Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 121

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 121
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 121

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.

When twenty-two years old he secured the position of engineer upon the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Railroad. May 1, 1860, he married Sarah Tomlinson, who, with three sons and three daughters, survives him. In 1861 Mr. Lord was employed as engineer upon one of the steamers of the Northern Transit Company, which position he held for seven years, at the expiration of which, February 1, 1868, he was appointed superin- tendent of the city waterworks, then just completed. He held this position till the time of his death, discharging the duties with fidelity and ability until about four years ago, when, illness preventing him from engaging in active business, his eldest son, Harry, has performed the duties of superintendent under the advice and direction of the father. In 1880 Mr. Lord opened a furniture store in the building where Bell Brothers' block now stands. His own time being occupied at the waterworks, Mr. A. M. Herri- man attended to this store and also conducted an undertaking business for himself. From that location his store was moved to the site now occupied by L. McGillis, and from there he moved to the present site. Mr. Herriman resigned his position, when Harry Lord took charge of the management of this store, which he has since conducted with marked success. During his years of active business life, his thoroughness, ability and integrity in the discharge of his official duties, and his kindness of heart, won him the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens. Mr. Lord was a prominent member of the Odd Fellows and Masonic fraternities. He died May 18, 1893.

Lavery, W. N., Lawrence, was born in the town of Lawrence, July 29, 1847, a son of Marda Lavery, born October 11, 1801, a son of John L., who came from Ireland at an early day, settling on a farm in Essex county. He had eleven children. Marda Lavery began business for himself early in life, being put out to work at the age of eleven. At about twenty-one years he came to Lawrence and bought a farm, his deed being the first one given in the town. He marrried, in Essex county, Hannah Moore, and came at once to Lawrence, where they settled upon a farm and spent the re- mainder of their days. They had three sons and one daughter. He died August 28, 1879, and his wife in October, 1881. W. N. Lavery received his education in the common schools of Lawrence and the Lawrenceville Academy, and has always re- sided on the old homestead, having added seventy-five acres, and now owns a tract of 225 acres. He engages in general farming and dairying, keeping about thirty Ayrshire cows, and he also deals in horses and sheep. February 8, 1877, he married Alice E., daughter of H. A. and D. J. (Dudley) Boland, natives of Castleton, Vt., who came to this county about 1848. Mr. Boland was a practicing physician in Waddington four- teen years, then came to Lawrenceville, where he practiced twenty years. He died in October, 1891, and his widow still resides at Lawrenceville. Our subject has had two children : Jennie, born March 24, 1879, died in infancy ; and R. W. Lavery, born May 20, 1882. Mr. Lavery is a Republican, and he and wife are members of the Deer River Grange, No. 702.

Murphy, James, Massena, was born in County Cork, Ireland, August 15, 1817, a son of James and Julia (Riley) Murphy, who had six sons and a daughter, all now de- ceased. James came to America in 1837, and on the passage shared his berth with a "stowaway," who robbed him of his money, and he was obliged to go on foot from here to Cornell, where he crossed the St. Lawrence River into Brasher, his sister being

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then a resident there. He was a man of learning, having taught school in Ireland. In America he learned the trade of stone dresser, at which he worked the greater part of his life. He worked on the Military Academy at West Point, on Suspension Bridge at Niagara, Victoria Bridge at Montreal, etc. In 1842 he married Bridget Melmoe, daughter of Bartholomew and Margaret (Donnaher) Melmoe. She was a cousin of the famous General M. Corcoran, of the Sixty-ninth N. Y. Vols. Mr. and Mrs. Mur- phy had seven children : Thomas, a farmer on the homestead; J. P., a clergyman at Cherubusco, N. Y .; J. L., a lawyer at Spring Valley, Ill., and city attorney ; Julia, wife of Peter Martin, a farmer of Waddington; J. E. and M. B., farmers at Massena. Mr. Murphy was a Democrat and a Catholic, was a genial, witty, honorable man, be- loved by all who knew him. His wife died in 1890, and he, March 24, 1894. J. E. Murphy was educated in the Lawrenceville and Fort Covington Academies, and was two years in Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass. He has taught school six years in this State and two years in Canada. He was three years in the mercantile business in Potsdam, but since the death of his mother he has resided on the homestead, where, with his brother, he carries on the farm. In 1870 he married Mary E., daughter of John and Sarah (Barnhart) McGinn, and they have had two sons and four daughters, of whom one son and three daughters died in infancy. Jolin F. was educated in the Malone Academy, and is station agent at Lisbon on the C. V. R. R. M. B. Murphy was born at West Point in 1851, and was educated at Ft. Covington Academy and Potsdam Normal School. He has taught school and been engaged in the mercantile business at Ogdensburg six years. For a number of years he has worked the old Langtry homestead of 228 acres, to which his wife fell heir. In the spring of 1894 he rented the homestead, with a dairy of forty cows. In 1881 he married Jane, daughter of Joshua and Catharine (Smith) Langtry, he a native of Brasher, born August 15, 1825, and she of Massena, born February 12, 1830. Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Murphy have had two sons and a daughter : James 1, died in infancy ; James 2, born September 14, 1886; and Catharine, born March 11, 1884.

Maher, Dennis J., Lawrence, was born on a farm in Lawrence, April 9, 1845, a son Jolın B., a native of Ireland, who was there educated, and became a teacher. He married Margaret Moore of his native country, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. He came to New York city and then to Hinesburg, and worked in a woolen factory for several years. About 1842 he came to Lawrence and settled on twenty-five acres, where our subject now lives, and here he and his wife died, the latter November 27, 1885. Dennis J. Maher was educated in the common schools and Lawrenceville Academy, and at the age of eighteen, in 1863, he enlisted in the Ninety- second N. Y. Vols., Co. G., and served eighteen months. He was wounded at Cold Harbor, June 5, 1864, and received his discharge on account of disabilities in February, 1865. He then learned photography, which business he followed in Colton a short time, then came to Lawrence and settled on the homestead in 1871, when he sold his interest to his brother, and rented a farm in Lawrence, which he bought in 1873, then sold it, and returned to the old homestead, where he now lives retired. He has a farm of 150 acres of land and follows general farming and dairying, keeping about twenty cows, and has a sugar grove of 700 trees. In 1893 he engaged in breeding

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registered Jersey cattle, and has now sixteen head, the only herd in the town. Mr. Maher is a Republican and has served as highway commissioner. He is a member of Deer River Grange, No. 702, and of Sanford Post, G. A R., No. 473, at Nicholville. In 1871 he married Mary J. Richmond, of Potsdam, by whom he had five children : Ellen M., Varick E., Edith G., Earl D., and Mary J. Mrs. Maher died May 12, 1878, and May 10, 1879, he married second Mrs. Julia M. Oliver, widow of Edgar H. Oliver. She is a daughter of E. Moody Dana, of Lawrence.

Dana, Elihu M., Lawrence, was born in Massena, January 12, 1820, a son of Samuel Dana, a farmer of Massena, who settled there when a young man. Elihu M. came to the town of Lawrence in an early day, being one of the pioneers of the town. He at first engaged in farming, but being accidentally disabled, gave up farming in 1855, and engaged in mercantile business at Lawrenceville. His death occurred February 22, 1894. In 1884 Mr. Dana took as a partner in his business M. H. Ross, who is the present proprietor. Mr. Dana was twice married.

McKimin, James, Lawrence, is a native of Ireland, born in County Sligo in 1829, a son of Janies McKimm, who came to America about 1851, with eight children, and set- tled in Vermont at first, then removed to St. Lawrence county, and settled on the farm in Lawrence now owned by James. He married Elizabeth Littell, a native of Ireland. Mr. McKimm died in 1867, and his wife about 1854. James came with his parents from Ireland and bought the farm of 150 acres, which he now owns. His parents lived with him until their death. George, brother of James, was a soldier in the late war, a member of Co. A, 106th N. Y. Vols. James married, in 1865, Mary, daughter of Henry and Mary Whitesides, of Ireland, who came to America about 1851. Mr. and Mrs. McKimm have had two sons, of whom one died in infancy, and Albert H. was born October 22, 1858. He is now carrying on his father's farm, which consists of general produce and dairying. He married first Charlotte A. Whitcome, of Norfolk, and had one daughter, Hattie M., born April 6, 1886. Mrs. McKimm died November 6, 1888, and he married second Nellie Bartley, daughter of De Witt C. and Lorenda (Wolson) Bartley, of Oswego. Mr. McKimm is president of the Lawrenceville Center Cemetery. Albert is a member of the Deer River Grange, No. 207, Elk Lodge, No. 577, and Iroquois Lodge, No. 593, I. O. O. F.

Newland, Peabody, of Lawrenceville, was born in Middletown, Vt., September 30, 1801, a son of Beria M. and Lida (Grinnell) Newland, of Vermont, who came to Law- renceville in 1827. The ancestors of this family came to America in the Mayflower, and the first white child born after the arrival of the Pilgrims belonged to this family on the maternal side. Our subject's father was a nian of influence in his time and died aged sixty years, his wife dying aged seventy - six years. From 1840 to 1860 Mr. New- land engaged in the manufacture and sale of horse rakes, but later returned to farming. In August, 1828, he married Mary Handy, who died in July, 1839. They had two children : Sarah J., wife of Joseph Farrington. of Lawrence, and Adoniram A., who has been a merchant and farmer in the West for many years. Mr. Newland married second Eliza Chose, by whom he had three children : David J., a successful lawyer in New York ; Mary E., wife of Charles B. Partridge; Helen A., who died aged twenty

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

years. Mr. Newland inherited the homestead of sixty acres, to which he has added forty acres, making it one of the finest farms in the town.

Ormsbee, Amos, Louisville, was born in Louisville, October 16, 1844, a son of Peter, whose parents were Samuel and Hannah Ormsbee of Vermont. Peter was born in Vermont, May 16, 1800, and came to Louisville about 1830, and settled on a farm, part of which our subject now owns. He was three times married, first to Sallie Hackett, in 1822, by whom he had five children. She died in 1833, and he married second, Eliza Tracey of Massena, in 1834, and they had five children. She died June 6, 1855, at the age of forty-one, and Mr. Ormsbee then married Phoebe Chamberlain, May 25, 1856, and she died in Madrid. Mr. Ormsbee died April 28, 1872. Our subject was reared on the farm he now owns, and was educated in the common schools. October 22, 1861, he enlisted in Co. K, 92d N. Y. Vols., and served three years and two months. He was at Fair Oaks, Petersburg, Fort Anderson and in several engagements. He was also in the hospital nine months. At the close of the war he returned to Louisville and engaged in farming, having over 100 acres and keeping a dairy of fifteen cows. He also breeds Hambletonian horses. Mr. Ormsbee is a Republican, and has served as overseer of the poor two years. He is a member of the G. A. R., Anderson Post No. 425, and also of the Massena Grange No. 704. October 31, 1872, he married Janette Ferguson, a native of Canada, born November 20, 1853, daughter of John and Frances Ferguson, of Scotland and Canada respectively. Our subject had one son, Daniel P, who died aged five months.

Paddock, William H., Massena, was born in Massena, on the farm he now owns June 14, 1822, a son of Dr. William S., a son of William Paddock, born in Connecticut, who came to Malone in an early day, where he died. Dr. William S. was born in Woodstock, Vt., in 1787, was educated in that State, and came to Massena to practice his profession in 1818, being the first physician in the town. He married Wealthy Porter, born in Salisbury, Vt., in 1796, and they had four children. Dr. Paddock was a Democrat, and represented his district in the Assembly in 1834-35-36. He died May 6, 1859, and his wife February 6, 1870. Our subject was educated in the Malone and and the Manchester (Vt.) Academies, and has always been engaged in farming, owning 200 acres of land and keeping a dairy of twenty-five cows. He is a Democrat and has been inspector of elector of elections, president of the corporation, and took the U. S. census in the towns of Louisville and Massena. Mr. Paddock is a member of Massena Grange, and is one of the loan commissioners of the county, September 2, 1847, he married Susan Andrews a native of Massena, born June 23, 1826, a daughter of John B. Andrews. Mr. and Mrs. Paddock have had eight children; John, who died in infancy ; S. Florence, born October 18, 1849, wife of George D. Ormiston of Arkansas ; Fred M., born October 26, 1851, resides at home; Mary A., born February 17, 1854, wife of George McCartney, married September 2, 1883 ; John S., born January 2, 1856, who married Anna Spratt, and lives in Aspen, Col. ; Jenny, born April 9, 1858, wife of David N. Clark (deceased) ; William S., born March 12, 1861, married Belle Ellis of Red Jacket, Mich ; George C., born March 31, 1866, resides in Montana. Our subject is one of the originators of the village school, of which he was trustee twenty-five years and president of the board ten years.

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PERSONAL SKETCHES.

Riley, Daniel, Louisville, was born in Beekman, Clinton county, January 5, 1825, a son of John Riley, whose father was Lawrence Riley, a native of Ireland, who came to Clinton in an early day, where he died. John was born in Vermont, where his parents first settled, in 1791, and came to Clinton county with his parents, where he married Orpha Finch, by whom he had fourteen children, eleven of whom grew to ma- turity. Mr. Riley finally settled in Louisville, and died in 1867, his wife dying in 1881. Our subject came to Louisville when seventeen years of age, and here has since re- sided. He owns a farm of sixty acres and keeps a dairy of twelve cows, and has also twenty-four sheep. He is a Democrat and has served as excise commissioner. He was married in Massena to Caroline Hutchens, a native of Massena, who has had one child, George C., born June 16, 1859. He was educated in the Massena Union Free School, and resides at home on the farm. In 1887 he married Annie L. Bayley, daughter of William Baley of Massena. He is a Democrat in politics, and the fami- ly attend the Episcopalian church, of which his wife is a member. Mrs. Riley, wife of our subject, died August 8, 1886.

Russell, E. F., Massena, was born in Massena, August 11, 1862, whose father, N. T., was also born here January 25, 1833. He was a son of John, a native of Vermont, born in 1785. The latter was three times married, his first wife being Sarah Wilcox, by whom he had two children; his second wife was Lucy, sister of his first wife, and by her he had four children ; his third wife was Naomi Horton, born in 1796, by whom he had a son and a daughter. In 1832 he came to Massena and settled on the farm now owned by his son Norman T., where he died in 1865, his wife having died in 1873. N. T. Russell has followed farming most of his life, but in 1877 he engaged in the meat business in partnership with D. Hamilton and W. R. Stearns, they be- ing the first to keep a market open the year around in Massena. In 1854 he mar- ried Philena F. Hutchinson, of Jefferson county, by whom he had three children : Ida, wife of J. B. Dodge ; Clara M., a teacher in Albany College ; and Edson F., who was educated in the Massena Union School and the Potsdam Normal School. He was for a few years engaged in school teaching, then bought the Massena Center Cream- ery, which he has remodeled and refitted. He is now doing a thriving business, mak- ing about 100,000 pounds of butter annually. He at first operated the creamery sum- mers and taught school winters, but now conducts it the year around. He is also en- gaged in the grocery business at the Center, carrying a general line of groceries. June 21, 1880, he married Dora E., daughter of J. B. Baily, of Massena, by whom he has had four children : Bessie P., born March 13, 1883; Leon N., born February 26, 1887 ; Lou D., born June 28, 1891 ; Lela E., born November 13, 1893. Our subject is a Republi- can, and a member of Massena Lodge No. 513, F. & A. M., Massena Grange No. 704, Good Templars, and I. O F.

Reed, Byron G., Lawrence, was born in Lawrence, November 20, 1839, a son of William Reed, born in Vermont, April 4, 1795, and grandson of Moses Reed, also a native of Vermont, who was a farmer by occupation, and a soldier in the Revolutionary War. In 1837 William and his family came to Lawrence, where he remained till his death in July, 1860. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, receiving a land warrant for services. He married Ruth, daughter of John Parks, jr., and granddaugh-

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

ter of John Parks, one of the Indian captives at the burning of Royalton, Vt., Oc- tober 16, 1780. Her death occurred in November, 1867. Five children were born to them, namely : Edwin, Alanson, Sarahette, Truman and Byron G. Edwin married Miranda Bates, moved to Illinois, and died in 1868, leaving wife and five children. Alanson married Martha Lewis. He was a soldier in Company I, Thirty-first Regi- ment N. Y. State Volunteers, during the Rebellion. He died in February, 1889, leav- ing a wife and four children. Sarahette married Amasa Tyler, and died in April, 1856. Truman is unmarried and resides in Arizona. Byron G. remained with his father on the farm until of age. He is now a successful farmer, owning a fine place of 117 acres in Lawrence, which he devoted to general farming and dairying, keep- ing about fifteen cows of good breed. In 1866 he married Ellen, daughter of Henry and Louisa (Simons) Erwin. Her grandfather was Joseph Erwin. (See biography of Senator George Z. Erwin elsewhere). Mrs. Erwin died February 18, 1879, and Mr. Erwin April 28, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Reed have had one son, Charlie B., born February 21, 1872. He has had a good academic education, but has chosen the call- ing of his father, that of farming. The family are members of the Deer River Grange No. 702, and Charlie B. is a member of Lawrenceville Lodge No. 619, I. O. O. F.

Sanford, E. Jonah, Lawrence, was born in Hopkinton, May 13, 1842, a son of Henry B., who was a son of Col. Jonah Sanford, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Henry B. was born in Hopkinton in 1818, and died in 1881. He was a farmer, and served as justice of the peace six years. He enlisted in Co. G, 92nd N. Y. Vols., in 1861, and October 30 of the same year he received his commission as lieutenant, and was in command of the Fourth Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Army Corps, from January 30, 1863. November 13 of the same year he was in command of the Ambulance Corps, Third Brigade, Second Division, stationed at Plymouth, N. C. His wife, who was president of the Ladies' Aid Society of Nicholville, presented to the company of which he was in command, in be- half of the society, sixty-three volumes. In 1837 Mr. Sanford was corporal in the Sev- enth Regiment of Riffemen, Forty-ninth Brigade, State militia, and was commissioned adjutant of the same regiment September 3, 1842. The wife of Mr. Sanford was Casen- dania Ellithorpe, daughter of Danforth Ellithorpe, and they have had eight children : Henry T., Edwin D., Darwin E., Charles A., E. Jonah, Calista P., Annie C., Rosalia. Our subject at the age of eighteen learned the blacksmith's trade, which he has since made his principal occupation. In 1861 he enlisted in Company F, Sixteenth N. Y. Volunteers, and served two years, was at the first battle of Bull Run, West Point, Gaines Mill, where he was wounded, and at Fredericksburg. Mr. Sanford owns a farm of eighty-six acres where he resides at Nicholsville. He has also patented the section bar used in mowing machines, which has brought him a handsome sum, and he is now living retired from active business. He is a Republican, and has served as excise com- missioner. He married a daughter of Elijah Bibbins, of Lawrence, and they have one son, Ira A., who lives at home.

Sanford, Charles A., Lawrence, was born in Lawrence, January 29, 1855, a son of Henry B. Sanford, mentioned in this work. He was educated in the common schools, and engaged in farming, which has been his life occupation. In 1883 he bought the farm of eighty-one acres which he now owns, and on which he keeps a dairy

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of fourteen cows. Mr. Sanford is a Republican in politics, and he and family attend the M. E. Church of Nicholville, of which his wife is a member. April 11, 1876, our subject married Martha L. Goodell, a daughter of Jocl Goodell, of Hopkinton, who was also a son of Joel, one of the earliest settlers of the town, who settled on the farm where part of the family now resides. Mr. and Mrs. Sanford have one son, C. Ralph, born May 27, 1893.

Wells, Charles H., Massena, a native of Louisville, St. Lawrence county, was born July 28, 1849, a son of Samuel Wells, born in Louisville, July 13, 1805, and the father of Samuel was Elijah, of Vermont, who, about 1800, leased the Croil's Island for 100 years of the Indians, but owing to the dishonesty of a brother-in-law he lost the lease. He married a Miss Bellows, by whom he had four sons and four daughters. He died aged ninety-three. Samuel was reared on the farm, and cared for his parents until nearly the time of their death. He owned a farm in Louisville of 120 acres, and was twice married, first to Elizabeth Heague, a native of England, by whom he had six sons and a daughter. Mrs. Wells died October 8, 1872, and he married second the widow of Dana Moore, of Potsdam. Charles H. Wells was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools, beginning teaching at the age of eighteen years. He spent a year in Iowa and Illinois farming, and was in the tin business at Massena for a while, after which he engaged in farming on the Robinson place of 250 acres (1887), where he has since resided. He has a dairy of forty-five cows, and in one year sold $2,000 worth of milk. He is also making a specialty of high grade swine. In 1873 he married Mary A., daughter of Harvey and Isabel (McLeod) Robinson, of Massena, and their children are: William H., born May 3, 1875; John A., born November 7, 1877; N. Eugene, born January 3, 1879; Gertrude M., born February 9, 1881; Mary E., born February 26, 1884; and Grace L., born October 28, 1888. Mr. Wells is a Republican, and a member of Aultsville Lodge No. 351 A. O. U. W., and of the Good Templars of Massena.

Barnhart, E. J., Massena, was born on Barnhart Island, April 16, 1839, a son of Peter, a son of Jacob, a native of Cornwall, Canada, and son of George Barnhart, of German extraction, who settled in Cornwall in 1780, and died there in 1811. Tliree of the sons of George -- George, Jacob and John -- came to the island, of which their father had secured a permanent lease from the St. Regis Indians. John afterwards went to Toronto and became prominent; Jacob and George resided on the island until their deaths. Peter Barnhart was born on the island, May 8, 1801, and there reared and educated. He followed farming all his life, and died on the island his father settled. His wife was Amarilla Barnhart, a native of the island, born October 10, 1807, by whom he had six sons and three daughters, of whom four sons are now liv- ing. Peter died May 31, 1853, and his wife February 23, 1880. They were members of the Episcopal church. E. J. Barnhart, the subject of this sketch, was born on the island and there educated. His life occupation has been farming, and he now owns 169 acres and keeps a dairy of thirty-five cows; he also owns the Maple Leaf cheese factory and manufactures about 44,000 pounds of cheese yearly. Mr. B. is a Demo- crat, and he and his wife are Episcopalians. December 26, 1861, Mr. Barnhart was

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

married to Carrie, daughter of David Barnhart (son of George W.). David Barnhart was born on the island and was there reared and educated. He was married first to Lucia, daughter of Elijah Burpee, of Canada. Mrs. Barnhart died in 1855, and he mar- ried Elizabeth Burgett. The subject and wife have one adopted daughter, Bertha A., a native of Canada, and educated in Massena. She taught school in Massena village for three years, after teaching on the island and in Brasher a short time, beginning at the age of sixteen. She married Cassius A. Hamilton, of Massena, and they live in Susquehanna, Pa., where he is engaged with a publishing house as general manager.

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 121

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