Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 72

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 72
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 72

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Edgar P., the youngest of the family, was born May 21, 1817. He had the good fortune to be raised in a Christian home (Presbyterian), receiving his early education in the district and select schools of his native town. He entered Middlebury College at an early age, and graduated with distinction in 1838. Having a desire for the clerical profession, he entered the Episcopal Theological Seminary at New York to prepare himself for the ministry of that denomination. He was ordained deacon in 1844, and was appointed to do missionary work for that body in Essex county, N. Y.

During this time the famous Oxford movement was making itself felt in this coun- try, and Rev. E. P. Wadhams and others became favorably impressed with the teachings of Catholicism, withdrew from the Episcopal body and joined the Catholic Church in 1846. He was encouraged to continue his theological studies, and entered St. Mary's Seminary at Baltimore, and in due time was ordained a priest at Albany by Bishop McCloskey, January 16, 1850.

He was first sent as assistant priest to the Pro Cathedral at Albany, and afterwards psssed thirteen years as assistant rector at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Concep- tion in the same city. In 1866 he was appointed rector of the Cathedral and vicar- general of Albany Diocese, acting as such until February 15, 1872, when he was ap- pointed to preside over the new See erected by Pope Pius IX. He was consecrated at the cathedral at Albany, May 5, by Most Rev. John McCloskey, archbishop of New York, assisted by several church dignitaries of high rank.

He came to the newly formed Diocese of Ogdensburg on the 16th of the same month, where he was met at the depot by a large concourse of people of all denominations and made welcome to his new field of labor.

The bishop entered with cheerfulness upon his arduous duties, pursuing with un- tiring energy the work of looking up the indifferent and extending the cause of Christianity. The bishop in the discharge of his official duty visited Rome in Jan- uary, 1877, and again in the spring of 1887.

For nearly twenty years he labored with all sorts of people-the religious and the irreligious, the cultivated and the rude, the famous and the commonplace; but his manner always and with all was the same, a living witness to the truth that "the life is more than meat," and the end more than the means. He commanded from all alike confidence and that kind of respect which at the same time heightens one's own self-respect and manliness of spirit.

In any community the influence of such a person and of such a life is beneficial. And the memory of them remains a power for good long after their familiar forms have disappeared from view.

He died in Ogdensburg at the episcopal residence, December 5, 1891, aged seventy- four years, and his remains were deposited in a recess of the crypt beneath the sanc- tuary of the cathedral.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

LESLIE W. RUSSELL.

HON. LESLIE W. RUSLELL was born in Canton, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., April 15, 1840, and was the only son of John Leslie and Mary Wead Russell. He was edu- cated in the common sehools and the academy at Canton, and from sixteen to eight- een years of age he taught a district school. He then took up the study of law in the office of Nicholas Hill, Peter Cagger and John H. Porter, of Albany. He remained with these celebrated attorneys until 1859, when he went to Milwaukee, Wis., and entered the office of Carey & Pratt. In 1861 he returned to Canton, on account of his father's death, and on May 7 of that year he was admitted to the bar of New York State.

He opened a law office in Canton in 1861, and in 1862 formed a partnership with William H. Sawyer, which continued until December 29, 1876, when Mr. Sawyer was appointed to the Supreme Bench. Since that date he has had no partner.

In 1867 Mr. Russell was elected to the Constitutional Convention, of which Horace Greeley was chairman. In 1869 he was elected district attorney. From 1869 to 1872 he was law professor of St. Lawrence University. In 1876 he was nominated for su- pervisor of Canton by both political parties and was, of course, elected. In 1876 he was one of the presidential electors on the Republican ticket. In 1877 he was elected eounty judge. In November, 1881, he was elected attorney-general of the State, serving with honor to himself and satisfaction to the people the term of two years. Removing to New York he practiced law there from January 1, 1884, to January 1, 1892, when he began his duties as justice of the Supreme Court. In November, 1890, he was elected representative in Congress, but before he took his seat he was nomi- nated by both the Republican and Democratic parties for justice of the Supreme Court, to which position he was elected and in which he is now serving.

On October 19, 1864, Judge Russell married Harriet, daughter of Rev. R. F. Law- rence, a Presbyterian minister of Malone, N. Y.

JAMES AVERELL.

JAMES AVERELL was born at Cooperstown, N. Y., in 1790, and passed his youthful days at his native place. He married at an early age and came with his young bride in the spring of 1809 to the western part of De Kalb, which place was afterwards set off and became a part of Depeyster.

Mr. Averell with his wife came by the way of Plattsburg over the newly bushed-out State road, which was at the time impassable for wagons, and he was therefore obliged to employ pack horses to convey his party and their goods to their forest home.

He settled on a tract of 3,000 acres of timber land which his father had purchased from Mr. Cooper, the father of the novelist. The house they first occupied was of the primitive style, situated on the State road about a mile south of Depeyster Four Corners, where they remained about one year and where their first child, a daughter, was born, being the second white child born in that town, and cradled in a dug out

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

log put on rockers. He then removed to Ogdensburg and soon became identified with the young and growing place.

Mr. Averell was possessed of more than ordinary executive ability and forethought. He managed his various enterprises as a lumber dealer, merchant and general trader with such economy, that every movement in those lines turned to his benefit. He was also for several years associated with Sylvester Gilbert and Amos Bacon in the lumbering and general mercantile business. He was identified more or less with the various improvements, such as steamboats and railroads, that were calculated to ad- vance and promote the prosperity of the place.

In politics Mr. Averell first acted with the Whig party during its career, then he gave his support to the Republican party. He was not a politician, yet was often called upon to accept positions of trust, but preferred to remain in a more quiet sphere, to which his business called him. He did, however, accept the presidency of the Ogdensburg Bank, which position he held for a number of years; and in 1840 was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

Mr. Averell was a believer in the old adage, "Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves." He could not endure waste, even in the small- est things; yet no man could bear greater loss with more equanimity. On one oc- casion he reprimanded a servant sharply for throwing away a small quantity of flour. He mentioned the matter several times, and it seemed to trouble him; but on the same evening he was informed that a large raft of his, valued at $50,000, was wrecked in the Lachine Rapids, and was a total loss. He only said, " Well, it can't be helped," and apparently never gave the matter another thought.

Mr. Averell died at his home in Ogdensburg, July 8, 1861, leaving a large estate to his two sons, our esteemed fellow citizens, James G., and W. J. Averell, and the property has increased in value under their management. Mrs. Averell survived her husband nearly twenty-four years, and died February 27, 1885, in her ninety-second year.

FORREST K. MORELAND.

FORREST KELLOGG MORELAND is a native of St. Lawrence county, of Irish-American parentage. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. and has since his admission been in active practice except during a period from 1886 to 1890.

From early boyhood he had been a frequent writer in leading journals upon agri- cultural topics, and had in this manner acquired an enviable national reputation as an aivanced agriculturist. In 1886 he, in connection with other leading agriculturists interested in the dairy industry, becoming alarmed at the injurious results of coun- terfeiting dairy products, attempted to secure national legislation controlling oleomar- garine, and for that purpose Mr. Moreland prepared the necessary bills and went to Washington to secure their passage. In the interest of the dairy Mr. Moreland ad- dressed the House Committee on Agriculture, and also the Senate Committee on Ag- riculture.

These addresses, models of research and convincing logic, were published in the proceedings of the House and Senate Committees for 1886, and the result was the passage of the bills which had been prepared by Mr. Moreland.

F .. Moreland

BIOGRAPHICAL.

In 1887 he spent three months in Europe, principally in Stockholm, where he had gone in the interest of New York city clients.

In 1888 he served the Republican State Committee on the stump in the southern part of the State, later in the same year going to Mexico in the interest of a syndi- cate interested in Mexican lands.

In 1889 he again went to Europe on legal business, spending about five months, and becoming conversant with the Swedish language.

In 1890 Mr. Moreland returned to Ogdensburg and has since devoted himself stead- ily to the practice of his profession. He has frequent calls from this and other States to deliver addresses before agricultural societies, and his addresses in the past may be found in the published proceedings of such societies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ver- mont and other States. He has never sought or held a public office.

JOHN D. JUDSON.

JOHN D. JUDSON was born in St. Lawrence county, September 28, 1811. His pa- rents moved there when the place was a wilderness, and had to endure the hardships incidental tothat early period, when the only ambition of the pioneer was to convert his new farm in the forest into a comfortable home, and to raise and educate his young family to habits of industry, economy and integrity. Such a life though full of hardships, is well calculated to rear men and woman able to fight the battle of life successfully.

The subject of this sketch was raised on his father's farm, receiving during the winter months the advantages of the common schools of that locality, by walking eight miles each day through the woods. While yet quite young he lost his father, after which he removed to Ogdensburg where he continued his schooling. After- wards, through the kindness of his elder brother, David C. Judson, he went to the academy at Potsdam, where he finished his education; he then returned to Ogdens- burg and entered the store of G. N. Seymour as clerk, where he remained for six years, losing only three days from business during that time. In June, 1831, he entered his brother's bank in Ogdensburg, and was connected with that institution while it exist- ed, filling every office from that of clerk to that of president.

His wife was Harriet A., daughter of G. N. Seymour. Mr. Judson died December 27, 1891. He was an able man of excellent business abilities a good husband and father, and was much respected and esteemed during his life.

LEDYARD P. HALE.

LEDYARD P. HALE was born in Canton, two miles south of the village, May 17, 1854. He was educated in the schools of Canton and graduated at St. Lawrence University in 1876, and the law department of the University of Wisconsin in 1878. He was

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

admitted to the bar of Wisconsin in the year 1877, and to the bar of the State of New York in 1881. In 1881 Mr. Hale began his law practice in Canton, and has risen to a foremost place in the bar of St. Lawrence county. He also has been actively associated with the public affairs of his town for the past twelve years, having been president of the village of Canton in 1886, and supervisor of the town from February 1890, to February 1894. He served on the Canton School Board from 1881 until 1890, excepting one year, and has been a trustee of the St. Lawrence Univer- sity since 1884. Mr. Hale was assistant district attorney from 1881 to 1888, and was elected district attorney in the fall of 1893, which position he now holds.

In 1879 Mr. Hale married Georgiettie Bacheller, and they have two children-Ir- ma and Horace C. Hale.

Mr. Hale is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also of the Beta Theta Pi College Society.

Mr. Hale's father was Horace W. Hale, a native of Orwell, Vt. He was born in 1810, and came to Canton in 1835. His mother was Betsey Russell Lewis, a native of Cornwall, Vt.

PHILETUS G. CARR.

PHILETUS G. CARR, the subject of this sketch, was born in Fowler, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., January 31, 1842. Having received a common school education only, at the age of seventeen he began work in a grist mill one mile from Antwerp village in Jefferson county. This occupation he has followed more than twenty years, having worked in Copenhagen, Lewis county, and in Plattsburg, Clinton county.

In April, 1864, Mr. Carr came to Russell from Plattsburg and commenced the milling business for Hiram Bartlett, where he served faithfully for eleven years. He afterwards rented the same mill seven years.

Mr. Carr is a staunch Republican, his first vote for president being cast for Abraham Lincoln for his second term. This fact he states with pride. He has always been a strong advocate of the temperance cause, and says he wants "to live to see the right of suffrage extended to women, then the temperance millenium will come." He is a member of Russell Lodge No. 566 F. and A. M., of which he was one of the organizers and in which he has held all the offices except tyler.

He has served one term as town clerk, and has recently been elected to the office of justice of the peace. Since Mr. Carr quit the milling business he has been sev-

BIOGRAPHICAL.

eral years in life insurance work-an agent for the Connecticut General Life Insur- ance Company of Hartford, Conn.

In the fall of 1892 he engaged in the boot and shoe trade in Russell, and is so fav- orably impressed with the business he expects to make it a life work.

Mr. Carr married Marion A. Clark, daughter of Augustus Clark, in Canton, June 18, 1873. Mrs. Carr's grandfather, Hubbard Clark, was one of the early pioneers of this county; he with his brothers, Elisha, Shubel, Augustus, Zenas and Amos, com- ing from Washington, Berkshire county, Mass., and settling in Canton. Her great- grandfather, Amos Clark, died in Washington, Mass., August 3, 1795. Her grand- father, Hubbard Clark, died in Canton, October 15, 1824, and her father, Augustus Clark, died in Canton, November 6, 1877.

Mr. and Mrs. Carr have had two children-Eddy Sumner, born February 12, 1875, and a daughter who died in infancy. Eddy S., after receiving a common school ed- ucation in Russell, entered the State Normal School at Potsdam in 1891, where he is now studying and where he intends to graduate. He is a young man of more than ordinary ability. Mr. and Mrs. Carr are Universalists in belief.

At this point we give the genealogy of Mr. Carr from his first known ancestor, which is as follows:

I. Benjamin Carr, born in London, Eng., August 18, 1592; married Martha Hard- ington in London, September 2, 1613. They had four sons. He died in London in . 1635.

II. Robert Carr, born in London, Eng., October 4, 1614; came to Rhode Island in 1635, married and had six children. He died in Newport, R. I., in 1681.

III. Caleb Carr, born in Newport, R. I., married Phillis Greene, had six children. He died in Jamestown, R. I., in 1690.

IV. Caleb Carr, born in Jamestown, R. I., March 26, 1679, married Joanna Slocum ; second wife, Mary - -; had seven children. He died in West Greenwich, R. I., in 1750.

V. Caleb Carr, born in Jamestown, R. I., November 6, 1702, married Mary -- , in West Greenwich; had thirteen children. He died there in 1798.

VI. Caleb Carr, born in West Greenwich, R. I., June 19, 1744, married Abigail Very and settled in Stephentown, N. Y., about the elose of the Revolutionary War. He had eight children, and died May 16, 1789.

VII. Gideon Carr, born in Stephentown, N. Y., November 2, 1785, married Phebe Northrop and had eleven children. He moved with his family to Edwards, St. Law- rence county, in 1828. He was an ardent Freewill Baptist. He died in Edwards, January 16, 1875.

VIII. Gideon R. Carr, born in Stephentown, N. Y., May 26, 1811, came to Ed- wards with his parents in 1828. He married Amanda M. Hodgkins in Gouverneur, October 23, 1838. He had seven children. He now lives in Michigan.

IX. Philetus G. Carr, our subject.

X. Eddy Sumner Carr.

This line is further traceable back to the Norman Conquest in 1066. The names of the followers of William I are still preserved in the records of Battle Abby, and among them is one Karr. This was in times when but few had only one name, and from this eame the name Carr and Kerr.

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

The crest of the coat of arms belonging to this family was a stag's head, and the shield was emblazoned with chives with three stars. There was one brought to this country in the " Mayflower," and is now in the possession of Mr. Edson I. Carr, of Rockton, Il1.

The mother of our subject was a daughter of Hezekiah Hodgkins, who was a son of Henry Hodgkins, who was a son of John Hodgkins, who came to this country from England with his brother Henry about the year 1680. They both settled in New London, Conn. The name is spelled by some of the family Hodskin. This name was also taken to England by William the Conquerer, and was then spelled Hodg- kins.

ELBRIDGE G. SEYMOUR, M. D.

THE subject of this sketch was born in Antwerp, N. Y., October 30, 1835. After receiving a thorough public school education he took a three year course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York city. His course there was marked by un- usual ability and enthusiastic love for his profession. He graduated March 8, 1860.

Dr. Seymour began the practice of medicine at Redwood, but when the 94th N. Y. Volunteers were organized he enlisted as a private soldier, but was soon tendered the position of assistant surgeon, which he accepted, remaining with the 94th through- out nearly all its service.

In 1862 Dr. Seymour married Clara I. Stevens, daughter of Osmond Stevens, of Redwood, and at the close of the war of the Rebellion they located in Hermon, where he resumed his medical practice. Here his genial and attractive nature soon won him many friends, and his great success as a physician and surgeon drew a large practice, extending all over this part of the country. He was often called upon to perform difficult operations, and his counsel was sought by the best physicians in the county.

In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Seymour carried on a drug store, and was also interested in other business affairs. In many ways he did a great deal for Her- mon, his handsome residence and the fine Seymour Block being notable additions to to the architecture of the village. His fine intelligence and sterling principles won for him the esteem and fullest confidence of all, and among other marks of apprecia- tion, he was elected president of the village, which office he held at the time of his death.

The large amount of work entailed by his large practice affected his health while he was yet in the prime of life, and he died May 4, 1892, mourned by all people who had the good fortune to know him. In his death Hermon lost one of her best and grandest citizens, and the medical profession of St. Lawrence county one of its bright- est members.

His estimable wife was untiring in her devotion to him during his fatal illness. She still resides in Hermon, in the fine old home that commemorates in its own way the successful life and domestic culture and qualities of one of the best, truest and ablest men of our county.

Dr. Seymour was a self-made man. He educated himself and was always self- reliant, which characteristic was unquestionably the secret of his success.

E. G. Seymour

BIOGRAPHICAL.

GEN. ROSCIUS W. JUDSON.

GEN. ROSCIUS W. JUDSON is worthy of more than passing mention in a comprehen- sive history of St. Lawrence county, both because of his long residence in Ogdens burg, and the active and honorable life which he has lived. Roscius W. Judson was born August 17, 1810, in the town of Louisville, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and in that part of it which became Norfolk when the town was divided. His father was Eben Judson, a native of Vermont, and the first supervisor of the town of Louisville; and his mother was Elizabeth (Winslow) Judson, a native of Connecticut, where the family is well known, his father dying June 29, 1814.

Young Judson worked on his mother's farm, going to school in the winter, until he was eighteen years of age, when he entered the old St. Lawrence Academy. He at- tended this institution for five years, teaching sometimes in the winter, and finally graduating in July, 1834, winning the first prize for oratory in a class of thirteen.

In the year 1834 he came to Ogdensburg as a private tutor in the family of Henry M. Fine, brother of Judge Fine. In 1835 he entered the old Ogdensburg Academy as assistant principal, and at the same time took up the study of law in the office of Judge Fine. He finished his legal studies with Hon. Ransom H. Gillett and Attor- ney-General Charles G. Myers, and was admitted to the bar January 17, 1839. Since that date he has been engaged continuously in the practice of his profession in Ogdensburg, with the exception of a break when he was rendering efficient mili- tary service in his country's cause during the War of the Rebellion.

His services to his country when it was called upon to go through the baptism of fire were so patriotic, so unselfish, so zealous, so distinguished, as to entitle his name to be placed side by side with the honored names of the best and truest patriots that have ever risen up in this or any other country in the world.

He was on his way from New York to Boston on a steamer when Fort Sumter was fired upon. He left Boston at once on hearing the news, and as soon as he ar- rived home took an active part in the exciting war meetings held in Ogdensburg, acting as one of the chief speakers at all and presiding at many of the meetings. To him belongs the credit, in a large degree, for the large number of men which St. Lawrence county sent to the front during the Rebellion. He made the first volun- tary contribution of money in Ogdensburg to assist the cause, and the incident is worthy of mention, showing as it does his zeal for the cause of the Union.

It was at a war meeting of which he was the presiding officer, and after swearing in some volunteers, he said: "Gentlemen, it remains for us who cannot go to the front to say how much we love the cause. I love it $100 worth to-night," and accom- panied his words with the money which he threw in a roll upon the table.

The result of this piece of practical patriotism was a subscription list amounting to $5,000, and raising forty-four men before the meeting adjourned,

Mr. Judson aided in raising the 16th, 18th, 60th, and 106th Regiments, and raised the 142d, numbering 1024 men, of which he was colonel until his health broke down and he was no longer able to keep the field. In recognition of his services he was commissioned brigadier-general.

But although debarred from participating in the actual struggle to the glorious end, General Judson's sympathies and support have always been with the veterans,

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

and he is a staunch G. A. R. man; he has delivered no less than twenty-five different Fourth of July orations, a statement which cannot be made of any other man, living or dead. These orations have been not mere speeches, but ably prepared and elo- quently delivered discourses on the national theme, without one word of party, sect or creed in them.

As a lecturer the general has attained a high standard and wide reputation, and has filled many important engagements in New York city, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Vermont, Missouri, Iowa and other Western States, besides a large number in New York State. He is a historian of close reading and deep research, and has accum- ulated a great deal of valuable manuscript on the history of our own land, as well as a large collection of rare and curious relics.

As a lawyer, General Judson has for over half a century held a conspicuous place in the bar of St. Lawrence county, and has been commissioner of deeds, master in chaneery, and special county judge, but sought no offiee. Educational matters have always been interesting to him, and he has been a member of the Board of Educa- tion and chairman of that body.

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 72

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