Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 138

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 138

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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FAMILY SKETCHES.

George E. Daisy L. married John Link, of Ilion, N. Y. Edith A. died at eleven months of age. George E. is a student at school. Mr. Wright's father, John Wright, was born in Germany, June 2, 1822. He was educated there and came to the United States about 1842 and located in Croghan, Lewis county, N. Y. About 1846 he married Christina Gates, formerly of Germany, by whom he had seven children: Mary, deceased, John, deceased, George P., as above, Louisa, deceased, Amelia, deceased, William and E. Isabel. The family have resided in this county since 1850. Mrs. Wright died Feb. 17, 1892. Mrs. Wright's father, John Raut, was born near Fish Creek, in the town of Vienna in 1836. He was educated in the district schools, and was a boatman and farmer by occupation. About 1858 he married Helen Lar- rabee, of the town of Vienna by whom he had seven children: Mary, who died at five years of age; Julia A., as above; Everett, who died at seven years of age; Christopher H., E. Allie, who died at two years of age; John W. and Blanche D. Mr. Wright is a member of New London Lodge, No. 420, F. & A. M., and Mrs. Wright is a member of Vesta Chapter No. 115, O. E. S., in which she holds the position of associate conductress. The ancestry of this family is German on both sides.

Armstrong, George H., of Armstrong, Baker & Co., of New Hartford, is the son of the late well-known James Armstrong, who was one of the most worthy and prominent citizens of the place. He occupied many positions of trust and honor, one of which being a seat in the State Legislature. The works of Armstrong & Baker were originally established by him in 1864, and have since grown into one of the most important industries of the place, furnishing employment to about seventy people. The present firm was organized in 1871, as the New Hartford Knitting Mill, and their entire output consists of children's wear of all grades, which is handled by commission in New York city.

Risley, Orville, was born at Hamilton, N. Y., in 1850. son of Chauncey Risley, who came with his own team to Madison county, from Glastonbury, Conn., in 1833. He is a representative of one of the families to whom the town of New Hartford is indebted for its name; they having emigrated from Hartford, Conn., where Richard Risley settled with its founder, Thomas Hooker, in 1635, after having escaped the religious persecutions in England. Chauncey Risley died in 1894, at the age of seventy-nine years, leaving a widow, who is still living at eighty years of age, having brought up twelve children, of whom eight are now living, the youngest being forty years of age. Orville Risley was educated in Hamilton, and came to this town at seventeen years of age, and engaged in farming, and for sixteen years has been engaged in an extensive creamery business with his brother Fremont A. Risley, located at New York Mills. In 1873 he married Ada Perkins, of Chenango county, by whom he had four children: Fenimore C., an art student in New York ; Walter C .; Floyd F .; and Lena.

Henderson, W. H., was born at Richland, Oswego county, in 1839. During early life he was engaged in farming in the vicinity of his birthplace, and after a tour of the far west, including four years in Northern Dakota, he purchased the Chapman Hotel property at Washington Mills. In 1861 he married Frances Menter, of Rich- land, N. Y. His father, David Henderson, formerly conducted a hotel at Richland, N. Y.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Adams, Charles H., was born in the town of New Hartford, N. Y., in 1826, son of James Adams. His grandfather, James Adams, came from Hartford, Conn., at a very early date, and has been a lifelong resident of Washington Mills. Charles II. received his education in his native place, and having been reared on a farm, en- gaged in that occupation, and at which he still continues, occupying the old home- stead. In 1850 he married Elizabeth Thomas, of Utica, by whom he has two chil- dren: Celia, wife of John Emery; and Minnie, wife of George Neice.

Prescott, D. D., was born in the town of New Hartford in 1856, son of Daniel Morgan Prescott. He is the owner of the farm with which the name of Prescott has been identified over one hundred years, and which descended from father to son for many generations. His great-grandfather came here from Connecticut when his grandfather, Oliver Prescott, was but four years of age. The death of his father, Daniel Morgan Prescott, in 1805, removed from the community a beloved and ven- erable citizen ; he held the offices of assessor and collector, and was a member of the Assembly one term, and also held many important positions about the State Capitol-postmaster, sergeant-at-arms, and librarian. He married Lydia M. Bacon, of Litchfield, Herkimer county, by whom he had five sons and one daughter: and she still survives him at the age of sixty-six. D. D. Prescott, following in the foot- steps of his father, is a staunch Republican, but not an office holder. He is identi- fied with the Presbyterian church. In 1880 he married Stella Schooley, of Liteh- field, by whom he has four children: Fannie S., Walter D., Arthur A., and Eva E.

Kellogg, Henry G., was born in the house where he still lives in 1838, which was erected by his great-grandfather in 1790. This great-grandfather, Webster Kellogg, the first of the family who settled here, came from Hartford, Conn., and first lived in a log house. This house was built in what is now a suburb of New Hartford, and where is located the fifty acre dairy farm, which has been handed down the paternal line to Henry G. He is a staunch Republican, as was his father Frederic and grand- father Webster Frederie before him ; and is also an efficient member of the Presby- terian church. In 1862 he married Mary E., daughter of John Reed, of New Hart- ford, and their daughter Annie E., now wife of S. Maxwell MeIntyre of Philadel- phia, is the representative of the fifth generation of the Kellogg family here.

Tibbitts, Milton G., one of the leading farmers of New Hartford, came here from Kirkland, where he had been previously engaged in farming, and located on a 130 aere farm, his present residence. He is a descendant of a family originally from Rhode Island, of English and Scotch ancestry and son of Truman Tibbitts, a farmer of East Rome, where Milton G. was born in 1841, and from which place he came to Kirkland when six years of age. There he allied himself with a family of national historical interest, by marriage to Susan J. Peck, daughter of Charles P. Peck. She is the representative of the eighth generation of Jean Paul Peck, who came to America in 1636, and settled at Boston, founding the family. Her great-grandfather was a member of the Continental Congress. She is the mother of seven children:

Tyler, H. N., was born in Hartford, Oneida county, N. Y., in 1850. He was edu- cated at Whitestown Seminary, also studied medicine, and has practiced to some extent. His father, the late Dr. A. N. Tyler, was born at Rome, N. Y., in 1818, and there began his medical studies, He practiced first at Sauquoit five years, then

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came to New Hartford. He married Jennie M. Carpenter of a Vermont family. By his untiring devotion to his calling his practice soon became large, extending into adjoining towns, and for forty years this successful practitioner carried on his work, loved and honored for his uprightness of character and kindheartedness. His death in 1889 at seventy-four years of age was mourned by a large circle of friends.

Campbell, Roderic, was born in Scotland, in 1846, where he was educated, gradu- ating from the Inverness Royal Academy. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Kenneth Campbell, as a florist. He came to America in 1867, locating in Brooklyn, where he remained until 1875, when he came here and took charge of the Forest Hill Cemetery. Mr. Campbell is an expert landscape gardener and florist, under whose skillful hands the cemetery has developed into one of the most beauti- ful of its kind in Central New York. Mr. Campbell is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity. He married Jessie Mitchell of Brooklyn, by whom he had four children: Douglas Henry (deceased), Lyman Forest (deceased), Catherine Finlay and Annie Morrison.

Smith, E. C., was born in Boonville, N. Y., son of Leslie H. Smith. He was for some time clerk at Bagg's Hotel, and was with Mrs. Lynch's jewelry house of New York for four years. He was also clerk at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York city. Mr. Smith is the owner and manager of an extensive vineyard of twenty-two acres on the Capron road, which he established and planted in 1885. It is devoted to all choice varieties of grapes and currants, which find a ready market in Utica. He is engaged in an enterprise which with his industry and integrity cannot but place him in the front rank of the young men of the county. He is a member of the Episcopal church.

Seaton, J. W., was born at Utica, N. Y., in 1844, son of John Seaton, who was born at Yorkshire, England, and came to Utica in 1832. Being a tailor by trade, he resumed his work here, and remained at one location on Blandina street for twenty- five years. J. W. Seaton was reared and educated upon the New Hartford farm, where his father died in 1885, at the age of seventy-six years. He is living in an elegant home on Genesee street, which he erected in 1889; but he is still interested in agricultural pursuits, and with his brother owns large and productive farms. In 1864 he married Frances Thickens, of Utica, by whom he has one son, Albert J., born in 1865, who is married and with three children resides with his father, while en- gaged in business in Utica. Mr. J. W. Seaton is an ardent Republican and trustee of the village.

Van Auken, Myron W., was born on a farm in the town of Ira, Cayuga county, N. Y., June 6, 1852. He attended district schools, the Union Academy at Red Creek, N. Y., and Fairfield Seminary at Fairfield, N. Y., and then entered Cornell Univer- sity, where he took a classical course of four years and received the degree of A. B. Subsequently he was graduated from the Albany Law School, where the degree of LL. B. was conferred upon him. In 1875 he began the practice of law in Utica, where he has ever since followed his profession. He has twice held the office of cor- poration counsel of Utica, and was once the nominee of his party for the office of district attorney of Oneida county. He is the general attorney for many of the cor- porations and large business firms of the city. He is a director and an officer or

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

member of business corporations, and is active in every movement that tends to the development and prosperity of the city and the welfare of the community. In 1889 he was a member of a committee of nine appointed to select a suitable site for a Home to be established by the Masonic fraternity of the State of New York for indi- gent Masons, their wives, widows and orphans. Through his efforts, after an ex- citing competition with other cities, and after a prolonged struggle, the site was lo- cated in Utica, in which there has since been erected one main building costing $200,000, and a building for children costing $50,000, and numerous other buildings will follow to carry out the noble charity of this beneficent fraternity. Mr. Van Auken is one of the foremost Masons as well as one of the leading lawyers of Utica, and it was mainly through his untiring efforts and personal support that the Masonic Home was secured for that city.

Kernan, Nicholas E., is a native of Utica and a son of the late Hon. Francis Ker- nan, whose parents, Gen. William and Rose (Stubbs) Kernan, were natives of Ire- land and early settlers in Tyrone, Schuyler county. There Hon. Francis Kernan was born January 14, 1816. He was educated at Georgetown College in Washing- ton, D. C., read law in Watkins, N. Y., with his brother-in-law, Edward Quinn, came to Utica in 1839 and finished his legal studies under Hon. Joshua Spencer, and was admitted to the bar in July, 1840. He became a partner of Mr. Spencer and practiced until 1857, being for three years previously reporter of the Court of Ap- peals. He became very active in Democratic politics, and in 1860 was elected to the Assembly. In 1862, and again in 1864, he was elected to Congress over his Repub- lican opponent, Hon. Roscoe Conkling, and at the close of his second term resumed the practice of law. He was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1867-68, and was defeated by General Dix as candidate for governor in 1872. Ile was State senator from 1875 to 1881. He died September 7, 1892. In 1843 he mar- ried Hannah, daughter of Nicholas Devereux, a prominent early resident of Utica, and they had ten children. Nicholas E. Kernan was graduated from Seton Hall College in New Jersey, read law in his father's office, was admitted to the bar and became a member of the firm of W. & J. D. Kernan, now W. & N. E. Kernan. He is prominent in various business and manufacturing enterprises and is connected with several large corporations. He was one of the founders of the Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, is vice-president of the Oneida Knitting Mills, president of the Sken- andoa Cotton Company, president of the Utica Burial Case Company, treasurer of the Utica Pipe Foundry Company, member of Fort Schuyler Club, and president of the Lotus Club. He married Miss Harriet Jenkins and their children are John A., Isabelle, Margaret, Mary, Florence, Adelaide, Nicholas, Michael, Meredith, Grace and Edith.

Searle, Charles H., son of William Nelson and Eliza (Rogers) Searle, was born in Leonardsville, Madison county, June 23, 1842, was educated in the public schools of his native town, at Whitestown Academy and in Cazenovia Seminary, and was graduated from Hamilton College in 1869. He read law in Syracuse with Pratt, Mitchell & Brown, and was admitted to the bar in that city in the fall of 1870. He then opened an office in Leonardsville and practiced his profession until January 1, 1873, when he came to Utica and formed a partnership with Daniel Ball, which con- tinued till the latter's death in the spring of 1875. Since then he has practiced alone

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except during the year 1883, when he was a member of the firm of Searle, Dunmore & Willis. Mr. Searle was school commissioner of the city of Utica one term, but otherwise has held no public office. In July, 1864, he enlisted in Co. D, 189th N. Y. Vols., as first lieutenant, and remained with his regiment until the close of the war, being in the Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, until Lee surrendered. He is a member and past commander of Bacon Post, No. 53, G. A. R. In 1876 he mar- ried Annie Pier, who died in 1879 leaving one son, Homer W. In 1885 he married, second, Alice L. Hotchkiss, of Phelps, N. Y., and they have three daughters: Alice L., Annie P. and Ruth.

Crandall, Dr. Charles S., was born in Leonardsville, Madison county, September 24, 1858, and is the youngest son of Dr. Hiram S. Crandall, whose father, Oliver C., was one of the first settlers in that locality. Oliver C. came from Rhode Island, and died in Leonardsville in 1864 aged nearly ninety-two. The family are lineal de- scendants of Lord John Crandall of England. Dr. Hiram S., at the age of seventy- eight, is still practicing medicine in Leonardsville, making a specialty, as he has for many years, of diseases of women. He married Frances A. Sisson, of Plainfield, Otsego county, who died in 1889, aged seventy. They had five children: Stephen H., of Leonardsville; Mary D. (Mrs. Ellis J. Dunn), of New Market, N. J. ; Lucius A., of Frankfort, N. Y .; L. Adelle, widow of Silas K. Hawkins, of Burlington Flats, N. Y. ; and Dr. Charles S., of Utica. Dr. Charles S. Crandall was educated in the public schools of Leonardsville and at New Berlin Academy, read medicine with his father, and was graduated from the medical department of the University of New York city in 1882. He took special courses in physical diagnosis in the wards of Bellevue Hospital under the late Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, the celebrated con- sumptive specialist ; a special course in operative surgery and bandaging under Prof. J. W. Wright, M. D .; a special course in physiological labratory work and micros- copy under Prof. J. W. S. Arnold, A. M., M. D. ; and a special course in chemistry under Prof. John Draper, M. D., LL. D., and after graduating he practiced in Leonardsville, and in the spring of 1884 went to Sherburne, Chenango county, where he remained five years. In the spring of 1889 he came to Utica, where he has since successfully practiced his profession, making a specialty of diseases of women. December 30, 1886, he married Ada M., daughter of Leander Harwood, of Sher- burne, N. Y. They have two children, Lee S. and Frances R.

Cassidy, Fred A., was born in Utica, September 23, 1852, and is a son of Patrick Cassidy, who came here from below Albany, N. Y., in 1811, and was the first settler on Steel's Hill. Patrick Cassidy was a farmer and subsequently a foreman in the great stage business that centered in Utica. Later he traveled extensively with Governor Clinton's nephew, and afterward engaged in the restaurant and milling business. He died in Utica in 1881. Fred A. Cassidy after leaving the public schools was in the employ of John H. Douglass, a prominent undertaker in Utica, until the latter's death December 3, 1881, when he purchased the business and has ever since continued it. He is a member of Faxton Lodge, No. 697. F. & A. M., Utica Chapter No. 57, R. A. M., Utica Commandery, No. 3, K. T., the Royal Ar- canum, the Citizens' Corps Veterans' Association, and the Oneida County and New York State Undertakers' Associations.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Alsheimer, John G., was born June 10, 1855, in Marcy, Oneida county, and is a son of John G. Alsheimer, sr., who was born in Germany, came to America about 1853, and finally died in Utica April 29, 1894, aged sixty-two. He was a farmer and con- tractor. John G. Alsheimer, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools and the Utica Business College, from which he was graduated. He first en- gaged in various employments. In 1877 he started a grocery business, which he successfully continued until May, 1896. He is a member of the C. M. B. A. and of St. Joseph's Benevolent Society. In 1877 he married Mary M., daughter of Andrew J. Muringer, of Utica, and they have had three children: Mary M., William, and one who died in infancy.

Marsden, Dr. William Robb, was born June 30, 1853, in Sauquoit. Oneida county, and is a son of Thomas Briggs Marsden, and Jenette Robb. She was born in Glas- gow, Scotland, and is living in Utica. Thomas B. Marsden was born in Darwin, England, in 1824, came to Oneida county, in 1839 with his father, John, and fol- lowed farming here, though he was a paper maker by trade. He was drowned acci- dentally October 3, in the town of Darling, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Marsden was educated in the public schools of Utica and had eight years private tutelage in Meri- den, Conn., and in Utica. He began reading medicine in this city in February 1877, with Doctors Daniel D. and P. H. Thomas, and was graduated from the medical de- partment of the University of the City of New York in 1881. In the spring of 1883 he pursued special studies at that institution and the same year, after a tour of the west, began practice in Meriden, Conn. In 1886 he removed to Utica where he has since followed his profession. While in Meriden he was a member of the New Haven Company, the Connecticut State, and the Meriden Medical societies. He is a mem- ber of the Oneida County Medical Society, the Utica Medical Library Association, the Utica Medical Club, and the Sons of St. George. Ile has been for the past three years ward physician of the second ward.

Bowes, John A., is a son of John R., who was born in England, in 1827, came to Utica in 1842, and still resides here, having been engaged for over fifty years in the wool business, buying principally for A. T. Stewart & Co., and later for the Globe Woolen Company. He was born in Utica, September 23, 1862, received a public school education. and in 1879 entered the employ of B. Wilson & Co., wholesale deal- ers in paper, with whom he remained about ten years. August 1, 1889, he formed a partnership with his brothers, Henry L. and Charles S., under the firm name of Bowes Brothers, and established their present business as wholesale dealers in paper, twine, stationery, and woodenware. Henry L. Bowes was born March 1, 1861, and for several years prior to June, 1889, was a member of the firm of B. Wil- son & Co. Charles S. Bowes was born November : 7, 1866.

Ehrsam, George, was born October 10, 1858, ir. Utica, where his father, John, set- tled about 1855, coming here from Germany, John Ehrsam has been for several years actively engaged in the cabinet and furniture business. George Ehrsam was educated in the the public schools of his native city. He learned and followed the tailor's trade until 1882, when he formed a co-partnership with B. L. Fitch under the firm name of Ehrsam & Fitch, and engaged in the merchant tailoring business. This is one of the leading custom clothing firms in Utica.

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FAMILY SKETCHES.

Entwistle, John, born in Lancashire, England, May 28, 1840, is a son of Joseph an :: Ann (Pierson) Entwistle and came to America with his parents in 1842. In 1848 the family went to Chicago, where the father died in 1855. In 1856 they came to Utica, where the mother still resides at the age of eighty-three. John Entwistle was educated in the Chicago public schools. Coming to Utica he entered the em ploy of Avery N. Lord, manufacturer of soda water, etc., and remained with him nine years. He was the first janitor of the Government building, holding the posi- tion three years, and since 1865 has been engaged in general merchandise in Bleecker street, building the present block in 1894. In 1860 he married Mary Ann Beard, of New Hartford, Oneida county, and they have five sons: Joseph (foreman of the Skenandoa Mills), James, John, jr., Ralph (engaged in the meat market business in his father's block), and Thomas.

Davies, Arthur H., is a son of David J. H. and Sarah A. Davies, natives of Eng- land, who came to Utica in 1873. In 1883 David established a steam laundry on Columbia street and conducted it until 1888, when his wife and son, Arthur H., as- sumed the management.

Fitch, Bordman L., son of James H., was born in Utica, November 12, 1860, and received a good public school education. His father came to Utica from Salem, Washington county, N. Y., and is engaged in the manufacture of shoe specialties. After leaving school Mr. Fitch remained with his father until 1884, when he joined with George Ehrsam in forming the firm of Ehrsam & Fitch, which has since carried on one of the leading merchant tailoring establishments in the city.

Kilbourn, Judson G. M. D., son of Francis S., was born in Plainfield, Otsego county, January 11, 1860, received his preliminary education in the public schools of his native town and at West Winfield Academy, and was graduated from Sauquoit Academy in 1879. He read medicine in West Winfield with Dr. James F. Huntley, and in March, 1884, received his degree of M. D. from the medical department of the University of New York City. In July of that year he commenced active prac- tice in Utica, where he has become a leading physician and surgeon. Latterly he has given special attention to surgical work, in which he has acquired eminent suc- cess. Dr. Kilbourn is a member and was for five years secretary of the Utica Medical Library Association; and a member of the New York State Medical Society. He was physician and surgeon to the City Hospital, house physician and surgeon on the staff of St. Luke's Hospital, and physician to the Utica City Dispensary each four years, and is now surgeon and gynecologist to St. Elizabeth's and Faxton Hos- pitals. He is a member of Imperial Council, R. A., and president of the Oneida County Sportsmen's Association. In 1889 he married Nella E. Armstrong, of Plain- field, N. Y.

Brucker, George L., was born on a farm on the town line between Marcy and Trenton, August 7, 1860, and is the son of Jacob Brucker, who came from Alsace, France, in 1856, and settled in Utica, whence he soon removed to the abovemen- tioned farm. The family went to Englewood, N. J., in 1863, where Jacob died in 1892. George L. Brucker was educated and remained in Englewood until the age of twenty-one, when he began learning the trade of plumber and gas fitter in New York city. He then came to Utica for four and one-half years was with Wicks,

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Hughes & Griffiths. In 1887 he established for himself in West street and in 1888 came to his present location in South street, where he carries on a general plumbing and gas and steam fitting business. He is a member of Allamania Lodge, I.O.O.F., the Utica Maennechor and the Germania Industrial Association. December 25, 1883, he married Louisa H. Brucker, his cousin, and they have three children: Clarence William, Laura Savilla, and Leroy Harold.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 138

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