USA > New York > Tioga County > Our county and its people : a memorial history of Tioga County, New York > Part 66
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THOMAS CATLIN WASHBURN was born in Spencer, October 4, 1861, and was the son of Willard and Sarah (Decker) Washburn. The father was a substantial farmer of the town and was the son of one of the early settlers in this part of the county. He now lives at VanEtten. Thomas was educated at the VanEtten union school, was graduated at Albany normal college in 1885, and then for two years was principal of an academic school at Blue Point, Long Island. He read medicine with Dr. A. H. Terry, of Patchogue, during the period of his teaching, and then entered Albany medi- cal college from which he was graduated in 1889. The same year Dr. Washburn located at Spencer and has since practiced in the town and this part of the county. Abundant success has been his from every point of view, but Dr. Washburn is a young man with the future before him. He is interested in all that pertains to the welfare of the village and town. He has been elected trustee on the union ticket, and since January 1, 1895, has been county coro- ner. On October 20, 1891, Dr. Washburn was married with Nettie S., daughter of Seymour Seely. They have one child.
MARCUS ABNER DUMOND was born in Danby, October 19, 1852. and was the son of John Dumond, and the grandson of Isaac Du- mond, the latter the first white male child born in Tompkins coun-
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ty ; and Sally, sister to Isaac, was the first white female child born in the same territory. From this it will be seen that Dr. Dumond, of Spencer, is descended from pioneer stock in this part of the state ; and what is equally notable, the ancestors and family were among the most influential and respected of the early settlers in the region. Marcus A. Dumond was the son of John and Sarah Dumond and the eldest of their five children. He lived at home on the farm until he was 22 years old acquired his early education in the dis- trict schools. He read medicine with Dr. John E. Beers, of honored memory, and attended both the Ohio and University of Buffalo medical colleges, and was graduated at the latter in 1880. He at once began practice at West Danby and built up a desirable client- age in that town, but in 1892 he decided to remove to Spencer, and in that village he has since lived and established a reputation as a thorough and radical physician and surgeon which is both enviable and merited. Unlike many physicians, Dr. Dumond loves his pro- fession, particularly the branch of practice relating to surgery, in which he is nothing if not radical and in which he has achieved a reputation for skill possessed by few physicians of his age and ex- perience. His methods are advanced, his views are fixed but not arbitrary, and every element of his nature stamps hini a man and physician of wholly independent character. Outside of his profes- sion Dr. Dumond takes an active interest in local and public affairs, and has been for many years a strong republican, standing high in the councils of the party, and in a disinterested position for he has no political ambition to gratify. On April 3, 1875, Dr. Du- mond was married with Augusta Thayer, of Danby, by whom he has two children.
ROBERT H. FISHER, JR., M. D., of Spencer, son of Robert H. and Mary Hart Fisher, born in Spencer, September 20, 1872, and was educated at Spencer academy and university of Buffalo, graduat- ing from the medical department in May, 1895, graduated with first honors of class of '95 and practices his profession in Spencer.
DAVID WATKINS, son of William and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Wat- kins, was born June 12, 1821, in Athens, Bradford county, Pa.
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Receiving a common school education at the schools of Athens and Litchfield, he later became a pilot of lumber rafts on the Susque- hanna from Tioga Point to Havre de Grace, the head of the Ches- apeake bay, and followed this vocation successfully for ten years. On March 16, 1848, he was married with Amanda, a daughter of Wil- liam and Lucinda (Hubbard) Crum, and six years after, in 1854, made his residence in Spencer. Their children were : Oscar (born January 8, 1850, died January 16, 1860), Miner D., Medora E. (born November 30, 1854, died September 7, 1894), Ophelia (born April 7, 1856, married Edward Mabee) and Myron S. Mr. Watkins has held various local offices, has been road commissioner for quite a num- ber of years, was an assessor for three years, and has been a mem- ber of the Spencer lodge of Free Masons for about forty years. The Crum family came from Peru, N. Y., to Tioga county after the war of 1812, and permanently located at Spencer about 1815.
MINER D. WATKINS, born February 2, 1853, after attending the schools of Spencer and Owego academy, was graduated from a Binghamton commercial college and became a clerk in the drygoods store of Truman & Thompson at Owego. After a time he went to Chicago, Ill., and was a drygoods salesman there for three years. At the expiration of that time he went into business for himself as a real estate operator, in which he was engaged for four years, returning to Spencer, his present residence, in 1892. Mr. Watkins has been a valued member of the masonic fraternity for fifteen years, is a member of the commandery at Binghamton, and for three terms was the high priest of New Jerusalem chapter. In other and numerous ways Mr. Watkins is an active and public spirited member of society and a loyal citizen.
MYRON S. WATKINS, M. D., born May 15, 1858, in Spencer, studied medicine with Dr. Alonzo Norris of Spencer, and Dr. Farn- ham, of Binghamton, then of Candor. He attended lectures at Buffalo medical college, from which he was graduated in 1880, and at once (in June, 1880,) engaged upon the brilliant career of practice in Elmira which soon placed him high in rank not only among the physicians of that city, but of the state as well. He was a tireless worker, an unceasing student, and the
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many duties of a very large and exacting practice did not hinder his pursuit of knowledge in his dearly loved profession. He was elected coroner at Elmira, but that was soon dismissed as it in- terfered with his larger duties. He attended the post-graduate college of New York city, and from June, 1890, to June, 1891, was a student abroad at the famous medical university of Berlin, Ger- many, from which he received a diploma. On his return he again was absorbed in his practice, sparing himself not in the least. In the brief period of his activity he accomplished more than many men do in a long lifetime. He died February 15, 1892, in Elmira, leaving a long procession of mourners, to whom he was not only a phenomenal healer, but a loyal friend.
AMOS HOLDRIDGE, son of Elisha and Mary (Shaff) Holdridge, was born near Montrose, Pa., July 13, 1813. He was educated at the common schools, and when nine years old his parents moved to Spencer and he rode a horse and drove the cattle. He married Wealthy, daughter of William Loring. They had two children, Edgar P., and William A. The family was members of the Bap- tist church. He died July 9. 1893. Edgar P. Holdridge was born in 1841, and was married with Melvina Babcock, and resides in New York city. He is a real estate dealer. William A. Holdridge was born September 13, 1843, was educated at Spencer public schools and Owego academy, and afterward taught school for several terms. In 1869 he went to Virginia and purchased a farm and engaged in farming. In 1871 he was married with Mary Bab- cock, who lived only six months. He then sold his farm and came to Owego and clerked for his brother three years. Then he went to Nevada and was assistant superintendent for the Ural silver mine company for three years, and returned then to his native town where he has since resided. On June 19, 1878, he was married with Catharine Andrews, and had four children, George, Clara, Sarah, and Charles. Mr. Holdridge is engaged in farming and dairying and resides on the old homestead and is a member of the Baptist church.
DANIEL C. BROOKS, whose comfortable home is just north of Spencer village and whose farm is known as one of the best in the
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town, was a native of Danby, born December 21, 1836, and was one year old when his father came to Spencer. His young life was spent on the farm and in the lumber mill, with attendance at dis- trict school in the winter. But at the age of 22 he took the farm and afterwards cared for his crippled father and infirm mother during the rest of their lives. He paid for the land and gave his parents a life estate in the property. In 1877 Mr. Brooks bought a part of the old Spaulding farm, and here he has since lived and has improved the place and made it one of the best farms in all Spencer. During his almost lifelong residence in this town, Mr. Brooks has formed an extensive acquaintance in the county, and is also known as one of the firm republicans of northern Tioga. For six years he was highway commissioner and for the last three years has been one of the town assessors. He has been otherwise prom- inent in town affairs and an active factor in whatever he thinks to be right. In 1864 Mr. Brooks married with Mary M. Seely, by whom he has had six children : Celia, Edith M., Byron E., Susie Wells, Bessie Belle and Ada Brooks.
LEWIS J. VAN WOERT, son of Lewis Van Woert, who is men- tioned among the early settlers of Spencer, was born in the town in 1828, and from his infancy until 1893 lived on the old home farm in the north part of Spencer, then removed to the village. He has always been a farmer, an earnest plodder along life's path- way and a man who has always enjoyed the confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen ; an ardent republican and for 16 years was one of the town assessors. In 1851 Mr. Van Woert was married with Miranda A., daughter of Peter Van Woert, of Oneonta, N. Y., by whom he had three children : Nettie, who married with Frank Bowen and is now dead ; Carrie M., wife of Frederick Fisher, and Flora E. Van Woert, married with C. S. Vorhis of North Da- kota. His wife died October 27, 1891, and on April 18, 1893, Mr. Van Woert married with Myra M., the daughter of Cornelius Lord, of Prattsburgh, N. Y.
ALBERT J. CARD, one of the most thorough farmers, one of the best town officers, and one of the strongest republicans of Spencer,
TOWN OF SPENCER. 705
who was highway commissioner three years and overseer of the poor for a like term, has lived in Spencer since 1873. He was born at Homer, December 26, 1824, and was the son of Elijah B. Card, a farmer who brought up his sons to work. The family removed to Dryden, and when of age, Albert began lumbering and farming, chiefly farming, until he came to Spencer, as we have noted. Here he first bought the Nichols interest in the old planing mill opposite the hotel, and near the creek, which he run three years and then traded it for a farm near Halsey Valley ; and that, in turn, he ex- changed for the farm he now owns, which is mentioned as one of the best in Spencer. In 1847 Mr. Card was married with Anna Chatfield, by whom he had two children, both of whom, with the mother as well, are dead. For his second wife Mr. Card married, in 1860, with Susan C., daughter of James Roosa, by whom he has one daughter, Mary, wife of Jerome B. Howell, of Newfield.
SAMUEL HULL, with several brothers, came from Killingsworth, Conn., in the fall of 1809 and made a settlement in Candor, about a mile and a half west of the village. The brothers were Lebbeus, Russell, Hubbard and Samuel Hull. Samuel was a farmer, not long married when he came, and his child, James Benjamin Hull, was then six months old. His children born in Candor were : Clarissa R., who married with William Loring and settled in Newark Valley ; Mary, who married with John Bacon ; Lydia M., who married and went to Wisconsin ; Samuel, Jr., who settled in Kansas ; Catharine A., who married and lived in Newark Valley ; Henry Hubbard, who also removed to Wisconsin ; Nathan Teall, who lived and died in Candor, and Elizabeth Sabrina Hull, who died in 1850. James Benjamin Hull was married in 1834 and lived in Candor until 1844, then removed to Spencer and bought the MeQuigg farm, about a mile north of the village, where he lived to the time of his death, February 16, 1889. His wife was Lucina Loring, born May 15, 1813, and died October 3, 1895. They had two children, Loring William and Mary Emily, the latter of whom died in infancy.
1
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
LORING WILLIAM HULL was born March 16, 1840, and since 1844 has lived in Spencer, on part of the home farm of his father, and is by occupation both farmer and surveyor ; and withal one of the foremost men in the town, possessing good business qualities and frequently called to positions of responsibility. He has been super- visor of the town since 1894. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church and has been superintendent of the Sunday school nearly fifteen years. He took an active part in organizing the Tioga county Patrons Fire Relief Association, and has been its secretary since it was organized, about twenty years. His wife, with whom he was married September 25, 1872, was Eva, daugh- ter of M. C. Whitney, of Newfield. Their children are Ida Lucena, a graduate of Cornell; Mary Elizabeth, graduate of Albany Nor- mal college and now a teacher in Brooklyn ; Louisa Tracy, an art student in New York ; and Grace Ethel, Kate Loring, Eva Whit- ney and Loring Leslie Hull, all of Spencer.
ROBERT VOSE, born in 1599, came to Dorchester, Mass., from England in 1635, and in 1654 bought 126 acres of the John Glover estate, lying in Dorchester and Milton. He gave eight acres of this land for the site of the first meeting house of Milton, where a splendid edifice was erected. Robert was a prominent citizen and christian, noted for his good works. He died on October 8, 1683. Several of his descendants were prominent in the revolu- tion ; among them Col. Joseph Vose, who served through the war with Washington. He was officer of the day when the British army evacuated New York city in 1781. Capt. Thomas Vose was a leading cavalry officer at Fort William Henry on Lake George in the Indian war, served in the revolution, and stood high in civil life in Milton. Other noted descendants were Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminister, Gov. Increase Sumner, Gen. Wm. Hyslop Sum- ner, Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner, Judge Henry Vose, Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Gov. Henry J. Gardner, Col. Elijah Vose, Hon. John Vose, Hon. Roger Vose of New Hampshire, Edmund J. Baker, Col. Josiah Vose, Hon. Solomon Vose, Hon. Richard H. Vose, Rev. Dr. James G. Vose, Mrs. Lydia Snow Vose (missionary), Hon. Henry L. Pierce, etc.
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ROGER VOSE, son of Samuel, grandson of Robert, born February 26, 1770, at Bedford, N. H., married Anna Bassett of Sharon, Mass., was a farmer of Bedford, and also owned saw and cider mills. He was a justice and coroner, weighed 250 pounds, and was known to every one as "Squire " Vose, In 1826 he came to Spencer, and purchased and settled on 100 acres in the east part of the town, and had a saw and grist mill. His children were Samuel, John, Phebe, Rachel, Jesse, Mary, Charles Otis, Nancy, Alfred and Cynthia.
JOHN VOSE, son of Roger, born in Bedford, N. H., October 20, 1796, married Elizabeth M. Parker, daughter of John, born No- vember 2, 1799. He was educated at Atkinson (N. H.) academy, where his uncle, Prof. John Vose, was principal, and later was a teacher. One of his scholars was Horace Greeley. He walked to Spencer in 1818 and in 1819 purchased a farm. He cleared his farm, built a saw mill, taught school, and was several times asses- sor, supervisor, etc. He was a charter member of Spencer lodge of Free Masons, and both himself and wife were life long members of the Baptist church. Their children were Alfred, Marcellus, Parker and Jane, all dead but Alfred, who resides in Danby, N. Y.
ALFRED VOSE, son of Roger and Anna Bassett Vose, born August, 1812, in Bedford, N. H., married Lavina Evelin, and re- sided on the farm, which his father purchased in Spencer, until his death on April 20, 1883. His wife survived him until July 3, 1893. Their children were Ann (Mrs. Charles Bunnell), Nancy (deceased) William H. (deceased), and Margaret (Mrs. Samuel Estham). Mr. Vose was an assessor for many years.
CAPTAIN JACOB VOSE, son of Lieutenant James Vose, and cousin to Roger, was born in New Hampshire, on December 15, 1771. He came to Spencer in 1819. He married Persis Dickermar. They had a family of eleven children. He married for his second wife Betsey Bassett. They had eight children. The only one of his first wife's children living is Sumner, who was born in Bedford, N. H., in 1813, and came to Spencer when six years old.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
He married Amanda Holcomb. They had six children, five boys and one girl. Of Jacob's second wife's children, six are living : Mary, Rachel, John, George, David and Olive. All reside in the west. Joshua died in the army.
THOMAS VOSE, son of Jacob and Betsey (Bassett) Vose, was born in Spencer, November 11, 1825. On January 14, 1849, he married Samantha Shepard, and they had four children, Sylvenus, Rev. Riley, Rev. Sylvester, and Sarah. Thomas was a farmer. The family were all members of the Baptist church, of which Thomas was deacon for many years and until his death, January 6, 1874.
SYLVENUS J. VOSE, son of Thomas and Samantha (Shepard) Vose, was born in Spencer, March 5, 1856. September 10, 1879, he was united in marriage with Phebe Clark, daughter of Lewis Clark. They have two children, Lena M. and Claude C. He is a member of Spencer lodge, No. 290, F. & A. M., and Eagle chapter, No. 58, R. A. M., of Ithaca, and St. Augustine commandery, No. 38, K. T., at Ithaca. He and his family are members of the Bap- tist church. He has been superintendent of the Sunday-school since 1895. For several years he was engaged in farming and has been manager of the Grove hotel since September 15, 1891.
REV. RILEY ADELBERT VOSE was born at Spencer, June 21, 1859, and prepared for college at Colgate academy, graduating from Madison university in 1885, and received the degree of A. B. at the same time. Graduating from Hamilton theologial seminary in 1889, he received the degree of A. M. Mr. Vose was pastor of the First Baptist church of Kingston two and one-half years, and of the Tabernacle Baptist church of Utica four years, and is now pas- tor of the North Avenue Baptist church of Cambridge, Mass. June 29, 1886, he married Florence Davis. One child, Howard Robert Vose.
REV. SYLVESTER S. VOSE, the present pastor of the Baptist church in Newfield, N. Y., was born in Spencer, November 28, 1864. He married Estella Brock, and has one child; Ethel S.
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MILTON HUGG, son of William and Lydia (Hunt) Hugg, was born in New Canaan, Conn., in 1790, and in 1800 came with his father to Spencer. His father had bought a lot of wild land two miles north of the village in 1799 and built a small log house for his future home. He cleared up the farm, which in a few years he sold and moved to West Danby, where he died. Milton was in the war of 1812, and served in the battles of Black Rock and Queens- town Heights. Coming to Spencer after the war closed, he mar- ried, in 1818, Esther, daughter of Reuben Case, of West Danby, the first white child born at Troy, Pa. They had eight children. Mr. Hugg was a millwright and built many mills. He also was a surveyor, and did much of the running of lines and the subdi- vision of lands around Spencer. He was a constable for over twenty years, a captain of militia, and a charter member of Spencer lodge of Free Masons, and at his death was the oldest member of the fraternity in this part of the state. He kept a hotel at West Danby for a time and was postmaster there, but most of his life was passed at North Spencer. He was an active democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Hugg were members of the Presbyterian church for over half a century. They both died in 1878. Horace Adams Hugg, the only son of Milton, was born in Spencer on July 18, 1838. He learned the carpenter's trade of his father and has for the last fifteen years worked for S. Alfred Seely. Previously he was engaged in lum- bering at North Spencer for fifteen years, owned three different mills and built a large steam saw mill there. On June 5, 1869, he was married with Elizabeth, daughter of John and Martha A. Storr. Both are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Hugg was for two years superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a great reader and a man of independent and original thought. He joined Spencer lodge of Free Masons when he came of age and is now a member. He belongs also to the societies of Red Men, Good Templars, and Royal Templars of Temperance, is a democrat in politics, takes active part in prohibitory movements, and has been an excise commissioner.
ALBERT SIGNOR, son of Peter and Lorena (Root) Signor, was born in Greenville, N. . Y., May 12, 1803. Peter settled in the
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southwest part of Danby in 1813, purchasing a farm which was his home until his death on April 19, 1852. Albert Signor on reach- ing manhood settled in the north part of Spencer, making the first clearing on the place he purchased. In 1835 Mr. Signor bought a large tract of new land on which was a saw mill built by Harley Lord. On this place also Mr. Signor made the first clearing and commenced the extensive lumbering business he conducted for so many years. The old mill burned in 1851 and the present mill was at once erected. It has a circular saw and its cutting capac- ity is 500,000 feet yearly. Mr. Signor was a large-hearted, gener- ous man, noted for his hospitality and integrity, and was one of the town's best citizens. He died October 1, 1889, and his wife January 5, 1881. Her maiden name was Anna English, and two of her three children are now living : Adonijah and Mary Ann, of West Danby, now Mrs. Ira Patchin. Adonijah Signor, born August 31, 1831, has lived on the Spencer farm since he was five years old. He has been an useful citizen, and a member of Spen- cer lodge of Free Masons since 1864. On March 14, 1860, he mar- ried Hannah A. Patchin, and they have two children, Hattie May and Mertie L., who married Frank A. Bell, Esq., of Waverly.
HORACE FURMAN, son of Daniel and Laura (Cole) Furman, was born in Ithaca, N. Y., November 11, 1826. His father died in Ithaca when Horace was five years old, and when the young lad had attained the age of fifteen the home surroundings were so un- congenial that he took what clothes he had, tied them in a hand- kerchief, and walked to Corning, where his brother Miles lived. With him he made his home until he was of age, and from him received at that time one hundred dollars in money and two suits of clothes. He then came to Spencer, worked six months on a farm for $18 a month, returned to Corning and purchased twenty- five acres of land of his brother, paying him the money he had earned as part payment. He then worked by the month for Miles until he had paid for the land. Mr. Furman's residence in Spencer began in 1866, when he purchased a beautiful farm at the north part of Spencer lake, and here he has since resided. In 1851, he married Lavina Jane Rumsey, who died in 1889. They had six
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TOWN OF NEWARK VALLEY.
children, three girls, Lottie (Mrs. George Lanning), Ella ( Mrs. William Brown) and Cynthia Jane Furman. The boys, Albert, Jackson and George, are dead.
EPHRAIM A. ACKLES, son of David and Esther (Hugg) Ackles, was born on February 19, 1861, in Spencer. He was reared a farmer and later was employed on his father's farm. In 1892 he married May Brigdon. They have one child, Florence. On August 7, 1893, Mr. Ackles purchased a general store at North Spencer, where he has since been successfully engaged in merchandising. The same year of his purchase of the store, he was commissioned postmaster of the North Spencer post office, which he now con- ducts. David Ackles, son of William and Hannah (Horton) Ackles, was born November 7, 1816, in the town of Onondaga, On- ondaga county, N. Y., and when seventeen came to Newfield, and worked on a farm four years, then, after three years residence in Danby, he made his home in Spencer for some years. In January, 1846, he married with Esther Hugg, daughter of Milton Hugg. They had ten children, of whom four boys and three girls are living. Mr. Ackles settled in the town of Van Etten, his present home in 1866. In 1873 Mr. Ackles lost his right arm by the accidental dis- charge of a gun, and on August 8, 1893, Mrs. Ackles fractured a hip by a fall, which crippled her for life.
TOWN OF NEWARK VALLEY.
JAMES DAVIDGE, superintendent of the Berkshire tannery of the United States Leather Company, was born October 18, 1840, at Liberty, Sullivan county, New York. He is a son of the late John and Eunice (Burr) Davidge. James was educated in the Normal institute at Liberty, graduating there in 1858. He entered his fa- tlier's tannery at Lake Como, Pa., and remained at that place un- til 1865 when he entered the firm of Davidge, Horton & Company, and purchased the tannery owned by T. C. Bidwell & Company at Berkshire, N. Y. In 1893 the company was with others merged
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