USA > New York > Onondaga County > Pompey > Re-union of the sons and daughters of the old town of Pompey > Part 29
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AUGUSTUS WHEATON.
Augustus Wheaton was born in the year 1775, at New Milford, Conn., and died at the age of seventy-seven years, and was buried within a mile of the place of his birth. Four brothers emigrated from Scotland and settled in Connecticut. Their names were Esuek, Orange, Sylvester and Joseph Wheaton, the last named being the father of Augustus, who came to Pompey in 1810. He had purchased land in Pom- pey in 1807, but did not move his family till 1810. Three sisters, Lydia, Sylvia and Loraine had preceded him. All
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of them were married and were older than Augustus, who was an only son.
Lydia married Jasper Bennet, of Connecticut, and settled in 1806, on the farm now owned by James VanBrocklin, about a half a mile north-westerly from Pompey Hill. They had one son Malcomb and four daughters-Orphia, Oladine, Lurianne and Jane, of whom Oladine married Ozias Wright, late of Pompey. Sylvia married James Chappell, of Mass., and settled on the farm now owned by Geo. Kenyon, in 1808. Their children were Lydia Ann, Augustus W. and Frank- lin. Augustus W. inherited his father's farm. Franklin was first a teacher and subsequently a lawyer. He went to Ken- tucky and married a daughter of Gov. Metcalf. Augustus W. married Harriet Wicks, and lived most of his life upon the farm inherited from his father. Their children were Helen, Sylvia and Byron, the former of whom married Hen- ry Baker, son of Dea. Samuel Baker, late of Pompey. She died and Henry Baker now lives on his father's farm with his second wife. Sylvia Chappell married Dr. John Clark, of Brunswick, Ohio; Byron married Delia Bowles, and they reside in Jasper Co., Indiana. Loraine Wheaton married Joseph M. Bostwick, and came to Pompey about 1806, and settled on the farm now occupied by Watson Watkins. She died in 1829 and left four children, Nancy, Laura, Whea- ton and Bennet. Nancy married Myron Wheaton, of Conn. Laura married Albro Leach, Wheaton Bostwick married a Miss Bennet, of Conn., and now resides in De Witt, Onon- daga Co., N. Y. Bennet moved west, married and still re- " sides west.
Augustus Wheaton married Hannah Givens, of Conn. Their children were Orlin J. and Flora, both born in Con-' necticut, and Julia, Horace, Homer, Louisa, and Charles A., all of the latter born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., to where Au- gustus moved after the birth of the first two children. Af- ter moring to Pompey, four more children were born unto them, whose names were Sheldon, Elvira, Caroline and Harriet.
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Augustus purchased a farm of 410 aeres and lived on the east side of the road south of where A. C. Sloan now re- sides, from 1810 to about 1823. While in Pompey, he en- gaged in the pursuit of agriculture and droving, and about the latter date, he disposed of his farm and moved to Syra- cuse, and became inspector of salt. After a residence in Syracuse of five years, he returned to Pompey, and remained till about the year 1833, when he returned to the place of his birth, and died about the year 1852, and as before rela- ted, was buried within a mile of his birth place. His wife died in 1825, and her remains repose in the cemetery at Pompey Hill. Mr. Wheaton was a man of energy and public spirit, always interested to advance and better the condition of his town. He was a leading man in building the first Congregational church in Pompey.
Orlin J. Weaton, the eldest son of Augustus, married Sophronia Stone, of New Milford, Conn., in 1821. They have reared a large family, all of whom were born in Pom- pey. These are Lucinda, wife of O. C. Pratt, of Pompey. Leman S., who died at the age of six years; Daniel G., who married Mary, second daughter of David F. Dodge, late of Pempey, Delia, wife of the late Geo. B. Senter, of Cleve- land, Ohio, Ellen M. wife of H. B. Dodge, of Skaneateles, N. Y. Flora, wife of John C. Grannis, a lawyer of Cleve- land, Ohio ; Francis, wife of Dr. O. G. Dibble, of Pompey, and Garret S., of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Orlin J. Wheaton has led a very active life. He has mostly been engaged in agricultural pursuits, but for many years was a drover, and as such has traveled over very much of the western coun- try, and especially Ohio.
Flora Wheaton, the second child of Augustus, married Moses Seymour Marsh, who came to Pompey, in 1816. Mr. Marsh was a clerk for his unele, Henry Seymour, the father ot Gov. Seymour, and he subsequently owned the store which he purchased of his uncle, and Horace Wheaton be- came his clerk, and in turn became the purchaser of the store, which he continued to occupy till 1846 or 1847.
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Seymour Marsh built the stone store now owned and oc- cupied by Capt. John J. Taylor, upon the site of the old Henry Seymour store. The children of Seymour and Flora Marsh, were Henry S. Marsh, now of New York, Clarissa, wife of E. S. Dawson, Treasurer of Onondago Co. Savings Bank, of Syracuse; Richard Marsh, of New York; Flora Marsh and Charles Marsh, of Cleveland, Ohio; and George Marsh, of New York.
Julia Wheaton, the third child of Augustus, married Richard Cuyler, of Aurora, N. Y., who went into business at Vienna, N. Y., and there died. Their children were Mary, wife of Hon. R. H. Duell, of Cortland, N. Y. Louisa wife of Giles Lawrence, of Philadelphia, Pa. Jane, wife of Hon. Chas. Foster, of Cortland, N. Y. Julia and Glenn, the latter being a resident of New York, and engaged in the insurance business. Mrs. Cuyler, now Mrs. Lawrence, is again married and resides in Cortland, N. Y.
Horace Wheaton married Helen Webb, of Syracuse, a daughter of James Webb, who had been County Judge and member of the State Legislature. Their children are James, Helen, Edward and George. Helen is married to Mr. Turner, a merchant of Chicago ; Edward resides in New York; George is a traveling agent. Mr. Wheaton has been a leading democrat and represented the town of Pom- pey for a number of terms in the Board of Supervisors ; was for two terms a representative in Congress, having been first elected in the fall of 1842. As before stated he purch- ased the store at Pompey Hill, of Moses S. Marsh, and there continued the mercantile business till about 1846, when he removed to Syracuse, and there he has since resided. For a time since his residence in Syracuse, he engaged with his brother Chas. A., in the hardware trade. More recently, he has been a Justice of the Peace, which office he now holds.
Homer Wheaton is a graduate of Hamilton College. In 1826 and 7 he studied law with the late Victory Birdseye,
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and afterwards with Judge Nehemiah H. Earll; was admit- ted to practice and opened an office in Syracuse with Henry Davis, Jr., son of Dr. H. Davis, president of Hamilton Col- lege. Subsequently pursuing the practice of law, but a short time he became an Episcopal clergyman, which voca- tion he followed many years. He is now extensively en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, and devoted to the produc- tion of fine stock. He married Louisa, daughter of Judge Isaac Smith, of Dutchess County. Judge Charles Wheaton of Poughkeepsie, is his son.
Louisa Wheaton, married John Flemming, late of Man- lius, N. Y. He was a lawyer, Surrogate of Onondaga County, Indian agent and Master in Chancery. Their children were John, Louisa and Mary, who are dead, and Elizabeth who is married and resides in Tennessee, and Flora who resides in Washington, D. C.
Charles A. Wheaton married Ellen Birdseye, daughter of Hon. Victory Birdseye, late of Pompey. They had twelve children, as follows : Cornelia, wife of Frederick Ayer, of Lowell, Mass., Ellen L. wife of Dr. A. R. Morgan, late of Syracuse, now of Astoria, Long Island ; Edward of SanFran- cisco, Cal., in the Express and Banking business of Wells, Fargo & Co. Homer, who is dead. Emma C., principal of the St. Paul, Minn., Young Ladies' Seminary. Clara who is in San Francisco, Cal., teaching. Florence B. Wheaton, Lucia C., a teacher at St. Paul. Henry B. Wheaton, a stu- dent at law, Boston, Mass. Mary H., wife of Mr. Kittridge, a lawyer of Boston, Mass. Charles A., now of Harvard Uni- versity, and Mabel F. who isat her fathers, Northfield, Minn.
Mr. Wheaton married a second time, his first wife having died Dec. 1858. His second wife was a Mrs. Wagoner, whose maiden name was Archibald. By her he has five children, all living at home with their parents. Mr. Whea- ton, while a resident of Syracuse, was a successful merchant at first in the dry goods and subsequently in the hardware trade. Several years ago, he went south and engaged in
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the construction of a railroad. In this enterprise he was unfortunate. Subsequently he went to Minnesota, where he now resides. He has held many positions of public trust, and is now editor of the Rice County Journal.
· Sheldon Wheaton, the first child of Augustus, born in Pompey, died from being scalded, at the age of two years.
Elvira Wheaton, married, being the second wife of John Flemming, by whom she had two children, Caroline and William. Caroline is the wife of John A. Baker, of Seneca Falls, William is in the express business at Coxsackie, N. Y.
Caroline Wheaton, married a Mr. Clark, of Montezuma, who is now dead. She resides in New York, and has two children, James and Caroline Clark; James is a merchant in New York, and Caroline is with her mother.
Harriet Wheaton, married Geo. B. Walter, late of Syra- cuse, but now residing at Astoria, Long Island. He is a lawyer, doing business in New York. They have three boys one of whom is at the Cornell University.
TABOR D. WILLIAMS. -
Mr. Williams was not among the Pioneer settlers of Pompey, having emigrated to Pompey in 1831. His family consisted of his wife, whose maiden name was Miss Lydia Goodrich, formerly of Lenox, Berkshire Co., Mass., and his two sons George H., and Charles T. Williams, aged respec, tively nine and six years. Mr. Williams was a shoemaker, and followed that occupation for several years, after he came to Pompey. His eldest son George H. Williams, entered Pompey Academy at the age of 14 years, and remained there four years under the tuition, of the late Samuel S. Stebbins, an accomplished teacher, scholar and gentleman. At the close of his academic course, he entered the law office of the late Hon. Daniel Gott, of Pompey. Three years thereafter and in the year 1844, he was admitted to
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the bar at Syracuse; in September of the same year, he went to Iowa and entered the office of Hon. D. F. Miller, at Fort Madison; in 1846 he was elected to the convention which framed the constitution of Iowa, serving on the com- mittee which reported that instrument. On the admission of the State into the Union, he was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; in 1852 he was elected presidential elector, on the democratic ticket and cast his vote for Pierce, carrying the vote of the State to Washington as messenger of the Electoral College. On his way home he received in- telligence, of his appointment to the Chief Justiceship of Oregon Territory, by the new President. In 1857 he was re-appointed to this office, by President. Buchanan; he was also elected delegate to the convention, which framed the constitution of Oregon, two years thereafter, he resigned the Judgeship and resumed, the practice of law at Portland. In 1864 he was elected United States Senator, from Oregon and served the full term. At the expiration of his Senato- rial term, he was appointed by President Grant, to serve as a member of the Joint High Commission, which convened at Washington for the settlement of the Alabama Claims, his last appointment, recently received from President Grant, being to fill the office of Attorney General of the United States. In 1850 he was married to the daughter, of General V. P. Van Antwerp, of Keokuk, Iowa, who died in 1863, and he contracted a second matrimonial alliance, with Mrs. Kate George, of Oregon in 1867. Mr. Williams second son Charles F., is by occupation a harness-inaker and resides at Honeoye, Monroe Co., N. Y. Mr Tabor D. Williams and his wife, are still living in Pompey and are very proud, of the high position their son George has attained
THE FARGO FAMILY. WILLIAM C. FARGO.
The biography of no family identified with the history of . old Pompey more clearly illustrates the advantages of a re- publican form of government, than that of William C. Far-
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go. His father, whose surname was also William, was a descendant of Moses Fargo (or Firgo as it was often written), who emigrated from England to Connecticut, about the year 1670, and settled in New London. The history of New London by Frances Manwaring Caulkins, published in 1852, has the following statement : "With other new inhabitants that appear between the years 1670 and 1700, and to whom house lots were granted is Moses Fargo in the year 1680. He had nine children of whom the five youngest were sons, Moses, Ralph, Robert, Thomas and Aaron."
The histories of New London and Norwich contain fre- quent reference to members of this family in connection with the annals of the revolutionary war. William C., at the age of seventeen, was among the first to enlist, and he served faithfully during the whole of the memorable struggle for independence. At the close of the war he engaged in com- mercial pursuits, his principal business being the shipping of cattle and horses to the West Indies. For a time this en- terprise proved successful; but the loss of two ships during a stormy voyage brought a reverse from which he never re- covered financially. He died about the year 1800, leaving a widow and several children, one of whom was William C. Fargo, who was born in New London, Connecticut, March 20th, 1791. Left thus early without inheritance, he was thrown upon his own resources. In those days, as now, fortune was to be sought in the west, and having learned the trade of a distiller, on the 23d of January, 1807, he lett Connecticut with his uncle John Ames, emigrated to Ply- mouth, Chenango County, N. Y., where he worked as a la- borer, until the November following, when he moved to Jamesville, Onondaga county, N. Y., and found employ- ment in the distillery of Benjamin Sandford.
He remained in this position until the latter part of the summer of 1809, when he made his first visit to his uncle Chappell, who married his father's sister and resided in Pom- pey. His visit over, he continued his westward journey, and in September commenced work in Ontario Co., about
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seven miles north of Geneva, for a Mr. Smith. His term of service expiring the following April, he resumed his west- ward route, working by the day or week as he traveled, and reached Buffalo in September. It was his intention to find employment in a distillery at Eleven Mile Creek ; but Buf- falo offered what he regarded a more lucrative position, and he engaged as a bar-tender for Robert Cook. Buffalo was not a populous city at that time, but it gave him em- ployment until May, 1812, when he was drafted in company with James Ellis, William Adams and John Coon, as a soldier in the United States army in the pending war with Great Britain. John O'Connor, of New York, was then recruiting in Buffalo, and preferring to be voluntary rath- er than drafted soldiers, Mr. Fargo and his three associates enlisted for the war in the third regiment of heavy artillery, under command of Col. Alexander Macomb, who was after- wards promoted to the rank of General, when the command of the regiment devolved on Col. George E. Mitchell.
The recruits were first ordered to Canandaigua, but the 4th day of July, 1812, found them at Fort Niagara. On or about the first of October, fifty picked men of whom Mr. Fargo was one, were detailed to open 'communication with the Canadian side of the river, so that the troops could be safely crossed over. It was a hazardous undertaking at the best, and as the enemy was informed of the enterprise by sympathizing rebels on this side, the fifty were compelled to return. On the 12th of October, the attempt was renewed, only fifty soldiers at first embarking. One boat load was carried down by the current and taken prisoners. On the morning of the 13th, under cover of the darkness that then prevailed, the rest of the fifty were able to land, the boats returned, and as soon as possible the militia under Gen. Van Rensselaer, were conducted to Canadian soil. About sun- rise, Mr. Fargo was one of the number who forced their way up the steep acclivity and captured the enemy's battery on the heights which by this time was being actively used against the Americans who were crossing the river. A se-
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cond engagement occurred about eleven o'clock, during which the British General Brock was killed. Mr. Fargo was wounded in his right thigh, just before the Americans won possession of the ground. When reinforcements arrived from Fort George, Mr. Fargo, with other wounded Americans, was brought back to the American side, and placed in a barn with a Mr. Bennett, the log-house hospital being full. They remained here all night before their wounds could be dressed. Mr. Fargo's wound was very painful, and his leg so much swollen that a council of physi- cians decided that the limb must be amputated. Dr. Brown of Cherry Valley, N. Y., obtained permission to make an effort to save the limb, and resorted to a poultice of beach- leaves and new milk boiled together. No material improve- ment was manifested at the expiration of the first twenty- four hours ; but on the day following the beneficial influence of the treatment was apparent, and Dr. Brown was permit- ted to take charge of the patient until the following April, when Mr. Fargo was removed to Fort Niagara. His wound, however, did not heal until June. On his recovery, Mr. Fargo had charge of the artillery in what was known as the Block House. From this station in August, 1813, he kept up an incessant firing on Fort George, for four days. Soon after this, orders were received for the discharge of in- valid soldiers, and Col. Mitchell gave Mr. Fargo his choice, to be discharged, or accept an unlimited furlough and en- gage in recruiting and apprehending deserters. He chose the latter and was so engaged until the close of the war. It was while recruiting that in February, 1814, he again visit- ed Pompey, and from there went to Albany where he re- ceived orders to enlist no more soldiers. He immediately repaired to Sackett's Harbor, and was placed in charge of the Ordnance Department. In 1815, after peace was estab- lished, still continuing in the army service, he went to the Island of Mackinaw with Capt. Benjamin Pierce, who died about 1871. Here he was sergeant-major of the garrison, under command of Col. John McNeal. In 1816, orders
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came to construct a fort at Green Bay, at the mouth of Little Fox River. This work was designed for the protection of explorers and others against the Indians who were then very hostile. Mr. Fargo was detailed with twenty picked men to protect the workmen who were building the fort. Hav- ing accomplished the purpose of the expedition, he returned to Mackinaw in July, 1816, and remained there until the expiration of his term of service, on the 7th of May, 1817.
No longer a soldier, he commenced his journey to Pon- pey. To Detroit he came by water, and thence on foot. To Norwalk, Ohio, he had the company of James Gates. From there twenty-one miles towards Cleveland, there was no hu- man habitation,and Cleveland, then, could boast of only two families and two houses, one of them a public one. From Cleveland his fellow-footman was a Mr. Fellows, and togeth- er they trudged on to Pompey, where they arrived in June, 1817. Mr. Fargo made a visit to his uncle Ames in Che- nango County, shortly after, and returned in July. On the 10th of August, 1817, he was married to Tacy Strong, who was born September 14, 1799, in Hebron, Conn. They re- mained in Pompey until 1819, when they went to James- ville, and for the first time commenced house-keeping. At the expiration of a year, they returned to Pompey, where they resided, in and near the village of Watervale, until the spring of 1848.
All their children were born in Pompey, and Dr. Jehial Stearns who now, at the age of eighty-four years, resides at Pompey Hill, attended at the birth of each of them. The following are the names and dates of the birth of their chil- dren :
William G. Fargo
May 20th, 1818.
Jerome F. Fargo
February 6th, 1820.
Rufus Fargo I I
December 26th, 1821.
Chancellor L. Fargo 1 1
January 12th, 1824.
Sarah Ann Fargo
March 24th, 1826.
Maryette Fargo
1 1 December 18th, 1827.
James C. Fargo
May 5th, 1829.
1 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 1
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Charles Fargo
April 15th, 1831.
Thomas B. Fargo
1 May 7th, 1833.
Emeline Fargo
May 17th, 1836.
Willett H. Fargo
1
1
1
1 1 T 1
February 15th, 1840.
Mortimer H. Fargo September 27th, 1843.
! 1
1
1
1
1 1 1
1
1
1
While in Pompey, Mr. Fargo was engaged in distilling and farming. When the office of constable was held in higher public estimation than at present, he held the postion for six years. From Pompey, he removed to Cicero Corners and bought nine acres of land of John Van Bramer. Here he resided from April 1, 1848, until November, and then re- moved to Manlius near what is known as the High Bridge, and lived there for fifteen years, when he consented with his wife to accept the gift from his children of a substantial and comfortable home in the city of Syracuse where he has resided for the past ten years, surrounded with all the ac- cessories of a life of ease and repose. His wife died Novem- ber 9th, 1870, and was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, at Buffalo, in the lot of W. G. Fargo. Her resting place is marked by a beautiful monument inscribed " Mother." Mr. Fargo was acquainted with many of the pioneers of Pompey and his retentive memory of incidents and his correct and clear narrative of faets, which came un- der his obsevation, renders it very interesting to spend an hour or a day with the veteran. At one time he knew per- sonally every resident from Marcellus to the east boundary of Onondaga county, and can still name many of them from memory. He still retains much of the vivacity and humor of his earlier years, and preserves the quiet and unobtrusive manner which always characterized him and which always won him friends.
William G. Fargo, the eldest son of William C. Fargo, as may be inferred from the statements above, commenced life financially at the bottom of the ladder, and he com - menced it practically at a very early period. His childhood was that of the son of a laboring-man, who was struggling under adverse circumstances to make his expenses meet his
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income. He had the advantages of the country school in the winter months, and made ordinary proficiency in the elemental English branches. He learned to read, write and cipher, and, at the age of thirteen, was employed by Daniel Butts, farmer and mail contractor, to carry the mail on horse- back, twice a week from Pompey Hill by way of Watervale, Manlius, Oran, Delphi, Fabius and Apulia, back to Pom- pey Hill, a circuit of about forty miles. This Post-office business compelled him to promptness and persistence. The circuit must be rode and the mail delivered in all weathers, and under all circumstances, and in this service he was grounded in the idea that when a contract is made it must be performed to the letter.
From this time until 1835, he worked as opportunity of- fered for different persons; but for the most part, for Mr. Tra Curtis, of Watervale, who kept a country tavern and a store. In this employment he learned something of the routine of business, and refreshed his arithmetic in the way of keeping accounts. He was permitted to attend the dis-, triet school occasionally during the winter months. But young Fargo's ambition was not to be restrained in these narrow limits, and his father encouraged him in enlarging his sphere of action. In the winter of 1835, he made an en- gagement with Messrs. Hough & Gilbert, grocers, of Syra- cuse, which was continued for about one year, when he ob- tained a better situation with Messrs. Roswell and Willett Hinman, grocery merchants, with whom he remained three years, perfecting himself constantly in business habits.
Next, we find him a elerk in the forwarding house of Messrs. Duruford & Co., of Syracuse, where he remained about a year. He was steadily climbing the financial ladder, and began to think of embarking in business on his own ac- count. In January, 1840, he married Miss Anna II. Wil- liams, daughter of Nathan Williams, one of the pioneers of Pompey. Eight children have been born to them, only two of whom-Georgiana and Helen-are living. Georgiana in
.
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1866 married Mr. Charles W. M'Cune, who is now a resi- dent of Buffalo.
Soon after his marriage, Mr. Fargo removed to Weeds- port, and, in company with his brother Jerome, started a grocery and provision store and a bakery. The business did not prove successful, and at the end of the first year the balance was on the wrong side of the ledger.
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