Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 123

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 123

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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Oneida public schools and afterwards the Oneida Seminary. At the age of seven- teen he entered the office of the "Democratic Union" and learned the printer's trade, and has spent the greater part of his time since in connection with that estab- lishment, at present acting as foreman. In 1883 he bought a market gardening farm at Oneida Castle, where he has since resided, carrying on that industry in connec- tion with his business in Oneida. Mr. Beebee is an ardent Democrat, and on that ticket has been elected three times president of the village, which office he now holds, and is also a member of the Board of Education. January 27, 1875, he married Mary A. Tefft, an accomplished young lady, who was the daughter of Almón and Ann H. Tefft, formerly of Stockbridge, Madison county, N. Y. Mrs. Beebe has ever been a helpful adviser and an exemplary wife and mother ; her ever kind and cautious advice has had much to do with her husband's success, and her children are living testimonials of her careful and christianlike training She was born January 24, 1858, near Waterville, N. Y., and they have had six children, five of whom are liv- ing: Harry E., born May 5, 1848; Francis C., born May 30, 1880; Susie B., born December 7, 1882; A. Louisa, born June 28, 1888; S. Maxon, born November 12, 1889; C. Ray, born September 9, 1894. The family circle has once been broken by the death of the second daughter who was an unusually bright child, whose death occurred at the age of five months. Harry E., the oldest son, is an ardent student and is preparing himself for a teacher. Mr. Beebee has been prominently connected with the affairs and improvements of the village and energetic in the work of im- provement of the public schools under his supervision. He has one sister, Carrie A., who was born April 10, 1868, and is living at home with her parents in Oneida; she is unmarried and is an expert dressmaker, which occupation she is at present engaged in.

Lane, A. V., was born in Vienna, N. Y., September 23, 1862, son of William and Salome (Dunton) Lane. His father was a lumber merchant, and Mr. Lane was early associated with that business. At the age of seventeen he was a can maker at Cam. den, and after working at several different places, including Chicago and St. Louis in the west, and Rome in this county, he came to Sauquoit in 1892, and superin- tended the building of the canning factory and warehouse at Sauquoit, and has been superintendent of the business since. In 1887 he married Emma Mohat, by whom he has two children: Fordyce G. and Catherine. The canning factory turns out 30,000 cases a year, each case containing two dozen packages, and 200 people are employed in the busy season.

Maine, August, was born June 20, 1848, in Hannover, Germany, and came to America in 1864 settling first in Baltimore, Md., where he remained three years, be- ing for a time assistant in the Annapolis Army Hospital during the latter part of the Civil war where he obtained his first experience in medicine and surgery. In 1867 after letters patent had been granted to H. and F. Marx, his uncles, for the manu- facturing of wood pulp, he associated himself with them, and became their representa- tive in various parts of the country, finally settling in Utica in 1871. Here he en- gaged in the book business which he successfully continued for about five years. He then read medicine under the late Dr. Joseph D. Kellner, and continued five years longer with the late firm of Dr. W. Sawens & Co., druggists, and after exami-

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nation started a drug store in Ilion, N. Y., but four years later returned to Utica and started a drug store on Columbia Square, West Utica, which he has since continued. He is a member of Utica Lodge No. 47, F. & A. M., the American and New York State Pharmaceutical Association, the Utica Maennerchor, the German Sick Aid Society, the German Order of Harugarri, the Utica German Rifles and other organ- izations. In 1875 he married Anna, daughter of the late Joseph D. Kellner of Utica.

Foster, Mrs. Theodosia M .- She married James H. Foster, son of Charles, and they had two sons: Edward Snow, who was educated in the Home School and Hamilton College, and is at present residing upon and managing the home farm; and James Henry, who was graduated from Hamilton College, class of '95, being first prize debater and first classical scholar, and is now Latin professor in Wabash, Ind. Mr. Foster died a few years after their marriage. Mrs. Foster is the author of several published volumes, and is known to the public as " Faye Huntington." Daniel D. Toll, Mrs. Foster's father, was born in 1812, and was educated in Whites- town Seminary when it was known as Oneida Institute. He married Ruth H., daughter of Samuel Hills, who settled in the eastern part of the town early in the century. They had four children : Theodosia M., Eunice H., Alida S., and Adeline F. Eunice H. has had remarkable success as a teacher and for several years has been associated with her sister, Mrs. Foster, in the well and favorably known institution, The Home School. For a few years the school was located at New Hartford, but since 1883 in the home of the Toll family. The third daughter married Frank Everett, of Sharon, Conn , and their children were Edward, Ruth, Daisy (deceased), Harriet, Richard F. and Frank W. The oldest son resides in Sharon, Conn. Mr. Everettt is dead and Mrs. Everett resides with her sisters and their father, who is eighty-four years old. His wife died in 1890. The fourth daughter, Adeline F., married Henry Velie Clark, of Rochester, N. Y. She died in 1892. The family have resided on the homestead since 1815, Simon De Witt Toll being the first to settle here. He was the son of Daniel and Susan (Switz) Toll, and was born in Albany in 1780. He married Susan Condé, a native of Schenectady county, the granddaughter of Adam Condé, a French Huguenot who fled to Holland on account of religious per- secution and emigrated to America in the sixteenth century, settling at Schenectady. He was of the family of the " Princes of Conde" and was himself known as the " Chevalier." The Tolls descended from Karl Hansen Toll, who was of Norwegian descent, but came to America from Holland in the latter part of the sixteenth century and settled at Schenectady, the family being for several generations among the most noted for wealth and influence in that region. Of the eleven children of Daniel Toll and Susan Condé only two are living, Daniel D. and Parthenia Ogden, wife of A. C. McDannald, of Central College, Ohio. The first of the Fosters was one Chris- topher, on the shipping list as a farmer when he embarked at London, June 17, 1635, in the ship Abigail. The Snows (maternal ancestors of James II. Foster) came in 1622, and the Hopkins whom this Snow ancestor married came in the Mayflower.

Beck, Christopher, was born in Baden, Germany, December 18, 1841. He came with his parents to the United States when ten years of age, and located in Coonrod Settlement, near Rome, N. Y., and came to Verona three years later. He was educated in the common schools, and has always been a farmer. March 31, 1880, he

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married Allie J. Poppleton, of this town, by whom he had two children: Ernina C. and A. Leora. Peter Beck, father of Christopher, was born at the old home in Germany in 1804, was educated there and aftewards engaged in farming. He mar- ried Elizabeth White, also of Germany, by whom he had nine children: Jacob J., Elizabeth, Caroline, Mary, Christopher, Catherine, Addie, and two who died in in- fancy. Mr. Beck died in 1877, and his wife in 1885. Mrs. Beck's father, Zenas Poppleton, was born in this county in 1837. He was educated in the public schools, and is a farmer by occupation. He married Josephine A. Hess, of this town, by whom he had two children: Allie J., and Archie H. For his second wife Mr. Pop- pleton married Pauline Gates, formerly of Germany, by whom he had seven children.

Stone, Richard, was born in the town of Nelson, Madison county, N. Y., Septem- ber 10, 1815. He was educated in the district schools and has since followed a variety of occupations. He followed the canal for thirty years, but is now a farmer. In 1840 he married Olive A. Hardin, of Verona, who was born in Granville, N. Y. They had four children: Alvin R., who married Emma Boyd, of Western, and has six children ; Everitt L., who married Sarah West and has three children; Frances L., who married S. E. Burdick, of this town, and has two children ; and Agnes A., who died at the age of six years. Mrs. Stone died in 1879. His father, Oliver Stone, was born in Braintree, Vt., in 1761 and came to this State at an early day. He mar- ried twice, his second wife being Lydia Mentor, born in Brattleborough, Vt., by whom he had nine children. He died February 2, 1831, and his wife in 1870. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Richard Stone has $7.50 in Continental currency in his possession. The family is of English, Irish, and Scotch descent.

Gilchrist, Florence .- The late Charles W. Gilchrist was born in Otsego county, N. Y., July 7, 1825. He was educated in the public schools, and afterwards engaged in farming. He came to this county when a young man, and June 25, 1874, married Florence Brown, formerly of Herkimer county, by whom he had two children: F. Agnes and Alice B. Mr. Gilchrist died February 19, 1895. The ancestry of Mrs. Gilchrist's family is Scotch, dating back to 1774.

Sherrill, L. T., was born in the town of New Hartford in 1840, son of Joseph Allen Sherrill, who is now living in his eighty-fifth year, in the town where he was born, and who is a man of much ability and a great reader. L. T. Sherrill is a representa- tive of a family closely identified with the early history of the town of New Hart- ford, and his paternal ancestors figured in the growth of the nation, being active participants at the Boston tea party, and in the war of the Revolution. His grand- father, Lewis Sherrill, came here from East Hampton, L. I., before 1800. Mr. Sher- rill received his education in New Hartford, and in Utica, and was for several years a salesman in an importer's house at New York; but in 1863 went to the front with the 23d Brooklyn Regiment, and was in service three months, going out as a private soldier, and returning as lieutenant. Since the war he has been a staff officer in Utica. In 1868 he married Adelaide E., daughter of Goodwin P. Soper, a lumber merchant at Oneida, N. Y., by whom he had four children: Cecelia Adelaide, class of '93 Smith College, now in the library at Utica; Arthur Lewis, a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at New York; Grace Munger, an art student of

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Smith College, also in the library at Utica; and Goodwin Allen, pursuing studies in Boston, Mass. Mr. Sherrill is a member or the Presbyterian church, of which his father has been elder for fifty-four years.

Porter, J. M. was born in the town of New Hartford in 1837, son of Rufus Porter, who was born in Connecticut. He is a direct descendant of Captain John Porter, and a representative of a family identified with the settlement of the town, his grand- father, Martin Porter, being one of the first settlers here. Mr. Porter was educated at Whitestown Seminary, and first engaged in farming. In early life he began making cider on his farm, and in 1886 moved into town and built the cider mill here, relinquishing all care of the farm to his son, Eugene C. Porter. He has also two daughters, Nettie R. and Grace A .; and one son, Wallace, died at the age of two years. Mr. Porter is a Democrat and has served his party as supervisor and assessor.

Griffith, William H., was born in the southern part of Wales, in 1832, and came to New Hartford when ten years of age, where he was educated in the common schools. He has been engaged in farming from boyhood, and owns seventy acres, where his father, John Griffith, settled. John Griffith was born in Wales in 1800, coming to this country in 1842. He first worked the quarry located on the farm, and once did a large business in building stone. His industry and integrity placed him in the . front rank of the men of the county, and he died at eighty-two years of age. In 1864 William H. married Amelia Dennig, of Washington Mills, by whom he has four children: Wallace, who is residing at home; George, an expert mechanic, and a valued employee of the Ilion typewriter works; Carrie, wife of Delos Terry, who is station agent on the D., L. & W. R. R. at Washington Mills; and Hettie, who is living at home. Mr. Griffith is an ardent Republican, serving acceptably in the offices of collector and highway commissioner.

Barnes, Samuel C., was born in Russia, Herkimer county, April 21, 1844, son of Samuel and Lydia Barnes. Samuel Barnes was a native of Oneida county, and was engaged in the coopering business. He died in 1871, aged eighty years. Samuel C. was educated in New York Mills, after which he engaged in the mill. In the late civil war he volunteered and went to the front with Co. A, 97th Infantry, and was in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Thoroughfare Gap, Rappahanock River, and Second Bull Run, and although in some of the hottest battles of the war, escaped without a wound and was discharged by reason of disability. Mr. Barnes is second hand mule spinner in Mill No. 1. He married Jennie A. Herron, daughter of James Herron of New York Mills, by whom he has one daughter, Jennie S., married to Frederick Shaw of New York Mills. Mr. Barnes is a member of the F. & A. M., Oriental Lodge No. 224, and also of the A. O. U. W.

Mallory, A. P., was born in the town of New Hartford, N. Y., in 1826, as was also his father, Samuel Mallory, who was born in 1800. The latter died in 1872, after a long and useful life in which he was engaged in farming. The grandfather came from Connecticut in the latter part of the last century. Mr. A. P. Mallory has been in- strumental in opening and developing an extensive quarry of building stone, for which he finds ready market in and about Utica. He is a Republican and has served his party as commissioner of highways. In 1859 he married Margaret Griffith of Welsh parentage, by whom he has four children: James D .; Mary, wife of F. B. Sev-

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erance, a Methodist Episcopal minister; Howard A .; and Susan, wife of James Davis, of Washington Mills.

Ashmore, George, was born in England May 23, 1821, came to America in 1841, and has since resided in Utica, following the trade of carpenter and builder. He has worked on a large number of the finer buildings and is one of the oldest carpenters in the city. May 23, 1854, he married Hester Kimball, of Utica, and they have five children: Thomas George, John E, (a photo-engraver in Syracuse), Wallace E. (a painter in Syracuse), Mary L. and Nellie E.

Martin, Chester H., was born in Vienna, Oneida county, in 1859. His father, Stephen J. Martin, was a carpenter and builder, following that occupation through life. He was also born in the town of Vienna, his parents having settled there in the early history of the county. The Martin ancestors came from England at the begin- ning of this century. He married Phæbette Gager, a native of Oneonta, N. Y., who died in 1865, and Mr. Martin is still living in Oneida county. After attending school in Vienna Chester H. Martin made a three years' tour through the western part of the country, visiting nearly all of the States. Upon his return he went to Nashville, Tenn., where he engaged in carpentry and building for ten years. In 1890 he re- turned to Oneida county, settling in Oneida Castle, and built a handsome block, the first floor of which he occupies with a general store. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Odd Fellows. He married Anna Gager, a native of Vienna, who was born in 1862, and by whom he has four children: Lucile M., Etta O., Earn- est A. and Stephen J.

Van Swall, Pernett, was born near Vernon Center, N. Y., in 1854, being the second in a family of five children. His father, George W. Van Swall, is a leading farmer of the town of Vernon. He was born in the town of Westmoreland, and lived sev- eral years in the town of Marshall, previous to locating in Vernon, and his father, John Van Swall, came from Albany, and was one of the early settlers in Oneida county, and the parents of the elder Van Swall were natives of Germany. George W. Van Swall married Delia M. Chesbro, a native of the town of Marshall, who is still living at Vernon Center. Pernett received his education at Vernon Center, after which he worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-three years of age, when he engaged in the meat business at Vernon Center for considerable time; and finally running the grist and saw mill at that place, they having come into his possession. He discontinued the meat business, and for the next six years, conducted the two mills mentioned. In 1894 he sold the mill property and rented the hotel at Lowell, N. Y., taking possession January 1, 1895. He is an active Republican, and has held several town offices. He has one son, Hawiey H., who was born in 1880.

Wight, Lyman L., M. D., was born in Wales, Mass., July 21, 1822, son of Phiny and Anna Fletcher Wight. Lyman L. came to Whitesboro in 1844 and studied medicine with Drs. Thomas and Gardner. From 1847 to 1849 he practiced in New York; then his health failed and he returned to Whitesboro in 1850. In 1863 Dr. Wight in connection with George Williams started a cheese factory in Whitesboro, and later the bought out Mr. Williams's interest and conducted this factory alone. He was interested in five factories located in New Hartford, Walesville, Colman's Mills, Kirkland, and Whitesboro. Dr. Wight was instrumental in forming the

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Board of Trade in Utica, and of which body he was president for about fifteen years. He was one of the originators of the Farmers' Club in Oneida county. Dr. Wight was the largest cheese manufacturer in Oneida county, and he was also the pioneer manufacturer in turning out a large cheese, making one that weighed 5,233 pounds, which was unheard of at that time. He was a prominent man in politics, and was on the Board of Supervisors two terms, and was chairman of the County Committee. He is also owner of the pipe and water works system of Whitesboro; this water comes from the springs on the doctor's farm, and is piped by him throughout the village, supplying the houses. Dr. Wight married Mary M., daughter of Julius Watkins, a prominent farmer of Oneida county, and also president of the bank in his place. They have one son, J. W. Wight, of Whitesboro, N. Y.

Sneil, Ira L., was born October 5, 1841. In 1869 he came from Stockbridge, first settling on a farm about four miles south of Oneida Castle, and two years later he bought the farm at Kenwood, where he has since resided. His father, Frederick Snell, was born in the town of Manheim, Herkimer county, in 1804, and moved to Stockbridge in 1822, where he lived until his death, which occurred August 29, 1873. Ile became one of the leading as well as the most successful farmers in the county, and his grandfather, with six brothers, was in the famous battle of Oriskany, and it is said that five of them were killed during the engagement. He married Nancy Stam, also of Herkimer county, who was born in 1811, and died in 1881. Ira L. Snell has for a number of years been an active and earnest worker in the Democratic ranks, and has several times represented his assembly district in the State Conven- tion. He was one of the organizers and is now a director in the Farmers' and Mer- chants' Bank of Oneida, N. Y Ile is also one of the trustees of the Oneida Savings Bank. In 1870 he married Ellen J. Eaton, who was born in Stockbridge in 1845, by whom he has two daughters: S. Edith, and Harriet E.

Merwin, Hon. Milton II., son of Alanson and Amanda (Kimball) Merwin, was born in the town of Leyden, Lewis county, N. Y., June 16, 1832, and is descended from Miles Merwin, who came from the North of England and settled near Milford, Conn., about 1640. James Merwin, father of Alanson, moved to Leyden from Haddam, Conn., in 1800, and served as a soldier at Sackett's Harbor in the war of 1812. Judge Merwin was educated in the public schools of his native town and in Oneida Confer- ence Seminary at Cazenovia, N. Y., and in 1848 entered Hamilton College, from which he was graduated in 1852. He read law in Watertown, N. Y., with Joseph Mullin, afterward judge of the Supreme Court, and was admitted to the bar at the Watertown general term in July, 1853. He practiced in the office of his preceptor as clerk or partner until the election of Mr. Mullin to the Supreme Court bench in the fall of 1857. Judge Merwin then continued in the practice until October, 1874, when he was appointed by Governor John A. Dix, justice of the Supreme Court in place of Judge Charles H. Doolittle, of Utica, deceased. Meantime Judge Merwin had served a term of four years as surrogate of Jefferson county, and also as a mem- ber of the State Constitutional Convention of 1867-68. At the following election in November, 1874, he was elected to the Supreme Court bench for a full term of four- teen years, and in the fall of that year took up his residence in Utica. On the expi- ration of his term he was re-elected in November, 1888, for another period of four- teen years. As a jurist Judge Merwin has officiated with ability, credit and dignity.

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He is well versed in the science of the law and is universally regarded as an upright, conscientious, and honored member of the bench. He was a member of the General Term of the Supreme Court from January 1, 1889, to January 1, 1896, when he became a member of the Appellate Division of that tribunal. Judge Merwin was married in November, 1858, to Miss Helen E., daughter of Ira Knapp, of Middle Granville, Washington county, N. Y. They have five children.

Crouse, John M., senior member of the firm John M. Crouse & Son, wholesale grocers, of Utica, is a son of Daniel Crouse, who joined his brother, John Crouse, in the business as a general store in Canastota, N. Y., in 1827. In 1860 Daniel Crouse moved the concern to Utica and established a wholesale trade, taking the name of Daniel Crouse, Son & Co. In 1871 this was changed to Daniel Crouse & Sons, and in 1881 to J. M. & C. B. Crouse, both sons of Daniel. In 1894 the present firm of John M. Crouse & Son succeeded to the business, C. B. Crouse retiring and Beecher M. Crouse son of John M. being admitted. Daniel Crouse was born in 1805 in Minden, N. Y., settled in Utica in 1863, and died here in September, 1877. In 1833 he married Catherine Jane Beecher, who survives, and of their five children three are living: Daniel N., Charles B., and John M., all of Utica. The firm whose business he founded nearly seventy years age does an extensive wholesale grocery trade, and is one of the oldest and most prosperous concerns of the kind in Central New York. Their present store on the corner of Broad and John streets was built by Daniel Crouse and Daniel N. Crouse in 1871. In 1874 the firm established a large packing and provision business on Catherine street, and still continues it in con- nection with the store. John M. Crouse is a director of the Oneida National Bank, the Utica Steam Cotton Mills, the Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, the Roberts-Wicks Company, and the Mohawk Valley Scotch Cap Factory.

Cook, Mathias, M. D., was born in Cologne, Germany, April 26, 1840, and received instruction in the gymnasia there until he attained the age of fourteen, when he came to America with his parents, who settled in Columbus, Ohio There he taught school and music, and by this means earned enough to pay for a thorough medical educa- tion at Starling Medical College in Columbus. In 1863 he entered the army as as sistant surgeon of United States volunteers, afterwards serving as a surgeon of the Second Ohio Cavalry until the close of the war. In 1866 he came to Utica, where he has since lived practicing his profession. In 1870-71 he served in the Franco- Prussian war as a volunteer surgeon. The doctor is an enthusiastic member of the G. A. R., and surgeon of Bacon Post, No. 53, and has also been its commander. At the Syracuse encampment he was chosen delegate to the National Encampment in September, 1888. After Mr. Cleveland was elected the first time for the presi- dency ex-Gov. Horatio Seymour urged him to become a candidate for a foreign con- sulship, but various posts of the G. A. R. recommended him as an examining surgeon for pensions, which latter appointment he received and held during Mr. Cleveland's first term. In 1889 he was elected by a large majority as one of the coroners of Oneida county, mostly due to his popularity and the help of his comrades, who again in 1893 recommended him to his former position on the Board of Examining Surgeons for Pensions, of which board he is now the president. Dr. Cook is, with few ex- ceptions, the oldest practicing physician in Utica, and always ready to advise, par- ticularly a deserving soldier. He takes special interest in microscopical studies.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 123

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