Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 94

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 94

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Beyel, Charles, was born in Ava, N. Y., March 22, 1854, son of Phillip and Eliza- beth (Fadner) Beyel, natives of Germany. Phillip Beyel came to America in 1829, and settled in Buffalo, N. Y. Mrs. Beyel came with her parents, Martin and Eliza- beth Fadner, in 1832 and also settled in Buffalo. In 1840 they came to Ava, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The grandparents, Phillip and Barbara Beyel, lived and died in Germany, and Phillip was a wagonmaker. Phillip, jr., was

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

a soldier in Germany eight years. He bought a farm in Ava of 165 acres, and died in 1870. Mrs. Beyel is still living on the homestead with her son, Charles. He re- ceived his education in West Leyden school, and has always lived on a farm, and he owns 170 acres, and keeps from twenty to twenty-five cows. He is also a mason and carpenter. In 1876 he married Mary, daughter of Henry and Catherine Roser, by whom he has one daughter, Alta. Mr. Beyel is a Democrat and has been assessor three years, and was elected justice of the peace for a full term in 1896; he is a mem- ber of the Grange at West Leyden.

Spratt, Charles H., was born in Deerfield, Oneida county, N. Y., June 21, 1845, son of Charles and Elizabeth (Hogbin) Spratt, both natives of England, she of Dover and he of Kent; they came to Utica, N. Y., in 1844, and engaged in market gardening, which business they followed through life. Mr. Spratt died in 1881, aged seventy years. Charles H. Spratt was educated in the district and Williams private schools of Utica, and has since been engaged in market gardening for special custom- ers in Utica. In 1865 he married Winifred, daughter of Robert and Winifred Evans Owens, both natives of Wales and early settlers near Utica. Mr. and Mrs. Spratt have four children: William H., a farmer of Deerfield; George H., a barber at Utica ; Ella M .; and Minnie E., who died January 14, 1870, aged two years and six months.

Rogers, J. W., was born in Boonville in 1836, son of Josiah Rogers, who was also born in Boonville, in 1797, and who spent his whole life in this vicinity. His name is a synonym for unswerving honesty of purpose, reliance and substantial worth. His father, Jacob Rogers, being one of the first comers here from Massachusetts, was the central firgure in the development of all its resources. Jacob Rogers was elected the first supervisor of the town of Boonville in 1805. Josiah Rogers married Achsah Pitcher, daughter of Daniel Pitcher, by whom he had nine children. He died in 1864, aged sixty-seven years. In 1872 J. W. Rogers married Ellen Grant, daughter of Nelson C. Grant of Boonville, by whom he has two children: Edgar, aged twenty, and Grace, aged seventeen. Mr. Rogers was a Republican, but is now a prominent Prohibitionist, and an earnest advocate of the temperance cause. His family are members of the Baptist church, of which he has been a deacon for twenty- five years, and an active worker in all movements for the uplifting of society.

Waterbury, Nathaniel G., was born in Albany county, N. Y., March 12, 1847, son of Col. Stephen N. Waterbury, a native of Nassau, Rensselaer county, N. Y., born in 1805, one of nine children born to Joseph Waterbury. In early life Col. Stephen Waterbury was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods at Watervliet, Albany county, N. Y., but he afterwards disposed of his factory and purchased a farm, where he spent his remaining days. He was colonel of a company of State militia. He first married Caroline Sanford, and their children were Warren S., Joseph, Chaun- cey, and Mary C., all deceased except Joseph. Mr. Waterbury then married Ann E., daughter of Nathaniel and Esther Griffes, of Schenectady county, and their children were Carrie A., wife of Alonzo Denton, of Forestport; Angeline M., wife of Charles Denton of Forestport; and Nathaniel G. Mr. Stephen Waterbury died in 1857, and his wife in 1884, aged seventy-five years. In 1858 the family removed from the homestead to Schenectady, where Nathaniel G. attended school. At the age of fifteen he became a clerk in the boot and shoe store of John Consaul, with whom he remained seven years. In 1869 he came to Forestport and purchased the interest of

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Mr. Thurston in the firm of Denton & Thurston, general merchants, where he has since continued under the firm name of Denton & Waterbury. Under the manage- mont of these two gentlemen the business has been largely increased, Mr. Waterbury taking charge of the store and financial part of the business and Mr. Denton the manufacture of lumber. Mr. Waterbury was town clerk for several years and is now postmaster. He has often been elected delegate to county and district conventions. In 1869 he married Amelia, daughter of Angus McIntosh a resident of Schenectady, and who was assemblyman from that district. Their children are Angus M., a grad- uate of Poughkeepsie Business College, now has charge of the retail lumber business of Denton & Waterbury, at Whitesboro, N. Y .; Claribel, a graduate of Hamilton Seminary, an artist, having spent three winters at Cooper Institute in New York city ; Clarence, and Warren C.

Annis, Albert S., was born in Redfield, Oswego county, N. Y., March 16, 1855, son of Lury and Rebecca Brown Annis, who settled in Oneida county in 1862. Mr. and Mrs. Annis were the parents of nine children: Gardner C., deceased; John M., Volney P., Eleanor, Myron, Henry, Geraldine, Atwell, and Albert S. The latter married Mertie, daughter of John Auchard and a native of North Bay, and they are the parents of three children . Edith, Ola, and Lola. Albert has followed boat build- ing and boating as an occupation. Mr. Annis belongs to Sylvan Beach I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 326, the F. & A. M., No. 440, of Vienna, and at present is master of the Lodge, and has also held the position of junior and senior warden. Was elected supervisor of the town March 3, 1896.

Kenyon, Dr. O. S., was born in the town of Lee, September 20, 1836, son of Joseph Kenyon, who was also born in Lee. The ancestors came here from Connecticut when the town was a wilderness, and took up farming. O. S. Kenyon is one of three children from the union of Joseph Kenyon and Julia Douglas, daughter of Dr. S. Douglas, Sandy Creek, N. Y., with whom our subject began the study of medicine. He has been in practice and also ran a drug store in Taberg since 1868, twenty-eight years. He married Elizabeth J. Barton of Annsville. Under the administration of Grant and Hayes Dr. Kenyon was postmaster in Taberg from 1873 to 1881.

Gifford, Hamilton W., was born in the town of Smithfield, Madison county, N. Y., August 3, 1820. The father, Elihu R. Gifford, was born in Massachusetts, October 7, 1797, and came to Madison county when quite a young man, where he began life as a farmer, and remained there for a few years, then removing to the town of Flor- ence, Oneida county, where he spent the balance of his days. He married Diana Spencer of Saratoga county, N. Y., and they were the parents of four children: Hamilton W., Elmira, Jeanette, and Mary, the two latter being deceased. Hamil- ton W., was educated in the district schools of Florence, and he has been a farmer by occupation. For his first wife he married Rosanna, daughter of Daniel Plumb, and they have three children: Electa, Sarah, and Eugenie. His second wife was Mary, daughter of Isaac Northrop, and to them have been born five children: Will- iam, Henry, Rosanna, Elihu, and Thomas. William Gifford is assistant county clerk in Oneida county, and supervisor of the town of Camden. This family have always advocated the principles of the Republican party.

Neaskern, John, was born in Augusta, Oneida county, June 9, 1828, son of Henry

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

and Nancy (Utman) Neaskern, natives of Schoharie county, N. Y., who settled in Augusta in the early twenties, where the father engaged in farming, and died in the town of Paris, aged forty-seven years. John Neaskern was reared in Oneida county, and is a basketmaker by trade, and, with the exception of five years that he lived in Osceola, Lewis county, has resided in Western since 1842, where his principal occu- pation has been farming. In 1849 he married Sarah D., daughter of Abraham and Nancy (Vandawalker) Fox, of Western, by whom he has five children: Charles H .. Melissa J., Nancy (Mrs. Melvin Capron); Melva (Mrs. J. C. Stannard); and Lizzie S. Mr. Neaskern was in the late civil war, enlisting in 1861, in Co. I, 81st N. Y. Vols., and was honorably discharged from the service on account of disability in April, 1862. He is a member of the M. E. church, and in politics is a Prohibitionist.

Norton, William M., was born in Georgetown, Madison county, N. Y., November 24, 1840, a son of Ezra and Margaret (Louk) Norton, natives of Chenango county, N. Y., and Western, respectively. His maternal grandfather, a native of Rensse- laer county, N. Y., was a pioneer farmer of Western. Ezra Norton, father of Will- iam M., was a stone and brick mason and plasterer by trade. In 1851 he located in Western and worked at his trade until the breaking out of the civil war, when he enlisted in Co. G, 2d N. Y. Heavy Artillery, and after two years service died of brain fever in a Washington hospital. William M. was reared in Western from eleven years of age, and was educated in the common schools. He has followed various occupations, including clerking, boating on the canal, farming, merchandising, and since 1881, has conducted a tin shop at North Western. In 1873 he married Martha, daughter of John and Catherine (Casler) Van Buskirk, of Western. He is a mem- ber of the F. & A. M., R. A. M., and K. T., has been town clerk of Western and served as justice of the peace sixteen years. In politics he is a Democrat.

Nicholas, Henry, M. D., was born in London, England, October 28, 1826, son of Rober and Jane Nicholas, who settled in Oneida county in 1833, first in Utica, where Mr. Nicholas worked at shoemaking a few months, and then in Whitestown, where he followed farming. Henry married Rhoda Ann, daughter of Daniel and Nancy Redway, and they have two children: Elbert J., deceased, and Annie R., who is the wife of Frank A. Whittemore, and to them have been born six children: Ola A., wife of C. D. Sole, Elbert Nicholas, Hattie, Carrie Estella, Clarence F., and Hattie M., deceased. Henry attended Hamilton Academy, and the Monroe Academy of El- bridge, and then studied with Dr. Hiram Hoyt of Syracuse He was graduated from the Geneva Medial College, and commenced practicing in North Bay in 1856. He is a member of the Oneida County Medical Society, the Vienna F. & A. M. Lodge No. 440, and of the Baptist church. He has been town clerk two years, and twice represented the town in the Board of Supervisors.

Nichols, Henry, was born in Winters, Holland, in 1845, son of Christ Nichols, who came to America and settled in Forestport in 1857, and followed various occupations, spending the remainding days with his son. He married Anna Oonk, by whom he had eight children: John, Garrett, Hannah, Jennie, Henriette. Catherine, Dora and Henry. Mrs. Nichols died in January, 1881, and he died in May, 1886. Henry Nichols, at twelve years, began at common labor, and by his industry and integrity, has made himself what he is; he at eighteen, learned the turner's trade, which he followed until he was twenty-five, when he engaged in the lumber business, pur-

FAMILY SKETCHES.

chasing his present farm of 300 acres, and saw mill of about 1,000,000 feet yearly capacity. He now owns between 6,000 and 7,000 acres of timber land, all of which he has obtained through his own exertions. He devotes one of his farms to dairy produce, keeping about forty-five cows, besides other stock. In 1892 he erected the Adirondack and St. Lawrence Hotel at White Lake, and which he now rents. He was elected four successive terms as commissioner of highways, and is a member and one of the trustees of the Masonic order, and has an interest in the Masonic Hall in Forestport. In 1875 he married Sarah Stell, who was born in Forestport, a daughter of Philip and Lena Stell, of Germany, and they had three children: Albert, who died at the age of fourteen; George, who died at the age of twelve; and Lena. Mrs. Nichols died in 1885, and he married for his present wife, Sarah E., dangliter of Zara and Mary J. Putney, of Forestport, by whom he has two children: Edith and Arthur.

Owen, John, was born in Boonville, in 1825, of Welch and German ancestry. At twelve years of age, he went into the store of Peter Schuyler, and three years later to New York city as a dry goods salesman. His first independent business venture, was when he was nineteen years old, when lie established the firm of Burns & Owen. In 1845 he came back to the town of his birth, and for twenty-five years, conducted a general store, and lumber business, with branch houses at Oriskany Falls, and Hamilton, and in 1865 erected a woolen mill at Oriskany Falls. Since 1870, he has been identified with the clothing trade, with headquarters at Utica, and in 1874 established a large and magnificent store at Indianapolis. Personally, Mr. Owen is most genial and unassuming.

Phelps, Pliny, was born in the town of Camden, January 21, 1816, son of Benjamin Phelps, who was born in the town of Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1782. He came to the town of Camden in 1803, and cleared a farm of two hundred and twenty-five acres. He married Sallie Parke of Connecticut, and they were the parents of seven children. Pliny Phelps was educated in the district schools of Camden, and has been mostly engaged in farming and Inmbering. He has also been a carpenter and builder, and has erected a great many buildings in the town of Camden. He mar- ried Nancy, daughter of John Robinson of Vienna, and they have five children: Byron, William, Adelia, Sophia, and Jennie. Mr. Phelps was commissioner of high- ways in 1859, '60 and '61, and supervisor in 1862. In politics he is a Republican.

Roberts, Daniel J., was born in the town of Trenton, Oneida Co., A. D., 1833, July 8, being the youngest child of the late John J. and Mary Roberts, who came from North Wales and settled in Oneida county in 1819. Their children were Owen J., Mary, Ann, Jeanette, Jane, and Daniel J., the subject of this sketch. Mr. Roberts learned the trade of carpenter and joiner and became a contractor at the age of twenty-three, and followed the trade many years. After a tour of two years to the Pacific coast he returned and married Laura, daughter of the late William W. and Mary Prichard of the town of Remsen, Oneida county, by whom he has two daugh- ters, Mary E., and Margaret M. In politics he is a Republican, and has served his town as highway commissioner eight terms. He is now living at Hinckley, N. Y.

Pillmore, William F., was born in Western, Oneida county, September 19, 1853, a son of William and Catherine (McAlpine) Pillmore, and is of English and Scotch

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

parentage. He was reared on the farm he now owns and occupies, educated in the public schools and Cazenovia and Whitestown Academies, and has always followed farming as an occupation. July 4, 1877, he married Louisa, daughter of Christian and Margaret (Bienz) Stahl, of Western, by whom he has seven children: Chester C., Leonard R., Ina E., Tina L., William Roy, Bertha M., and an infant daughter. Mr. Pillmore is a member of the F. & A. M., has served three terms as supervisor of Western, and in politics is a Republican.

Pillmore, Johnson, was born in Western, Oneida county, N. Y., January 23, 1848, a son of William and Catherine (McAlpin) Pillmore, natives of England and Scotland, respectively. William, who was born in 1821, was a son of William and Sarah (Row- botham) Pillmore, and came to America in 1833, and has spent nearly all of his life in Western, where he still resides as a retired farmer. His wife, Catherine, was a daughter of William and Sarah (Johnson) McAlpin, natives of Scotland, and lately of Boonville. Mr. and Mrs. Pillmore are the parents of eight children: Sarah (Mrs. Evan Owens), Johnson, William, Mary (deceased), Frank, Robert, David, and Ed- ward (deceased). Johnson Pillmore was educated at Rome Academy, where he spent four years under the preceptorship of M. C. West, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, from where he was graduated in 1872, and College of Medicine and Surgery, Cincinnati, O., class 1871-2. He began the practice of his profession in the hospitals of the latter city, and in 1873 located at Delta, where he has since resided and built up a lucra- tive practice. November 13, 1872, he married Sarah, daughter of William and Martha (Evans) Reese of Western, formerly of Wales, and to them were born two children: Catherine E., and Susie B. For his second wife he married Mary, daugh- ter of Alfred and Sophronia (Rogers) Utley of Western, and they are the parents of two children : George U., and Sarah S. Dr. Pillmore is a member of the Methodist church, the F. & A. M., and Oneida County Medical Society. In politics he is a Democrat. Tradition links the family history of the Pillmores with that of Rev. Joseph Pilmore, one of the traveling preachers sent to America in 1769 by John Wesley.

Potter, John H., was born in Lewis county in 1852, son of Stephen Potter, who was born in the town of Boonville in 1810, and he was one of five children born to John and Amy Potter. John Potter, grandfather of John H. Potter, was a native of Rhode Island; he was a farmer and came to Oneida county, where he settled in Boonville in 1805. He was a great reader, and well informed on all subjects, and lived to be ninety-seven years of age, and his wife to be eighty-six years of age. Stephen Potter was a carpenter and farmer, and did a great deal of contracting and building. He lived in Lewis county many years, and is now residing with his son at West Branch, Oneida county, N. Y. He married Esther Harris, by whom he had eight children: Jerome, William, Norman, John, Almeda, Amy, Jeanette, and

Gertrude. His wife died in 1890. John H. Potter was educated in the common schools, and at twenty years of age engaged in farming at Forestport, which he still continues; and in addition to his farming he has conducted a fire insurance busi- ness. He has served as town constable, collector, poormaster, and is now serving his fourth term as justice. He is a member and one of the organizers of the S. F. I., of which he was commander. In 1872 he married Mary, daughter of

FAMIEY SKETCHES.

Anthony and Mary Parsons, of Leyden, N. Y., who died in 1895, leaving three chil- dren: Lizzie, wife of Fred Stephon of Boonville; Florence and Walter, who are all members of the Presbyterian church.

Roberts, Thomas D., was born in the town of Deerfield, August 24, 1825, son of David M. and Eleanor Roberts, who came to Deerfield in 1820. He was one of five children: David E., Thomas D., Robert M., John B., and Mary. His father, David M., helped to build the Erie Canal and after his settlement in Deerfield followed farming, and was active in religious work. Thomas D. Roberts married Anne H., daughter of David Isaacs, of Utica. He was engaged in cheese-making for twenty- one years, after which he engaged in farming. He was elected supervisor of the town of Floyd in 1873-4-7, and to the Assembly in 1880-81. He is president of the Farmers' Insurance Company of Westernville, and director of the Farmers' National Bank of Rome, also vice-president of the Oneida County Savings Bank.

Rogers, Stephen, was born in Western, March 12, 1836, son of James and Eve (Frank) Rogers, natives of Montgomery county, N. Y., who settled in Western about 1830 and engaged in farming, where they resided until their death. Their children were Angeline (Mrs. Alfred Waldo), Andrew, Harriet, John J., Louisa, Stephen, and George. His paternal grandfather, Francis Rogers, also a native of Montgomery county, N. Y., was an early settler of Western, and a farmer by occu- pation. Stephen Rogers was reared and educated in Western, where he has always resided, and is a farmer by occupation. He is a member of the M. E. church, and politically is an advocate of prohibition.

Rinkle, David, was born in the town of Steuben, N. Y., May 9, 1826, son of Law- rence Rinkle, who was born in the town of Schuyler, N. Y., December 11, 1777, the only son of Lawrence Rinkle, sr. His grandfather, Lawrence Rinkle, was a native of Alsace, Germany, and was engaged in farming. He came to America before the Revolutionary war, and joined the army under General Herkimer, and was killed in the battle of Oriskany, August 11, 1777. Two years later the mother, while in search of a calf in the woods, with two neighbors, was fired upon by Indians; her companions were killed and she taken prisoner, and transferred to the Genesee country on foot. She was held prisoner for three years until the close of the war, when she was escorted to her home, where she had been mourned as dead. Law- rence jr., was born after his father had been killed, and in early life learned the blacksmith trade, and later engaged in farming. In 1826 he came to Oneida county, where he became prosperous and owned considerable property. In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and was a great reader of German and English litera- ture. His first wife was Catherine Yuker, by whom he had eight children, and his second wife was Catherine Lints, and they have two children: Jacob and David. He lived to be ninety-three years of age. David Rinkle was educated in the district school, and spent his life on his present farm of 140 acres in Boonville, where he moved in 1849. In 1849 he married Eliza, daughter of Henry and Miriam (Denslow) Shott, by whom he has two children: Rowena, wife of George Farley of Forestport; and Dr. La Fayette Rinkle of Boonville.

Rees, Thomas R., was born in Westernville, Oneida county, August 18, 1856, a son of William and Ann (Jenkins) Rees, natives of Wales, and is of Welch and

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Scotch extraction. His parents came to America about 1854, and settled in Western- ville, where the father, who was a blacksmith by trade, followed that vocation up to his death, which occurred May 24, 1894. His children were Thomas R., William Warren (deceased), and Sarah J. Thomas R. was reared in Westernville, educated in the common schools and Cazenovia Seminary, and began life as a teacher, which he followed for two years, after which he served as clerk in a general store for four years. In 1881, with C. P. Remore, he purchased the Westernville Union Store, which was conducted under the firm name of Rees & Remore up to 1888, when he purchased his partner's interest and has since conducted the business alone. In 1885 he married Ida A., daughter of John D. and Lucy Sloat, of Canastota, N. Y., by whom he has one daughter, Vera M. Mr. Rees is a supporter of the Presby- terian church, has always taken an active part in politics, and is a staunch Repub- lican.

Smith, George H., was born in the town of Camden, July 4, 1846. His father, Samuel L. Smith, was also born in this town, and was one of its prominent farmers. He married Amanda Munson, of West Camden, by whom he had five children. George H. was for a number of years clerk in the store of J. G. Dorrance, but in 1876 started for himself, conducting a general store, carrying a full line of dry goods, groceries, etc. He married Caroline, daughter of J. E. Simmons, by whom he had four children: Edwin L., Lucy H., Florence M., and Wilbert B.

Sporie, Charles, was born in Western, August 24, 1864, a son of David and Susan (Anken) Sporie, natives of Berne, Switzerland, who came to America in 1834 and located in Steuben, Oneida county, where the father spent five years as a farm hand, and in 1860 purchased the farm in Western, now occupied by our subject, where he engaged in farming and in the manufacture of Swiss and limburger cheese, and where he died. His children who grew to maturity were Katic (Mrs. Samuel Galle), Eliza (Mrs. Michael Surbeck), Adeline (Mrs. Charles Weismiller), Rosa (Mrs. Henry Bahr), and Charles. Mr. Sporie died December 20, 1885, sixty-two years. Charles Sporie was reared on the homestead, where he was born and which he now owns and occupies, and like his father is a farmer and maker of limburger cheese. Marchi 5, 1890, he married Clara, daughter of Philip and Catherine Miller, of Floyd. Mr. Sporie is a member of Trinity Lutheran church of Rome, and in politics he is a Re- publiean.

Swan, Gustavus, was born in Western, September 1, 1828, a son of Jonathan Swan, and Lydia Bradford Butts, his wife, who was a direct descendant of Governor Bradford, who came over in the Mayflower, 1620. The Swan family, two sons and three daughters, came from New Hampshire about the beginning of the present century, and settled in Western, where they lived and died, excepting one of the sons, Jonathan, who removed to Cayuga county, and died there about 1825. John Swan, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Newport, R. I., emigrated to New Hampshire, and served his country through the war of the Revo- lution as a soldier from that State. Gustavus Swan early became connected with the telegraph system of Prof. Morse, and had charge of the offices at Rome and Rochester, N. Y., from 1845 to 1849, when he removed to New York, where he re- mained unil 1878, and was prominently identified with the growth of and extension

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 94

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