Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 116

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328

USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 116
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 116

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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PERSONAL SKETCHES.

honor. Here he carried on an extensive lumber business until his death. He was post- master of Devereaux fourteen years, and at one time was member of assembly in the New York State Legislature. He was an ardent Abolitionist and temperance man all his life. He died in 1874 and his wife in 1846. The subject of this notice with his family resided in Herkimer county ten years. They then moved to Oneida county, and later to Carthage, Jefferson county, having been engaged in the lumber business at the several named places. Finally, in 1885, he removed to Colton, where he engaged in the successful manufacture of piano sounding board lumber, veneers, ceiling and other fine lumber. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin had three children: Harriet E. ; Arthur W., who died at the age of five years; and Carl D., who died March 8, 1890, at the age of six- teen years. Harriet E. married James A. Devereaux of Binghamton, and has one child, a son, Frederick G. Her husband died March 9, 1894. Mr. Goodwin's advantages for an education were limited, but always hopeful and diligent, and being endowed with a strong and inquiring mind, he became through observation and association with the world, influential among all who knew him. He was a business man and conducted his business in so conscientious and upright a manner that all pointed to both the man and his calling with pride. He was an active and zealous worker in the church and Sunday school where he lived, and his character and example did much to raise the standard of both. For many years before his death he struggled manfully against, dis- ease and often worked beyond his strength. He died at Tucson, Arizona, February 11, 1890, where he had gone with the advice of physicians. He was buried at Boonville, N. Y., where he had formerly lived. Perhaps it can not be better said of him than in the words of one of his friends who has added to his eulogy : "Though he stood not among scholars, statesmen, literati, politicians or millionaires, he was by eminence, an honest man, an ingenious mechanician, a true patriot and citizen, in sympathy with everything right, a hater of everything wrong-one of God's own, and the world is better for his living in it."

Sackett, Martin Russell, Gouverneur, now holding the office of treasurer of the county, was raised on a farm in the town of Plymouth, Chenango county, this State. His family, on both father and mother's side, is from New England. His early educa- tion was obtained in the district school, a rather poorer district school than the average of those days. Always a reader, and ambitious of education, he managed to enter the Normal School at Cortland in the fall of 1872, and spent a couple of years in that ex- cellent institution. He then spent a year in teaching to obtain means for further' school work, entering Cazenovia Seminary in the fall of 1875, and by doing two years work in one was graduated from that school in the centennial year in the classical course, and the following autumn matriculated at Syracuse University, from which he graduated in June of 1880. Before his graduation he had been elected to the principal- ship of the Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary, which responsible place he assumed at the opening of the fall term of 1880, and held it for seven years, or until the institu- tion was discontinued and adopted as the academic department of the present Union school district of Gouverneur. In 1887 he organized the Gouverneur Publishing Com- pany for the publication of the Northern Tribune, which journal he has since managed and edited. Since leaving the educational field he has taken an active interest in poli-

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tics, and on the stump in his own and other counties he is regarded as one of the best debaters and strongest platform speakers of the section. In the convention of his party in the fall of 1893 he received a unanimous nomination to the office of county treas- urer, entering upon the very responsible duties of the office with the opening of the current year.

Reed, E., Russell, was born in Brownville, Jefferson county, July 18, 1844. He is a son of Walter and Malina (Nelson) Reed, she of Herkimer county and he of Oneida county, and the grandfather, William Reed, a farmer of Deerfield, was a pioneer of Oneida county. Walter Reed went to Michigan, where he bought land, afterwards re- turning to Oneida county. He had these children : Harriet E., born in 1846; Gordon N., born in 1842; Francis, born in 1848; and E. Reed, our subject. The latter went to live with his mother's people at the age of five years, and four years later came to St. Lawrence county to reside with C. L. Van Ornum. At the age of seventeen he en- listed in Company D, Sixtieth N. Y. Volunteers, serving throughout the war, being dis- charged July 20, 1865. He participated in the following battles : Gettysburg, An- tietam, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Chancellorsville, and Ringgold, and several others, where he was wounded. He was also with Sherman in his " March to the Sea." After the war Mr. Reed worked at carpentry for seven years, and in 1869 he bought eighty-six acres of land. This he sold and bought 190 acres, where he now lives, carrying on general farming and dairying, and also working at his trade. October 21, 1867, he married Rachel, daughter of William and Ellen (Watson) Stephenson, of Russell, and they have one son, William E., born March 19, 1876, who is now at- tending Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie. Mr. Reed is a Republican and has been nine years assessor. Robert Stephenson, brother of Mrs. Reed, served through the war, dying just at the close at Wilmington, N. C.

Eastman, S. E., Hopkinton, was born in Hopkinton, August 29, 1849, a son of Will- iam E. Eastman of the same town, born December 16, 1812. The father of the latter was Samuel Eastman, who was a native of Hopkinton, N. H., born in 1769, who went to Lincoln, Vt., and from there to Hopkinton, N. Y., in 1808. He bought 200 acres of land (at that time a wilderness), and commenced clearing a farm, which is the pres- ent home of S. E. Eastman, passing to the third generation. Samuel E. died in May, 1852. William E., his son, died December 14, 1887, was a farmer and dealer in cattle, butter and cheese, etc. He married Susan M. Covey, of Cornwall, Canada, who died in March, 1889, a daughter of Martin Covey, of New England. S. E. Eastman, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the common schools and St. Lawrence Acad- emy. His occupation is general farming and dairying. December 21, 1871, he mar- ried Harriet Sanford, youngest daughter of Col. Jonah Sanford, whese biography ap- pears elsewhere in this work. She was born in Hopkinton, March 4, 1850.

Brundage, Charles R., Russell, was born in Williston, Vt., November 20, 1822. His father, Joshua, was a son of Abraham, a native of Germany, who came to America dur- ing the Revolution, brought here by England, whose army he afterwards deserted. He married in Massachusetts Lois Yale, by whom he had four sons and four daugh- ters. He spent his last days in Williston, Vt., where his wife also died. Joshua

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Brundage was born in Williston, Vt., and married 'Prudy Barto, daughter of David Barto, of Vermont, and they had five sons and three daughters. He moved to Illinois and finally went to Michigan, where he died aged seventy-four years. Charles R. was educated in the public schools and learned the stonecutter's trade, which he fol- lowed over twenty years. He came to Clifton in this county at the age of twenty- one, where he has resided most of the time since. He owns a farm of 140 acres and follows general farming and dairying. He has been a Republican since the organi- zation of that party, and has been supervisor of the town for six years, assessor three years, and justice of the peace for thirty years. October 1, 1861, he was commissioned major of the Sixtieth N. Y. Volunteers, which he and Capt. Hugh Smith originated. May 1, 1862, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the same regiment, resigning November 6, 1862. He is a member of Russell Lodge No. 566, F. & A. M., and of Martin Post of Canton. He has been twice married, first to Samantha Lockwood, July 23, 1846, by whom he had these children : Sidney G., born September 23, 1848 ; Charles H., born April 27, 1851 ; Louisa M., born June 14, 1855, died December 18, 1858. Mrs. Brundage died April 7, 1859, and he married second Louisa Bowhall, born in Gouverneur, September 14, 1833, a daughter of Demarcus and Henriette Bowhall, of Johnston, Fulton county, and they have had the following children: Mary L., born April 29, 1861; William D., born April 3, 1864; Noble, born March 11, 1867 ; Perly J., born April 25, 1871; and George R., born October 7, 1876.

Douglas, John W., 2d, Colton, was born at Massena Point January 18, 1838. He is the son of James Douglas, a native of Canada, born in 1815, and the father of James was John, also a native of Canada, whose father, Robert Douglas came from Scotland to Canada during the Revolution. John was born in 1795 and came to Massena in 1833 for the first time. He finally settled in Colton, where he died in February, 1854. James Douglas was reared on a farm and educated in the district schools. He came to Colton in 1834, and a year later married Mary Labounty of Canada, born in 1816. They had four children : Elizabeth (deceased), wife of Andrew Perkins; John W., Sarah (deceased), wife of Chiarles Home of Massachusetts; Nettie, wife of Levi Chaney ; and our subject. John W. Douglas, 2d, was reared on a farm and remained at home until the age of twenty-nine. In 1858 he bought 108 acres of land, to which he has since added fifty-four acres. He follows dairying and general farming, and has also dealt to some extent in lumber. October 18, 1866, he married Harriet Harvey of Lisbon, and they have three children ; Lena, wife of Herbert Russell, by whom she has one son, Gir- ard; Mamie L. and James M.

Derby, H. Stanley, Russell, traces his ancestry to one of the passengers of the May- flower, and all of his progenitors were of Puritan stock. Rev. Charles Brewster, the ancestor of Mr. Derby's grandmother, was chaplain of the first Plymouth colony, and his great-grandfather Brewster and great-grandfather Derby were both at Quebec, the former with Arnold, and the later with Montgomery as major of artillery. At the death of Montgomery, December 31, 1775, he fell into the arms of Major Derby, where he breathed his last. H. Stanley Derby was born in Wood's Mills, Jefferson county, in March, 1857, and educated in Ives Seminary at Antwerp, N. Y., graduating

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

in 1878. In 1880 he bought his father's store in Russell, and carried on a successful busi- ness for ten years. He then went to Tupper's Lake, and engaged with his brother, Earl, as bookkeeper. In November, 1892, he returned to Russell, where he has since been engaged in looking after his father's property. He is a Democrat and has served as supervisor three years, and was defeated for member of assembly by the Hon. William H. Kimball in 1888. He is a member of Russell Lodge No. 566, F. & A M., also of I. O. O. F. No. 1301 of Tupper's Lake. The father of H. Stanley was Capt. Hiry Derby, born in Vermont, September 18, 1817, and died in Russell, January 31, 1884, who married Ann Davidson, daughter of Jonathan Wood of Jefferson county. She was born in Deerfield, Oneida county, October 14, 1819, and died in Russell, No- vember 6, 1893. Captain and Mrs. Derby had ten children: Washington L., Dewitt C., Edmund E., Benjamin F., Edmund D., Helen E., Laura A., Mary E., Earl and H. Stanley. Captain Derby entered the army on a commission of first lieutenant. He followed teaching in the counties of Jefferson and St. Lawrence for several years, and for five years was superintendent of schools in this county. In 1849 he engaged in the mercantile business, which, with the exception of a year and a half, he continued until 1880. Captain Derby had command of Co. L, 9th N. Y. Cavalry, and participated in the Peninsular campaign, being at Yorktown and West Point, and at Antietam with Siegel's 11th Corps. He served about a year, then returned to Russell and engaged in business.

Dunn, Thomas, Waddington, a son of John, was born July 25, 1838. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of Waddington. Excepting nine years in California engaged in mining from 1861 to 1871, Mr. Dunn has been a farmer. July 25, 1872, he married Emma, daughter of William Harper. The latter was born in Ireland, January 1, 1816, where he received a college education. He came to Lisbon iu 1836, and for nine years he sold goods from house to house. He came to Wadding- ton when a young man and engaged in the mercantile business, and here spent his life. He was a Republican. He married Sarah Wallace, a native of Vermont, who came with her parents to Lisbon in an early day. Mr. Harper and wife had six children. He died August 6, 1886, and his wife in 1872. Mr. Dunn and wife have had these chil- dren : Sarah A., Mabel E., William J. (deceased), Alexander, Hattie B., Ernest H., Walter (deceased), Annie E., Benjamin (deceased), Henry J. and Thomas B. (deceased). Mr. Dunn has a farm of 173 acres and keeps a dairy of twenty cows. He is a Repub- lican, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church.

Clifford, M. L., Hopkinton, is one of Hopkinton's enterprising business men and was born at Lawrence, May 31, 1851, a son of J. S. Clifford, born at Plattsburg, October 6, 1828, whose father, John Clifford, was born in Plymouth, N. Y., November 24, 1806, and married Almina Seeley, born in Norwalk, Conn., November 19, 1803. They had five sons and three daughters. He went to Illinois and died January 27, 1882. J. S. Clifford marrried first, Caroline, daughter of Lucius Reynolds of Lawrence, who had ten children, all now deceased but Cornelia, who is the second wife of J. S. Clifford, his first wife, her sister, having died in September, 1864. J. S. Clifford is a carpenter and joiner, having served three years' apprenticeship at Plattsburg. He is now at Fort Jackson, engaged in the undertaking business, By his first wife he had two sons and

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one daughter. M. L. Clifford, our subject, learned the trade of his father, at which he worked for a number of years. In April, 1874, he married Ella I. Downey, daughter of William and Harriet (Griffin) Downey of Kankakee, Ill., and they had one son, Wat- son S., born in Hopkinton, May 24, 1876. Hc is a young man of more than ordinary business capacity, and a great assistance to his father in his business. In 1887 Mr. Clifford engaged in the manufacture of butter tubs at Fort Jackson in partnership with F. M. Kellogg, and after two years bought out his partner's interest, and now conducts it alone, manufacturing about 50,000 tubs annually. He also owns the Hopkins saw mill, turning out about 500,000 feet of lumber annually, of which about half is custom work. He furnishes employment to about twenty men. He is also engaged in the grocery business, carrying a general line. He is a Republican and is the present road commissioner.

Carncross, Randall, Russell, was born in Wilna, Jefferson county, October 18, 1848, a son of Lewis Carncross, son of John, son of Lewis of Dutchess county, whose father was born in Germany and came to this country prior to the Revolution. John, grand- father of our subject, came to Jefferson county about 1813. He married Sybel Van Brocklin. Of their children, Lewis, father of our subject, was reared on a farm, and in 1847 married Betsey Potter, daughter of Luther Potter of Massachusetts, by whom he had four children, two now living: Alice, born June 26, 1862, wife of Daniel Van Brocklin of Pierrepont, by whom she has one child, Erskine; Betsey Jane, born April 28, 1855, died October 22, 18 --; James L., born April 7, 1861, died- --; and Randall J., our subject, who was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools. His parents came to Russell when he was an infant. When a young man he began work on a farm by the month, and, February 21, 1878, he married Asenath, daughter of Henry Van Brocklin of Russell, and they have had one daughter, Emogene, born September 14, 1881. At about the time of his marriage Mr. Carncross bought his present farm, which he uses largely as a dairy farm. He is a Republican in politics, but has never aspired to office. The family has in its possession a forty- dollar bill of the Continental period, which once belonged to John Potter, great-grand- father on the maternal side, who was paymaster in the Revolution.

Colton, Daniel, Russell, was born in Antwerp, Jefferson county, July 17, 1830, a son of Lothrop Colton, who was a son of Aaron, one of Jefferson county's early settlers. Lothrop came to Russell in 1832, and after a short time went to Antwerp, and in 1846 returned to Russell, where he died in 1848. He was a blacksmith and farmer. His wife was Rachael Calkins, a native of Hartford, Conn., by whom he had seven sons and two daughters. Daniel was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools. At the age of nineteen he learned the gunsmith's trade, which he followed several years. He then followed the carpenter's trade, and in 1875 engaged in undertaking, which he has since followed. Mr. Colton married in Russell, Susan A. Chase, by whom he had three children : Lelia E., Arthur and Hattie. Mrs. Colton died December 29, 1885, and in 1887 lie married second, Abigail Bevett of Gouverneur. Mr. Colton is a Prohibitionist in politics.

Merrill, Silas W., Lawrence, was born in Hopkinton, February 8, 1845, a son of D. L. Merrill. The latter was a son of John, whose father, also John, emigrated from Eng-

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land about 1750 and settled at Concord, N. H. He was a soldier in the Revolution. He married Sallie Robinson, and his oldest son, John, was born in Concord in 1784. He went to Tunbridge, Vt., at the age of seven, where his father died in 1812. He married Sallie De Cross and in 1832 came to Franklin county, N. Y. He was at the battle of Plattsburg in the War of 1812. D. L. Merrill was born in Tunbridge, Vt., in 1809, and at the age of twenty-three came to Franklin county and settled on a farm of 200 acres. In 1837 he married Susan C. Lampson and came to Hopkinton, where he settled on the Baldwin farm. He had seven children. In 1858 he built on his farm a potato starch factory and manufactured starch until 1865, then sold his place and re- moved to Nicholville, where he died June 5, 1891, and his wife November 13, 1893. S. W. Merrill was educated in the Lawrenceville Academy and was for several years engaged as a clerk in the mercantile business. In 1866 he came to Nicholville and be- gan business for himself, occupying the east half of the block built by his father, where he carries a full line of house furnishings. He is a Republican and has served two years as supervisor. He is a member of Elk Lodge No. 577, F. & A. M. He is execu- tor of his father's estate and has control of about 300 acres of land in the towns of Hopkinton and Lawrence. In 1870 he married Carrie L., daughter of Lyman and Caro- line S. (McEuen) Day, and they have had three children: Grace L., born October 9, 1875 ; Maude L., born July 31, 1879; and Bessie L., born May 20, 1884.

Pease, Trueman A., M. D., Potsdam, was born in the town of Brasher, November 27, 1842. The earliest ancestor we find of this family in the country is Captain John Pease who was a native of England and immigrated to this country about 1620, and settled in Massachusetts. Ebenezer Pease, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Massachusetts and a soldier in the War of the Revolution. The grandfather, Abel Pease, was born in Massachusetts and was the first of the family to come to St. Lawrence county, and located in the town of Lawrence about 1828. He built the first farm house in the village of North Lawrence and it was there he reared his family and spent the balance of his days. He died in 1868, aged eighty-seven years. He was the father of twelve children, of whom Abel, father of our subject, is the fourth son. He was born in Vermont April 5, 1818. He has always followed mechanical pursuits, and the last fifeen or twenty years has been a resident of Norwood. The mother of our subject, Sally Clark, was a native of Grand Isle county, Vt., a daughter of Trueman Clark, a prominent figure in the Legislature of the State a number of years. Dr. Pease was one of a family of six children, three of whom are now living; Lucius L. of Nor- wood; William H., a farmer of Canton ; and Trueman A. The early life of our subject was spent in the town of Lawrence, where he received his education in the Lawrence- ville Academy. He commenced the study of medicine while teaching in Lawrenceville Academy in the office of Dr. Joseph Jackson. In 1864 after one year's study of medi- cine he enlisted in Co. K, 193d N. Y. Vol. Infantry, and was appointed hospital steward, which position he filled at the Post Hospital at Cumberland City, Md., until the close of the war. Returning he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington, graduating with the degree of M. D., June 15, 1867. He commenced practice in Norwood, July 13, 1867, and has ever since been here. He is a member of St. Lawrence County Medical Society, and also of the Northern New York Med-

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ical Association. He has been a member of Norwood Lodge, I. O. O. F., and is now a member of Luther Priest Post No. 167, G. A. R., and has held the office of surgeon. He is a member of the Congregational church of Norwood, and has filled the office of health officer of Norwood village. Dr. Pease married, June 10, 1868, Helen M. Leslie of Parishville, and they had two sons, one died at seven years of age, and Leslie Allan is practicing law at Dunkirk, N. Y. Mrs. Pease died August 30, 1884, and he married second, October 6, 1886, Ella E., daughter of John Walker of Slierbrook, Quebec.

Shepard, Fred, Lawrence, was born in Lawrence, April 22, 1862, a son of E. W. Shepard, but he was reared by his grandparents, Hon. O. F. and Elizabeth A. (Wilber) Shepard, natives of Vermont, the former born in Middletown, November 15, 1813, and the latter at Grand Isle, September 17, 1818. Heman Shepard, father of O. F., was born in Vermont, November 3, 1789, and married Loretta Rockwell, and had eight children. He came to Lawrence November 17, 1826, He died July 31, 1874. O. F. Shepard graduated from Potsdam Academy in 1836 and taught school twenty-two years, and also engaged in surveying to some extent. By his first wife he had two sons and a daughter : Edwin, Azro and Amelia. Mrs. Shepard died February 10, 1875, and he married for second wife, Mrs. J. A. Romaine, widow of William Romaine, Feb- ruary 24, 1876, and she still resides on the homestead. Mr. Shepard was for many years inspector of schools, and was justice of the peace about thirty-two years. In 1857 he was elected member of assembly, and again in 1858. He was chairman of the standing committee on claims, then one of the most important committees in the Assem- bly. He was a strong advocate of temperance. He was one of the founders of Lawrence- ville Academy, and a trustee until his death, January 24, 1892. Fred Shepard was educated in the Lawrenceville Academy, and at the age of eighteen began teaching, which he continued four years. He inherited the farm from his grandfather. He has about 230 acres, and keeps about thirty cows, besides a considerable amount of young stock. He is a Republican, and has been excise commissioner for ten years, also in- spector of elections several years. He is a trustee of Lawrenceville Academy, and agent for the unsold lands in the town. He is correspondent for the following papers : Courier and Freeman, Potsdam Herald, Adirondack News and Ogdensburg Republican. January 22, 1885, he married Margaret, daughter of John and Maria (Clark) Charlton, and they have two sons: Oscar Fred, born May 24, 1887; and Arthur Romaine, born November 8, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Shepard are prominent members of the Deer River Grange No. 702, also of the Good Templars, and they are active members of the Con- gregational church. Mr. Shepard takes an active interest in public affairs. His farm is as good as can be found in the town and is kept in an excellent state of cultivation. He believes there is no nobler occupation in life than farmiug.

Patten, Herbert G., Lawrence, was born in Lawrence, June 23, 1863. His father was Davis S., a son of Robert, who was born in England, but emigrated to Ireland, where he died in 1818. David S. was born in Ireland, County Armagh, November 26, 1809, and about 1820 he and his brother, William, came to America and settled in Ver- mont. In 1840 David came to Lawrence, and in 1842 to the farm now owned by the subject. He married in Vermont, February 7, 1840, Martha C. Randall, of that State,

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 116

Author: Curtis, Gates Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1328

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328