round trip was usually eight or ten days; now the steam cars make the same trip in half as many hours." The wants and necessities of those early times wrought many a domestic device for the relief and needs of the early settlers. The processes than in vogue for converting the cereals, flax and wool into webs of cloth for wearing apparel, were primitive. The flax wheel and distaff, the hand carding, the woolen wheel and loom, were indispensable and in general use. The mothers of blessed memory wrought the warp and woof with tireless energy. The deeds of the mothers should be hallowed in memory above all things else, and may God bless them! for most of them have fulfilled their missions and the wheels have ceased their turning, their inspiring music has ceased; these mementoes are now scrupuously preserved and cherished and now connect the present with the past; they are souvenirs of a past epoch-now silent reminders of the log cabin and hovel, which served to shelter them from the biting blasts of winter. And for them the brittle thread of life's distaff has been broken; but never let the memory of them depart, in the glitter and glow of modern days; give them the warmest place in your hearts and whenever you breathe their names let it be in the holy and sacred depths of affection .- COMMUNICATED.
Woodward, Ira Carr, Concord, p. o. Springville, was born in the town of Con- cord, May 3, 1847. His father, Ira Woodward, came to the town of Concord about the year 1820, and was one of the pioneers of his town, settling on Horton Hill. He married Anna Carr, November 8, 1817, and through life was identified as a farmer. Ira C. Woodward was educated in the common snhools and at the age of seventeen
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went to Buffalo and engaged in business, establishing a wholesale upholstering busi- ness in 1868. In 1864 he commenced selling goods on the road and is one of the oldest traveling men in the furniture business, representing and handling the out- put of several of the largest furniture manufacturers in the United States. In 1887 he formed a copartnership with John P. Myers. In 1889 Emory A. Drake was ad- mitted as a partner and the house with its branch at Buffalo, under the firm name of Myers, Woodward & Drake, was one of the largest cold storage and commission houses in Western New York. The business at present is owned by Ira C. Wood- ward and conducted at Springville, N. Y. In 1868 he married Viola A., daughter of Ephraim T. Briggs. Mr. Woodward is one of the representative business men of his town, serving as president of the village for seven years. Natural gas, the Holly system of water works and electric lights were added during his adminis- tration.
Weeden, George W., Concord, p. o. Springville, was born on the Weeden home- stead, May 26, 1832. His father, William Weeden, was a native of Rutland county, town of Danby, Vt, and came to Erie county in 1818. He married Amy Chafee for his first wife, and Anna Paine for his second. He served in the war of 1812 and died in 1867. George W. Weeden was educated at Springville Academy, and in 1854 married Cornelia Stone and had one child, Willis L. Weeden, born Novem- ber 22, 1855; he is a graduate of Hamilton College. George W. Weeden again mar- ried, in 1863, Jennie L. Eaton.' Mr. Weeden still resides on the homestead which has been in the family for sixty-seven years, and he has served as assessor nine years and as a trustee of his village.
Timm, Frederick, Hamburg, was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, April 10, 1848, and came to America with his parents when he was seventeen years old, locating in the town of West Seneca. He married twice; first, on April 4, 1870, to Louise Vogel of Hamburg, N. Y., and they had two children: William, born May 20, 1873, and Louise, born May 11, 1875. Mrs. Timm died in 1883, and for his second wife he married Nellie Dougherty of Hamburg, formerly of Canada, September 16, 1887, and they had four children: Franklin L., born June 4, 1888; Charles L., born De- cember 21, 1889; Frederick J., born October 16, 1892; and Charlotte Clare, born January 3, 1896. Mr. Timm's father, Frederick, was born at the old home in Ger- many, March 29, 1823. He married Louisa Ghents of his native place, and they had one son, Frederick, as above. They came to America in 1865, and he died January 9, 1893; his widow survives him at this date (1896).
Kelleher, W. A., Hamburg, was born in Canada, June 29, 1865. He was edu- cated there and his boyhood days were spent on the farm. In 1880 he came to Buf- falo, where he learned the trade of carriage woodwork with Henry Brunn of Eagle Street, Buffalo. Finding that his health began to fail in 1884, he entered the em- ploy of the Erie Railroad as brakeman; he was soon promoted to the position of conductor and continued so until this date (1897). April 6, 1891, he married Ana- tasia Whyte, also of Canada, who died March 5, 1897. Mr. Kelleher's father, Thomas, was born in Canada about 1836; he married Helen Dunk, also of Canada; they had four children, William A., James, Patrick H. and Mary A. James is pro- prietor of the Central House in Soo Ste. Marie, Mich .; Patrick H. is in Roseland,
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B. C., proprietor of one of the largest news stands in British Columbia; Mary A. remains at home with her parents.
Emeigh, Mrs. Priscilla, Hamburg .- Mrs. Emeigh's father, Peris Cobb, was born in the State of Massachusetts in the year 1790 and came to the town of Boston, Erie county, N. Y., when sixteen years old and was one of the earliest settlers of the town. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was married twice, first to Tirzah Knapp, and they had ten children. Mrs. Cobb died on April 25, 1855, and for his second wife he married Martha Le Clair. Mr. Cobb died in 1870 and his wife in 1895.
Eno, Joseph H., Hamburg, was born in Lincolnshire, England, November 25, 1841, and came to America with his parents when twelve years old, locating in Hamburg, N. Y. He worked summers and attended school winters. January 2, 1865, he married Emogene, daughter of Stephen Northup, and they have one daughter, Alice E. Mr. Eno engaged in the coal, wood, etc., business, in partnership with his brother, Charles B., under the firm name of Eno Bros., which continued until May, 1889, when Joseph P. Drummer, jr., bought his interest and the firm became Eno & Drummer, which has continued since with success. Mr. Eno is a member of Fra- ternal Lodge No. 625, F. &. A. M., and has been a member of the Board of Educa- tion nine years and president of the board three years.
Brodbeck, Jacob, Hamburg, was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, July 10, 1846, and came to America the following year with his parents, locating in the town of Hamburg, Erie county, N. Y., where he has always resided and been one of Hamburg's successful farmers. February 22, 1870, he married Mary Bayer of this town, formerly of Germany, and they had five children: Jacob (who died in infancy), Jacob C., Daniel W., John F. and Annie B. Jacob C. married Rosina Frank of the town of Boston. Mr. Brodbeck's father, Jacob, was born at the old home in Germany, August 14, 1818. He married Mrs. Mary B. Weyblen, and they had one son, Jacob (as above). She died January 23, 1893, and he April 22, 1895. Mrs. Brodbeck's parents, Daniel and Appolonia Bayer, were also born in Wurtem- berg, Germany, he in 1818 and she in 1809.
Kruse, William B., Hamburg, was born in Prussia, Germany, August 15, 1842, and educated in their schools. He came to America with his parents in 1852, locating in the town of Hamburg. He carried on farming for a while, but he is now proprietor of the Center House at Hamburg. June 1, 1868, he married Sophronia Koelmel, and they have five daughters, Mary M., Jennie D., Elizabeth A., Blandina M. and Ver- onica R. His oldest daughter, Mary M., married John Burns of Middletown, N. Y., February 18, 1892, making him grandfather of her three sons, William H., Timothy F. and Robert L. Burns. Mr. Kruse in his political choice is a staunch Democrat. His father, John B. Kruse, was born in Germany, March 8, 1810, and married Diana Willing of his native place, and they had five children, William B. (as above), Jane D., Christine, Adeline and John. Mr. Kruse died March 4, 1879, and his widow sur- vives at this date, 1896.
Drummer, George A., Hamburg .- His father, Joseph, was born in Dietzhof, Bavaria, Germany, October 22, 1827, where he was educated and came to America, locating in the town of Hamburg, N. Y., where he has had a number of occupations.
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May 16, 1855, Johanna E. Fink of Hamburg, formerly of Germany, and they had four children, Charlotte, Henry G., Johanna and Andrew G. Mrs. Drummer died January 30, 1864, and for his second wife he married Adeline Fink, and they had seven children, Frances, Joseph P., George A. (as above), Josephine, Matilda, Louise and Emma. Mr. Drummer built the Drummer House at the station in 1874, which he has con- ducted since with success. Charlotte married George Winter, and they have three children, Joseph, Charlotte and Charles; Henry G. married Ella Link, and they have one daughter, Ethel; Johanna married George Beehler, and they have two children, Jessie and Howard; Andrew G. married Georgia Delaney, and they have one daughter, Frances. George A. is confidential clerk in the Third National Bank of Buffalo.
Bensley, George A., Hamburg, was born in Dayton, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., November 28, 1863. His parents moved to Little Valley when he was five years old, where he was educated in the public schools, also at Ten Brook Academy and at the High School at Kent, Ohio. He has been stenographer and amanuensis in the Manufacturers' & Traders' Bank of Buffalo for the past ten years, and was elected president of the village of Hamburg in March, 1896. July 24, 1886, he married Margaret E., daughter of Morris and Margaret Woodruff, and they have two sons, Maurice D. and Maynard G. Mr. Bensley's father, Darius, was born in Ashford, N. Y., in 1826 and married Hannah Chase of his native county, and they have had three sons.
Stein, Andrew, Hamburg, was born in the town of Eden, Erie county, N. Y., March 2, 1845, and was educated in the public schools. He came to Hamburg, Feb- ruary 22, 1862, where he conducted a meat market for twenty-five years with success. For the past four years he has had an interest in the Hamburg Planing Mill Co. and is its general manager. December 3, 1866, he married Barbara Hauck, and they had five children: Joseph M , Edward J., Louise K., Emma I. and Margaret. Mr. Stein's father, Jacob, was born in Germany and came to America when nineteen years old, where he married Susan Lauer, and they had thirteen children. Andrew Stein is a member of the G. A. R., F. & A. M. and other lodges. He has represented the town as supervisor for four years.
Kelly, Fayette, Hamburg, was born in the town of Boston, Erie county, N. Y., June 5, 1850. He was edcuated in the public schools and Aurora Academy from which institution he was graduated in 1872, and from Hamilton College in 1876. He taught classics in Tarrytown Institute six years and returned to Hamburg, N. Y., where he. became principal of Hamburg Academy one year. He then began the practice of law in Buffalo and has a branch office in Hamburg. In August, 1886, he married Katherine B., daughter of Rev. Judson B. Keyes. Mr. Kelly is a member of Frater- nal Lodge No. 625, F. & A. M., and has been master of the lodge three years; he is also a member of the Bar Association of Buffalo, N. Y.
Titus, Orvill, Hamburg, p. o. Windom, was born in the town of East Hamburg, N. Y., July 4, 1841. November 21, 1861, he married Dorothy L. Vogel, and they had seven children: Charles P., Louisa L., Lottie H., Estella C., Hattie M., Henry J. and Jessie E. Charles P. married Carrie Pelzer; Louisa L. married Edward Schaffer; Estella C. married John Branmiller. Mr. Titus's father, John, was born
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