Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 122

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co.
Number of Pages: 1612

USA > New York > Oneida County > Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York; > Part 122

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Dodge, Jesse E., son of the late Hiram, was born in Graefenberg. Herkimer county, N. Y., January 4, 1864, and was educated in the public schools of his native town and of Utica and at the Utica Business College. He was for six years in the employ of M. M. Northrup, manufacturer of candies, of Utica, and on February 3, 1885, entered the employ of Newell & Rowe, wholesale and retail dealers in paints, wall paper, window glass, etc. He remained with them and their successors, Newell, Rowe & Rathbun, Newell & Rathbun, and J. W. Rathbun as bookkeeper, until December 1, 1893, when the establishment was destroyed by fire. Mr. Rathbun died soon afterward, and January 1, 1894, Mr. Dodge formed a partnership with E. J. Snyder, under the firm name of Dodge & Snyder, purchased the business, and has since continued with success.

Ellinwood, Reuben C., was born on the farm where he now lives, July 20, 1827, son of Capt. Reuben Ellinwood, who was born in Massachusetts and came to the town of Kirkland, then a part of Paris, with his father, Hanania Ellinwood, where they cleared a farm on which Reuben C. now resides. Reuben Ellinwood married Eunice Hart, and Reuben C. is the youngest of fourteen children, and was edu- cated in the district schools and the Clinton Liberal Institute, after which he en- gaged in farming. He now owns a fine farm of 100 acres.

Cleveland, Charles F., son of Daniel was born in Hartford, Washington county, N. Y., August 4, 1845. His grandfather, Horace Cleveland, of Warren county, N. Y., served in the Revolutionary war and died upwards of ninety years of age. Daniel Cleveland married Alameda Dickinson, whose grandfathers, Thomas Dickinson and Mr. Stockwell, served in the Revolution. She died in Utica July 4, 1893. He is a carpenter and came to Utica in 1855. Charles F. Cleveland was educated in the public schools of Utica, learned the trade of marble cutting at the age of fifteen with R. C. Dodge and remained with him until 1861. On May 3 of that year he enlisted in Co. C, 26th N. Y. Vols., Col. William II. Christian, and served till May 23, 1863, being honorably discharged in Utica. He was wounded at the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, and was in the general hospital, Patterson Park, Baltimore, about two months when he returned to his regiment. Ile participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Va., August 9, 1862; Rappahannock Station, August, 1862; Thoroughfare Gap, second Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, Md., Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and numerous skirmishes, and was presented with a handsome medal by Congress for gallantry at Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862, for volunteering to carry the colors through the fight and saving them. Returning from the war, he resumed his trade and on June 1, 1874, was appointed patrolman on the police force. He was promoted sergeant in May, 1882, detective September 1, 1877, and still holds the latter position. He is a member of Oriental Lodge, F. & A. M., Oneida Chapter R. A. M., and Fort Schuyler Council R. A., and is a charter member of Post John F. McQuade, No. 14, G. A. R. He is also a member of the Exempt Firemen's Association and of the 26th Regiment Veterans' Association, and a charter member of the 40 Rounds Veterans' Association. In 1865 he married Cath- erine Teresa, daughter of Thomas and Mary Burns, of Utica, and their children are Joseph F., Charles F., jr., (died in 1872), James V., and Grover.

Martin, Asa F., was born January 14, 1861, in Whitesboro, Oneida county, where

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his father, Martin Fitch Martin, still resides. The latter came there from Salem, Washington county, about 1850, and for several years was a proprietor of a stage line between Utica and Whitesboro and Westmoreland, and later had a livery stable Mr. Martin was educated in the public schools and seminary of his native village and in Utica, engaged in the livery business with his father, under the firm name of M. F. Martin & Son, from 1888 to 1892, and in the latter year came to Utica and pur- chased of his uncle, Pliny F. Martin, the Mansion Stables in Fayette street. P. F. Martin built this establishment about 1877. In October, 1881, Asa F. Martin married Sarah, daughter of James H. Peek, of New York Mills.

Brownell, Jonathan, was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., July 29, 1844. He was educated in the district schools, and is a farmer by occupation. August 11, 1862, lie enlisted in Co. D, 134th N. Y. Vols., was in Fredericksburg battles, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, where he was wounded in the thigh, taken prisoner and paroled on the field, was then transferred to the Western army, and was with General Sherman in his march to the sea, also participated at the close of the war in the grand march through Washington. He was honorably discharged June 22. 1865. In 1867 he married Catherine Hawley, who died in 1868, and in 1871 he married for his second wife, Hannah M. Dygert, of Oneida, N. Y., by whom he had five children: John A., Flora E., Edith M., Susie R., George L., William T. S., and Earl J. Flora E. mar- ried Harvey Renwick, of Blossville, and they have one daughter, Ethel M. Mr. Brownell's father, Jonathan Brownell, was born in Rensselaer Co., N. Y., in 1810, and was educated in the common schools. He married Mary A. Ostrander, by whom he had three children: Nancy, Robert, and Jonathan, as above. Mrs. Brownell died December 5, 1845, and Mr. Brownell in 1894. Mrs. Brownell's father, John Dygert, was born at Fort Plain, Montgomery county, N. Y., in 1815, and came to Oneida, Madison county, with his parents, when three years of age, where his father was killed by the Indians in his own doorway. He married Betsey Phillips, of Oneida, by whom he had five children: Thomas, Eliza, John, Hannah M., as above, and Alamanzo. He died in 1887, and his wife in 1856. Mrs. Dygert's grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812. Mr. Brownell is a member of Joseph H. Warren Post, No. 615, G. A. R., in which he has filled all of the offices with the exception of chaplain.

Nelbach, John, was born May 2, 1826, in Cologne, Germany, and learned the trade of cabinetmaker in his native town. He served as a soldier for several years, both before and after the revolution of 1848, and was promoted corporal. In 1853 he came to America and settled in Utica where he followed his trade until the fall of 1854, when he engaged in business on Genesee street, being one of a corporation of eighteen members called the Union Cabinet Association. He was at various times its secretary, treasurer, and vice-president. Six years later eight of the members retired, and the other eight continued under the same firm name until 1871, when the business was discontinued. This company manufactured and sold furniture and cabinet ware, and also conducted an undertaking establishment. In 1871 Mr. Nelbach and his brother, Peter J., as Nelbach & Co., established a similar business and carried it on until 1876, when the firm dissolved and divided the stock. John Nelbach then started his present business in Fayette street. He manufactures and deals extensively in furniture and also does undertaking. He is a member of

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the Germania Industrial Trial Association, and has several times been its president. He is also a member and was formerly president, secretary, treasurer, etc., of the Remmer Catholic Benevolent Society, is president of St. Joseph's Benevolent Society, and is ex-president of the Sovereign Association. He is a Democrat and was super- visor of the Sixth ward two years, and was a member of the building committee of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church. He is also a member of St. Bonaventure's Society of St. Mary's church, and a prominent supporter of the foregoing and other institutions. June 11, 1853, he was married in Cologne, Germany, to Barbara Dein- man, and they have four children: Gertrude (Mrs. Inatz Schoeller), John N., Charles B., and Christina (deceased). The two sons are associated with their father.

Jenny & Nelbach, manufacturers of and dealers in granite and marble monuments, became a firm in 1885. Francis X. Jenny, the senior member, was born in Rankweil, Voralberg, Tyrol, Germany, April 18, 1848, learned the trade of marble cutting in his native country, and came to America in February, 1869, settling in Utica. In 1871 he started business for himself in Boonville, but the following year sold out and established the works in Utica which in 1885 passed into the hands of Jenny &Nelbach. January 31, 1872, he married Anna Schreck, of Utica. Their oldest son is Frank J. Jenny (the well known bicycle rider). Joseph J. Nelbach was born at Kerpen, near Cologne, Germany, in 1858, and came to America in August, 1872. He married Josephine, daughter of Frank and Anna Schreck, of Utica, and a sister of Mrs. Jenny. The firm of Jenny & Nelbach is among the leading manufacturers of statuary, family vaults, art monuments, and sarcophgi, in Central New York, and has executed work all over the State. Many of their monuments are noteworthy. In Forest Hill cemetery, Utica, are the John Thorn, John Thomas, George F. Weaver, Pritchard, Rutherford, Hughes. McMullen, Colling, Binder, and other artistic specimens. In St. Agnes's are the Costello, Maher, Ladow, Father Daley, and Farrell monuments, and in St. Joseph's may be mentioned those of Weiss and Dehs, George Windheim, Helfert, and Spath, and the cemetery cross. Besides they have set up scores of monuments in Syracuse, Canastota, Iligginsville, Auburn, Ithaca, Clayville, West Winfield, Unadilla Forks, Richfield Springs, Cooperstown, Waterville, Geneva, Middleville, Herkimer, Richmondville, Brookfield, Albany, Rochester, Oswego, New York city, and Buffalo, in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and even in Siam, Asia. In fact many of the cemeteries within a radius of 500 miles con- tain notable examples of their work.

Donnelley, William T., son of Patrick, a native of Ireland and one of the oldest Irish settlers of Utica, was born in Utica, September 7, 1860, and received a public school education. He followed the trade of baker for seven years and the shoe- maker's trade for nine years, during three of which he was foreman of H. J. Hol- brook's shoe factory. In the spring of 1895 he formed with his brother-in-law, John J. Barry, the firm of W. T. Donnelley & Co., and engaged in the gents' furnishing business. He is a member of the A. O, H., and is somewhat active in Democratic politics.

Clark, Hiram G., son of Hiram S. (born in Crown Point, N. Y., and moved to Vermont when a young man), and grandson of Elam, was born in Brandon, Rutland county, Vt., August 6, 1843, was educated in the public schools of his native town

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and in Brandon Seminary, and taught school there for three or four terms. In 1864 he went to Syracuse, N. Y., as bookkeeper for Jacob Pinkerton & Co., and in the fall of 1867 came to Utica, where he engaged in the same employment for Harrison Gil- more, a coal dealer. In 1871 he formed a partnership under the firm name of H. G. Clark & Co., which continued until 1890, Mr. Gilmore being an inactive partner. In that year Mr. Clark succeeded to the business and in the spring of 1891 formed a partnership with T. L. German, as Clark & German, consolidating with his own the coal business of Hiram Gilmore & Co., in which Mr. German was interested. This firm still continues and carries on a large coal and wood trade. Mr. Clark was for several years a trustee of the First M. E. church. He is now a trustee of Grace M. E. church and a trustec of the Y. M. C. A. since the erection of the new building in 1888, and for the past four years has served as secretary of the board.

Dimbleby, Wesley, was born September 1, 1838, in Oriskany, Oneida county, is a son of John, who came to America from England and settled on a farm in the town of Marcy at a very early day. Later John Dimbleby moved to Oriskany village, and in 1865 came to Utica, where he died in 1880. He was a local M. E. preacher and a man highly respected. Wesley Dimbleby was educated at Oriskany, and when six- teen came to Utica and entered the employ of A. E. Culver's warehouse and canal boat establishment. Later he learned the molder's trade in Hart & Dagwell's (now Hart & Crouse's) foundry, where he remained until April, 23, 1861, when he enlisted in the Citizen's Corps. At Albany he was transferred to Co. B, 14th N. Y. Vols., was promoted corporal, and served two years in the Rebellion. He was wounded at the battle of Malvern Hill and discharged on account of wounds at Harrison's Landing on July 25, 1863. Returning to Utica he went to work for Hart & Dagwell and remained there till the shop was closed. In 1858 he joined the old volunteer fire department as a member of Washington No. 7, Rough and Ready Hose, of which he was assistant foreman and later foreman. In 1866 he was elected chief engineer and re-elected until 1874, when the present fire department was organized. He was at once appointed chief engineer of the new organization by the board of police and fire commissioners and has ever since held that position to the entire satisfaction of both his associates and the public at large. Mr. Dimbleby is a charter member of Security Lodge Knights of Honor and of Post McQuade, No. 4 G. A. R. He is also a member of the Exempt Firemen's Association and National Fire Chief Engineers, and representative of the Firemen's Benevolent Association.

Childs, William Tapping, was born in Utica July 1, 1862. Lucius Curtiss Childs, his father, was the second child of Parker Morse and Sabina (Robinson) Child, and was born in Exeter, Otsego county, November 24, 1831. His ancestor, Benjamin Child, came to America from England about 1630 and died in Roxbury, Mass., in 1678. A valuable family genealogy, prepared by the late Reverend Elias Child, of Utica, gives the unbroken lineage of his descendants, many of whom were promi- nent in civil, commercial and military life. Lucius C. Childs learned the trade of printer and first established himself in business in Boonville, Oneida county, where he was the editor and publisher of the Boonville Herald, a paper devoted to the in- terests of the old Whig party. Several years later he sold out and came to Utica, where he started a general book and job printing establishment, which has ever since been successfully continued by the family. After four years he formed a part-

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nership with his brother-in-law Henry H. Curtiss, and in 1884 the present firm of L. C. Childs & Son was organized. Mr. Childs was a successful business man and a public spirited citizen, and died in Utica July 31, 1895. January 13, 1853, he married Anna Jane, daughter of Isaac and Jane Tapping, of Utica, who survives him. Their children were Charles Parker, born October 10, 1854, died July 30, 1862; Alice Jane, born August 20, 1857; William Tapping, born July 1, 1862; and Carrie Louise, born December 17, 1867. William T. Childs became a member of the firm of L. C. Childs & Son in 1884 and upon his father's death succeeded to the management of the busi- ness which consists of general printing, lithographing, and blank book manufactur- ing. In July, 1882, he married S. Alice, daughter of John G. Fowler, of Utica, and their children are Lulu C., Mabel L. and Johnson F.

Storrs, William Mansfield, was born in Utica and is a son of Shubael Storrs and grandson of Ebenezer, who served as a private in Captain Experience Storrs's Com- pany, Third Connecticut Continental regiment, in the Revolutionary war. Shubael Storrs came to Utica from Mansfield Conn., in 1803. He died July 29, 1847. Will- iam M. Storrs was educated in the Utica Academy, and in 1860 engaged in the fancy goods business, in which he continued eighteen years, at 71 Genesee street. In 1880 he took charge of the office of the American Express Company, a position he has since filled with credit and ability. He has long been a director in the Utica and Binghamton Railroad Company, and has been prominent in many other business enterprises for the last twenty-five years. Ile was an active member of the Utica Citizens' Corps from 1853 to the time of its entering the N. Y. State Guard, holding every office in its gift. He is a warden of Trinity Episcopal church, and in all mat- ters of a public nature takes a lively interest. In 1861 he married Harriet L., daugh- ter of John Butterfield, a prominent citizen of Utica, and they have living four children: Henry C., Mrs. E. W. Haslehurst, E. Virginia and Sophia B.

Goodsell, Lawton B., was born in Westmoreland December 24, 1826, son of Sam- uel P. and Mercy (Barker) Goodsell. Samuel P. Goodsell was born in Washington county in 1792, and moved to Westmoreland about 1802. His father, Jacob Good- sell, was among the earliest settlers in the township. Samuel P. Goodsell engaged in the manufacturing business, was a farmer, and was also a soldier in the war of 1812, where he was stationed, part of the time, at Sackett's Harbor. His entire life was passed in the township of Westmoreland, where he died May 8, 1873, at the age of eighty-two. Mrs. Goodsell, his wife, was born in 1879, in Washington county, and removed here with her parents in 1805, where she lived to be ninety years old. Lawton B. Goodsell was educated in Westmoreland, and engaged in farming, which he still continues. He has a fine farm of 140 acres all under a good state of cultiva- tion, occupying one of the most eligible locations in the township. Mr. Goodsell is a staunch Republican, and one of the most active supporters of his party. He has been assessor of the town thirteen years. He married Cordelia Stevens of Lewis county, by whom he had three children: Cornelia M., wife of George Thomas, who died August 8, 1886, aged thirty-one years, lda M., married to Menzo Corey of Deansboro, N. Y., and Sarah M., married to M. A. Shafer of Utica. Mr. Goodsell and family are members of the Baptist church.

Euin, Joseph F., was born in Utica, N. Y., son of the late Joseph Euin, who was

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born in Ireland, and came to the United States, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business in Utica. He married Ann Daley, of Ireland, by whom he had five children: Mary A., Francis A., Eliza J., Joseph F. and William T. J. F. Euin was educated in the schools of Utica, and was graduated from the Academy in 1862. He was first employed by the Western Union Telegraph Company; then as clerk in the Utica, Clinton and Binghamton Railroad Company's office, and in 1868 was appointed station and express agent at Clinton, where he has remained up to this time, notwithstanding all the changes of said road.

French, James G., was born in Whitestown (now New Hartford), Oneida county, November 9, 1823, and is a son of John French, whose birth occurred in the same house about 1798. John French, sr., grandfather of James G., came here with Judge Jedediah Sanger from New Hampshire, and settled in New Hartford, two and one- half miles south of Utica. John, jr., was for many years a prominent citizen and figures largely in the history of the town and vicinity. He died in 1886. His wife was Almira, daughter of Robert Gilmore, another early pioneer of New Hartford, and of their thirteen children eight are living, viz: Mrs. A. J. Lord, Thomas, Will- iam M., Henry C., and Daniel, of New Hartford ; James G., of Utica; Francis M., of Morehouseville, New York; and Mrs. Abbie Pendergast, of Norwich, N. Y. An- other, John, died in 1894. James G. French came to Utica in July, 1839, and has ever since made this city his home. He read law with Dexter Gilmore, and was admitted to the bar here in 1847 and practiced his profession successfully until about 1864, when he engaged in the insurance business. In 1866 he accepted a position in the county clerk's office, where he has since remained.

Wood, Francis C., son of George W., was born in Utica March 8, 1837. George W. Wood came to Utica from Vermont about 1834, engaged in the hardware and foundry business, and died while on a trip to New York city in 1854. He was a director in the Bank of Utica and a trustee and one of the building committee of Westminster church. Francis G. Wood was one of the first graduating class of what is now the Utica Free Academy. He was graduated from Princeton University in 1858, pursued his legal studies at Columbia Law School in New York city under Professor Dwight, and was admitted to practice in 1860. He became managing clerk in the office of Roscoe Conkling and Montgomery H. Throop, and in April, 1861, was made secretary to Admiral Mervine, who was appointed to the command of the Gulf Blockading squadron. In the following autumn Admiral Mervine was recalled and Mr. Wood returned to Utica, formed a law partnership with Thomas R. Walker, and practiced his profession with success for several years. In 1864, with E. A. Wood, he organized the Utica Steam Gauge Company, from which he withdrew in 1882. He had become interested in the organization of the American District Telegraph Company, and later was one of the organizers of the Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Company, of which he became a director and the secre- tary and treasurer, which position he still holds. He is president of the board of trustees of Bethany Presbyterian church and since 1861 (a period of forty years) superintendent of its Sunday school, a trustee and treasurer of the Home for the Homeless, a trustee of the Utica Female Academy and of the Utica Cemetery Asso . ciation, and a director in the First National Bank, the Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, and the Skenandoa Cotton Company. In September, 1864, he married Mary

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H., daughter of E. M. Gilbert, of Utica, and their children living are Sarah G., George W., and Anna G.

Douglass, William, was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, October 8, 1831, son of Charles and Catherine Douglass. Charles Douglass died in 1861, and Mrs. Douglass died in 1884. William Douglass was educated partly in Scotland and partly in Canada. He came to New York Mills in 1855, and engaged in dyeing, at which he continues. Mr. Douglass is boss dyer in No. 3 mill, which position he has held a number of years, being one of the oldest employees of the company. He married Mary Agnew, daughter of Alexander Agnew, of Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland, and by whom he has three children: Jennie, Isabel, and W. A. Douglass, who is a lawyer in Utica, N. Y.

Hitchcock, Albert, was born at Lebanon Springs, Columbia county, March 9, 1848, son of Julius V. and Delia Hitchcock. Julius Hitchcock was born in 1807, and was engaged in farming and sheep raising, and he moved to Whitestown in 1850 and con- ducted a farm of 125 acres. He was commissioner of highways several terms, and always took an active interest in the success of his party, in which he was a staunch Democrat. Albert Hitchcock was educated in the Whitestown Seminary, from which he was graduated. He was for sixteen years proprietor of the Whites- town and Utica Express. He was for two years conductor on the New York Central Railroad, and is now one of the firm of the Central Coal Company of Whitesboro. Mr. Hitchcock owns the old Wetmore homestead, and this celebrated residence is 110 years old. There is on this property a spring, out of which the Marquis de La Fay- ette drank when he was serving in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Hitchcock married Elizabeth Wetmore of Whitestown, by whom he has one son, Clarence W., a drug- gist in Newark, N. J. Mr. Hitchcock is a Democrat, and he and his wife are mem- bers of the Baptist church at Whitesboro.

Scott, W. J., was born July 28, 1823, son of Marvin and Julia M. (Ives) Scott, and his grandfather was Amos Scott. His grandfather on his mother's side came to Bridgewater in 1793, and with his cousin, Jesse Ives, were the first settlers in the town. W. J. Scott has been engaged in farming all his life, and is to-day one of the most extensive owners of farm land in Central New York; his farm aggregating 1,250 acres, 625 of which are on one block surrounding the homestead. The old Masonic lodge erected 100 years ago now stands on his land. Mr. Scott is full of anecdotes and good stories of the old times, when the now fertile fields were a wilder- ness. He is a strong Republican, and very patriotic to his party. In 1865 he estab- lished Scott's Bank in Bridgewater, and conducted it successfully for fourteen years, when his health compelled him to relinquish it. In 1847 he married Emeline Munn, by whom he has three children : Anna, now Mrs. S. T. Meservey, of Fort Dodge, Ia. , Lizzie, now Mrs. Charles G. Wood, of Utica, N. Y .; and Dayton M. Scott, who is a farmer in Bridgewater,

Beebee, Edward B., was born in Bridgewater, N. Y., March 11, 1845, and with his parents removed to Oneida in 1860. His father, Galutia Beebee, was born in Brook- field, Madison county, February 18, 1828, and is a sash and blind maker by trade and has continued to reside in Oneida since his removal there in 1860. His wife, Louisa H. Brown, born in Brookfield, July 14, 1826. Edward B. attended the

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 122

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896 Publication date: 1896 Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co. Number of Pages: 1612

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co.
Number of Pages: 1612