Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 91

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 91

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207

BIOGRAPHICAL.

of the Extension Car Step Company of Utica. He is a member of the Fort Schuyler Club and the Oneida Historical Society of Utica, and of the Transportation Club of New York City.

On June 20, 1887, Mr. Millspaugh was married to Miss Anna Bell Mase, of Mattea- wan, Dutchess county, daughter of Hon. Willard H. Mase, who for five successive years represented his district in the State Legislature, was the prime mover in securing the location of the State Hospital for Insane Criminals at Matteawan, N. Y., and was largely instrumental in organizing and establishing the State Lunacy Commission. They have one son, Francis Corwin Millspaugh, born in Utica, No- vember 16, 1890.

SQUIRE UTLEY.

SQUIRE UTLEY, son of David Utley, was born in North Western December 2, 1795, and died in the same town November 23, 1882, aged eighty-seven years, eleven months and twenty-one days. His father, of Quaker origin, came to North Western in 1794 and settled upon a farm of 200 acres, and followed the vocation of tiller of the soil through life, as did also his son, the subject of this sketch, upon the home- stead of his father.

Squire Utley was a strong man among strong men, at a period when such men were notably plentiful in Oneida county. While as a citizen farmer he lived a useful, industrious life, earning and retaining the confidence and esteem of his fellow citi- zens and immediate neighbors, it was in the political field and as a public citizen that he wielded an influence remarkable in its strength and praiseworthy in its purity.

Mr. Utley grew up a Democrat of the old school and was a pioneer in that coterie of intelligent and powerful politicians embracing Judge Beardsley, Judge Denio, Judge Foster, John Stryker, David Moulton and John D. Leland; and in his own town, which is remarkable for the prominent men it has produced, he was a peer of the Wagers, the Hallecks, the Floyds, the Braytons and others.

He was not a politician in the sense of being an office-seeker. Yet the confidence in him of his party friends was so great that he could not always decline their wishes. He was elected to the Assembly by the Democrats in 1833, and served his term with a record that brought him only good words. In 1843 he was nominated for sheriff, but was defeated by Palmer V. Kellogg, not through personal unpopularity, but be- cause of the factional differences which at that time were leading to the great met- amorphosis of the Democrat party following soon after. From 1858 to 1860 he was supervisor of Western, and, as in all other positions in life, did his duty faithfully.

When the war of the Rebellion broke forth, Mr. Utley ranked himself with that conscientious and firm-hearted section of the Democratic party which recognized it to be the obligation of every one to support the government, and, as a natural con- sequence, soon became affiliated with the Republicans. It was after this step that he became intimately associated with Thurlow Weed, with whom he had had an ac- quaintance for some years, and who, until his death, was his confidential friend.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Mr. Weed died but a few days before Mr. Utley. When the latter's son, Henry T., of Waterville, reached his father's bedside shortly before his death, he told his father of Mr. Weed's demise. Mr. Utley remarked, " I have outlived my old friend, but I soon shall follow him."

He was one of the original directors of the Fort Stanwix Bank of Rome, and one of the founders of the Rome Savings Bank. After his affiliation with the Republican party he was deputy collector of internal revenue, but sought nor held no other office at the hands of that organization.

Mr. Utley " was a man of great activity, and possessed remarkable natural ability. He had keen perception, sound judgment. and possessed great firmness. In politi- cal as well as in all other matters he was governed by his convictions of right and duty. He possessed remarkable influence over men, and carried measures when it was generally supposed that success was impossible." An instance of this latter characteristic was shown in the passage of the act establishing the Rome Savings Bank in 1851. The Legislature was politically opposed to him, and the members of Assembly from the county were in favor of a rival charter. Still, Mr. Utley secured the charter, and it afterwards transpired that his success was accomplished through Thurlow Weed, who was at that time the only person who could control legislation on that subject, which fact was learned by Mr. Utley, and through him the measure was carried, to the surprise of all.

In his judgment of men he was peculiarly faultless. About 1850, during a great strife for the appointment of a canal superintendent for section seven the contest became factional. Thurlow Weed asked Mr. Utley who would make a good super- intendent for the political purposes he desired to accomplish. Mr. Utley named Amaziah D. Barber. Said Mr. Weed, " I never heard of the man." " Well," said Mr. Utley, "he is the most sagacious and fit man in the county for your purpose and for the place." On that assurance, Mr. Weed had an audience with Mr. Barber, who later was appointed superintendent, to the surprise of the Whig party in the county, and to the indignation of many of them. Mr. Barber became one of the powerful political instruments in the hands of Mr. Weed, and remained such for many years.

On one occasion, by a ten minutes' speech, he defeated the nomination of a popular Union General in the face of overwhelming opposition, and secured the nomination of the man of his choice. Other equally pertinent instances of his ability to sway men and convert them to his ideas might be given, and in every case his judgment and action met with approval as time verified the worthiness of his course.

The Methodist Episcopal society of North Western is largely indebted to Mr. Utley's liberality and instrumentality for its church edifice and parsonage. At the time of the erection of the church some who contributed largely for it proposed that it be made a union church. This he decidedly opposed, remarking that a union church belonged to no one, and as the M. E. society seemed likely to prevail, he eaused to be deeded to it.

Mr. Utley married, April 3, 1818, Clarissa, daughter of Josiah Tallmadge, and they had nine children. She died in 1880, aged sixty-two.

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

WALTER BALLOU.

HON. WALTER BALLOU is of French Huguenot descent and was born in Boonville, Oneida county, N. Y., June 21, 1839. His grandfather, Pelatiah Ballou, was a na- tive of Rhode Island, his parents having moved to that State from Massachusetts on account of the religious persecution which the Huguenots received at the hands of the Puritan colonists. Pelatiah Ballou married Hannah Sheldon and in 1799 came to Boonville, Oneida county, where they settled on a farm about one and one-half miles west of the village. A portion of this farm has ever since remained in the family, being one of the few tracts which can claim nearly a century's continuous ownership under one name. He was endowed with qualities which make the model pioneer, and as a successful farmer exerted a wholesome influence in the infant set- tlement. By hard labor he cleared his farm, and accumulated a modest competency for those days. He held several town offices. He died on the homestead July 4, 1837, at the age of sixty-seven, and his wife's death occurred there in 1855. Their children who attained maturity were Jesse, Ellis, Lydia and William. William Bal- lou was born on the paternal farm in Boonville in 1812, and after spending his entire life on the place died there March 7, 1847, aged thirty-five years, six months, and eleven days. He was also a successful farmer, and like his father took great pride in the advancement of the community. He married Harriet, daughter of Anson Crofoot, of Leyden, Lewis county, who survives him and occupies the homestead. They had five children: Charles, who died in Buffalo, N. Y., in April, 1893; Walter, of Boonville; Albert, who died, after enlisting in the army, but just before being mustered in in 1862; Anna (Mrs. Gustavus B. Horner), of Ripon, Wis .; and Alice (Mrs. Benoni S. Brown), of Onset, Mass.

Hon. Walter Ballou was educated in the district schools of his native town and in the high school of Boonville, and in 1857 was graduated from Whitestown Academy. He had prepared for Hamilton College with the intention of entering that institu- tion, but a serious difficulty of the eyes at this time compelled him to abandon the idea of a collegiate training. He therefore remained on his father's farm until August 30, 1862, when he enlisted in Co. D, 146th N. Y. Vol. Inf., and when his company was mustered in he was elected and commissioned its first lieutenant. At the battle of Fredericksburg he was slightly wounded. He remained with the regi- ment until December, 1862, when he was taken sick with typhoid fever and honorably discharged on a special order from the War Department. Returning home he spent several months recuperating and by the end of a year had permanently recovered.

Mr. Ballou had now decided upon a professional career, and early in 1864 he en- tered the office of H. Romeyn Hadley, where he studied law until April, 1868, when he was admitted to the bar at Albany. Soon after his admission he began active practice in Boonville in partnership with Hon. Thomas S. Jones, under the firm name of Jones & Ballou. Four years later this firm dissolved and Mr. Ballou formed a copartnership with L. W. Fiske, which continued for three years. Since then Mr. Ballou has successfully practiced his profession in Boonville alone.

In politics he was originally a Republican, a strong sympathizer with the Union, and a staunch supporter of Lincoln's administration, casting his first and second presidential votes for that martyred statesman. In 1866 Mr. Ballou differed on the reconstruction question as embodied in Republican principles and affiliated with the

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Democratic party, with which he has ever since been prominently identified He was deputy assessor of internal revenue for the Fourth Assembly district of Oneida county under President Andrew Johnson, holding the office about one year. In the fall of 1875 he was elected to the Assembly, being the first Democrat elected to that office in the Fourth Assembly district of the county in twenty years. This in itself shows the esteem and popularity in which he is held by his fellow citizens. During the session of 1876 he served as a member of the committees on Laws, Rules, En- grossed Bills, etc., and distinguished himself as an able advocate of honest legisla- tion. He has also served the village of Boonville as president for three years and was a member of the Board of Education for nine years and its president six years. He was a trustee of the Boonville Fair Association, the predecessor of the present society, and in every enterprise or movement affecting the general welfare of the place his influence has been felt and appreciated. Ile is a member and for five years was master of Boonville Lodge, No. 165, F. & A. M., and is also a member of Imperial Council, R. A., of Utica. Mr. Ballou is a representative citizen of Northern Oneida and one of the best known men in that section of the county. As a lawyer he has attained a wide reputation. Public spirited, enterprising and patriotic, imbued with high qualities of citizenship, he liberally encourages all worthy movements promising general benefit, and in the prosperity of his village and native town he has always taken a just pride.

Mr. Ballou was married on October 13, 1864, to Miss Eugenia, daughter of George and Lydia (Knight) Brinkerhoff, of Boonville, and they have two daughters: Har- riet, a graduate of Cornell University, class of 1895, and Eugenia, who was gradu- ated from Boonville Academy in 1893.

GEORGE H. WILEY.

GEORGE H. WILEY, vice-president and superintendent of the Utica Steam Cotton Mills and superintendent of the Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, was born in East Douglass, Mass., on the 12th day of January, 1826. His ancestors came to America from the Highlands of Scotland and settled in Massachusetts about 1770, and many members of the family have developed and made their lives successful under the national Scottish traits of industry, integrity, good common sense, and sturdy per- severance. All these characteristics Mr. Wiley inherited. His father was a machine builder and a skillful mechanic, and during his early life was connected with some of the first and largest cotton mills erected in New England.

Mr. Wiley obtained a common school education in the several schools where he lived in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and also attended for a few terms a select school in Lonsdale, R. I., which was kept by an Episcopal clergyman. When seven- teen he began work in the Providence steam mill and soon afterward entered the employ of the Lonsdale Company, where his father was then engaged in building machinery, an industry which gave the son superior advantages for obtaining practical knowledge that soon enabled him to assume charge of the different de- partments of cotton mills. About 1846 the family removed to Pawtucket, R. 1., where young Wiley found employment in some of the mills, and assisted in putting up and starting the machinery of two new mills there. A little later he put up and

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

started machinery in a new mill at Warren, R. I., and immediately afterward per- formed a like service in the first Wamsutta mills. These various mills were new and modern in all of their features, and his experience with them gave Mr. Wiley prac- tical advantages which few young men possessed at that time and rendered him thoroughly competent for the construction and management of a cotton mill.

The trustees of the Utica Steam Cotton Mills prevailed upon Mr. Wiley in the spring of 1852 to come to Utica and superintend their mills, which at that time con- tained about ?,000 spindles. This number was gradually increased to 15,000 in 1856 and as the mills under Mr. Wiley's management were proving successful it was de- cided in 1868 to build mill No. 2 and equip it with 15,000 spindles. This mill was planned and built by Mr. Wiley and began operations in 1869. His thorough, in- telligent, and efficient management, and the care and skill of the trustees and man- agers, had now changed the former unprofitable conditions of the manufacture to a larger and better product with comparatively less expense, and the reputation of the goods was established as first-class, commanding a ready sale and profitable returns. In 1880-81 No. 1 mill was remodeled and enlarged to contain 25,000 spindles, the plans for which changes were made by Mr. Wiley. In 1892 he remodeled the entire plant and made its total spindlage 55,000. The success of these mills led to the con- struction of the Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills (under substantially the same direction), which were planned by A. D. Lockwood associated with Mr. Wiley and erected wholly under supervision of the latter. These mills began work in 1882. In 1881- 8º the plans of the Skenandoa Yarn Mill were prepared under Mr. Wiley's direction and Isaac R. Scott was engaged to take charge of its construction and management. Under his judicious and efficient administration the mill has been doubled in its capacity. In addition to all these responsible undertakings Mr. Wiley was asso- ciated with the late Hon. George W. Chadwick in arranging and constructing the Willowvale Bleachery in New Hartford, which is well known for the excellence of its productions.

During a period of nearly forty-five years of practical work in his line in the city of Utica Mr. Wiley's record has been one of uninterrupted success, and it may be said with entire propriety that very few men in the country, and none in this vicin- ity stand higher in all matters pertaining to the manufacture of cotton cloth. He is vice-president and superintendent of the Utica Steam Cotton Mills, superintendent of the Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, a director in the Skenandoa Yarn Mill, and president of the Willowvale Bleachery. He was a member of Grace church vestry for twenty years and one of the building committee in charge of the erection of the present church edifice ; was chairman of the building committee and took an active part in the building of the Utica Opera House and of St. Luke's Home and Hospital; has been trustee of the latter institution from its beginning. He is trustee of the Masonic Home and Asylum fund and took a leading part in the erection of the Masonic Home and School in Utica. He is a Democrat, but has never given more attention to politics than is demanded of every public spirited citizen.

Mr. Wiley was married in 1857 to Miss Anna E., daughter of Stephen Thorn, of Utica, and they had one daughter, Sarah T., who married William B. Lane, M. D., of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mrs Wiley died November 16, 1877, and in 1880 Mr. Wiley married, second, Helen A. Taft, of Worcester, Mass., whose death occurred August 2,1891.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Anken, Samuel, was born in Switzerland, May 27, 1829, a son of John and Eliza- beth (Lenher) Anken. He came to America in 1850 and located at Lee Center, Oneida county, where he was employed by an uncle two years, after which he went to West Leyden, Lewis county, N. Y., where he engaged in business for himself in the manufacture of Swiss cheese, continuing there two years, and also for a period of two years each, engaged in the same business at North Western, Steuben, and Westernville. In 1859 he purchased a farm in Constableville, Lewis county, and engaged in farming for seven years, when he sold out, and in 1866 purchased the farm of 276 acres in the town of Western, where he now resides. He has one of the finest farms in the towns, on which he has made all the improvements in farm build- ings, the old ones having burned down October 5, 1878. Mr. Anken still continues in the manufacture of Swiss cheese, and is one of the most successful farmers in Western. He is a member of the German Lutheran church, and in politics is a Democrat.

Abbott, John W., was born in the town of Annsville, July 12, 1818, and is a de- scendant of Peter Abbott, who was born in Connecticut and came to this town in 1806, being among the very first settlers. Peter Abbott, father of John W., married Sophia, daugher of John Spinning, by whom he had two children: Betsey, deceased, and John W., who received his education in the district schools, after which he en- gaged in farming. The Spinning family emigrated from Massachusetts to the town of Lee, Oneida county, in 1795, thence to the town of Florence in 1805, where they remained until death. They were among the five families to whom Gerrit Smith gave fifty acres of land each. John W. Abbott married Minerva Wetherbee, of Anns- ville, by whom he had eight children, four of whom are living: Frank L., Sophia, Ann and Jennie B. Mrs. Abbott died August 1, 1868. Mr. Abbott is a Democrat in politics, and has been assessor of the town for seven years and commissioner three years.

Abel, William P., was born in Prussia, Germany, September 23, 1826, son of Will- iam and Catherine Abel, who settled in Montgomery county, N. Y. in 1834. William P. came to Oneida county in 1857. In 1849 he married Marie Keiner, by whom he had three children: Almira Tremain, Mary E. Kent; and Nettie Peckham, all of whom are natives of Oneida county. Mr. Abel started in life as a farmer, which business he has followed to the present time, and is also an apiarist, having about seventy swarms of bees. He has been assessor of the town, also trustee of the school and cemetery.

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Atwood, Willard T., was born in the town of Floyd, N. Y., November 4, 1849, son of Sylvester B. and Margaret (Moulton) Atwood. He was one of four children: Windsor M., Maggie, Francis and Willard. He married Addie, daughter of Melanc- ton Raymer, by whom he had two children: Florence M. and Grace M. (deceased). He started for himself at eighteen years of age, as station agent at Stittville, for the U. & B. R. R., which he followed until 1888. In 1872 he engaged in the produce, coal and lumber business, and which he continues to the present time. In 1881, he associated with C. W. Hacket, and bought J. S. Maxwell's interest in the knitting mill, which employs about 100 hands in the manufacture of men's underwear. He is president and general manager of the Stittville Canning Co., and is a member of the Utica F. & A. M. No. 47, also chapter, council, and shrine of the I. O. O. F. of Trenton, and has held the office of chief counselor in the United States.

Anderson, August, was born in Helsieberg, Sweden, in 1850, one of seven children born to Andrus and Elsie (Polson) Anderson: Peter, John, Martin, August, Butilda, Pertrollie, and Engried. At the age of sixteen August Anderson became a sailor and when twenty-one years old he came to the United States, remaining in New York city for six years as boatman on the Hudson River. In 1878 he came to Forest- port and settled on his present farm of 300 acres. In 1871 Mr. Anderson married Hannah Louisa, daughter of Peter Lannstrom and Olena (Johnson) Peterson, of Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have three children: John Otto, Ida Caroline, and Jennie May. They are members of the Presbyterian church of Forestport.

Baker, Philip J., was born in Bavaria, Germany, August 18, 1839, a son of Ferd- inand and Doretta Baker, who settled at East Floyd in 1854. He was one of twelve children: Philip J., Conrad, Lewis, Albert, Frank, Henry, Christian, Louise, Sophia, Sarah, Emma and Etta. Ferdinand Baker engaged in farming, and was active in the educational interests and developments of the town. Philip J. Baker learned the carpenter trade, and in which he engaged until he enlisted August 7, 1862, Battery H, 3rd N. Y. Light Artillery, and joined Burnside's army in North Carolina. He also served under Generals Foster, Butler and Grant, and was discharged June 24, 1865, and was wounded twice at Petersburg. August 3, 1865, he married Sophia E., daughter of George Gerard of Morehouseville, N. Y., by whom he has six children : Hattie Young, Annie, Flora, Addie, Lena May and Philip J. jr., all natives of the town of Floyd. Mr. Baker is now engaged in the planing, saw and grist mill busi- ness at East Floyd, and is a manufacturer of cheese boxes, and is also interested in a farm at Remsen. He was elected justice of the peace one term and was supervisor in 1884-5, also 1893-4-5. He has been a deacon of the Baptist church for several years.

Bentley, Hon. Henry W., was born in De Ruyter, N. Y., in 1838, son of General Z. T. Bentley, a Democratic leader of distinction. Mr. Bentley was educated at the Yates Polytechnic Institute and elsewhere, then became principal of the Eaton Union School, and also taught at Madison, N. Y., and Bloomingdale, Ill. He was admitted to the bar in 1861 and soon opened an office at Boonville, where he has become identified with the best interests of the town. He has served as village president for several terms. He was one of the original incorporators of the First National Bank, and has, from its first organization, been vice-president of that flourishing institution. He ably represented the counties of Oneida and Lewis in

FAMILY SKETCHES.

the Fifty-second Congress, and was there a prominent advocate for a ship canal from the Great Lakes to the Hudson. As receiver in the celebrated Taylor will con- test in New York city; as commissioner in West Shore Railroad claims and in claims for damages by reason of the taking of the waters of Skaneateles Lake by the city of Syracuse; as special- commissioner for the investigation of Erie county politics which resulted in the removal of Sheriff Beck; as surrogate of Oneida county, and in other affairs of wide import, he has repeatedly demonstrated ability and integrity. Mr. Bentley holds high rank, not only as a gentleman and a lawyer, but as an orator, financier and legislator.

Boyd, Chauncey, was born in Western, December 11, 1809, son of James and Me- hitabel (Reynolds) Boyd, natives of Rhode Island, among the pioneers of Western, where they lived and reared a family of five children, and where they died. Chaun- cey Boyd has always resided in Western, and has lived on the farm he now occupies for sixty-four years. In 1831 he married Catherine, daughter of John and Rachel (Carpenter), of Western, by whom he had five children: Almira (Mrs. Edwin Fraser); Squire: Charlotte (Mrs. Wilbur Cummins); Jane (Mrs. Robert D. Phillips); and Emma (Mrs. Alvin R. Stone). , Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are probably the oldest living married couple residing in Western, this date, August 16, 1895.

Ballou, Hon. Walter, was born in Boonville, in 1839, son of William Ballou. His grandfather, Pelatiah Ballou, is of Huguenot extraction, and came to Boonville in 1799 from Rhode Island, whither he had fled, to escape the religious intolerance of Massachusetts. Walter Ballou began his legal studies with H. R. Hadley of this place, and after admission to the bar in 1868, began practice here, where his genial nature and professional ability have made for him a wide circle of friends. At his election to the Assembly in 1876, he was the first Democrat elected in twenty years. In 1862 Mr. Ballou went to the front as first lieutenant in the 126th Regiment, and after Fredericksburg, was discharged for disability, making a protracted but com- plete recovery. In 1864 he married Eugenia Brinkerhoof of Boonville, by whom he has two daughters; Harriet and Eugenia, the former a graduate of Cornell Univer- sity, and the latter of Boonville Academy.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 91

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