The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 106

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098

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494

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

FREDERICK A. FOLGER.

from Gananoque, very early in the morning, they tied up on the shore of Carleton Island, built a fire, and set about preparing break- fast. Mr. Folger was not only fond of pan- cakes, but prided himself on his skill in pre- paring them for the table; and he proposed having some for breakfast. Turning a bar- rel bottom side up, he placed a pan thereon, mixed his batter, put the requisite quantity in the frying-pan, and held it over the fire to bake, boasting, at the same time, of his skill in tossing them up when ready to turn, and catching them in the pan with the unbaked side down. This time he was too eager, and instead of catching the half-baked disk in the pan, he caught it on his bare wrists, when, giving one yell of pain, he plunged at full length into the river, satisfied for once that his usual skill had failed him. They had pancakes for breakfast, however, though the

narrator failed to state whether or not they were turned with a curve-toss and caught on the fly.

Speaking of the " curve," brings to mind what is said of Mr. Folger by one who knew him well in his younger days. It seems that he was exceedingly fond of sports requiring skill and dexterity, rather than mere brute force. As a rifle-shot, he was seldom ex- celled. It was his custom, when slaughtering beeves, to shoot them in the centre of the little curl of hair in the forehead, a spot which he never failed to hit. Another of his favorite sports was ball playing, especi- ally the old time game of base-ball. Whether he was the inventor of the "curve throw " or not, it was a fact attested by many, that- he would so throw the ball that it would almost reach the batter's club, when it would take a sudden curve upward, while the un-

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lueky batter struck beneath it. Saturdays were generally devoted to base ball; and no matter how busy the season, every one left work to go to town to see the game, for which sides had been chosen the previous Saturday, the losing party to pay the egg- nogg or a supper. Mr. Folger finally built a tavern on the corner of Market and Broad- way, having a restaurant in the basement now occupied as a beer saloon. He was also a speculator in village lots to some extent with the late Hon. Charles Smith.

He married Miss Laura Breck, a sister of Mr. Breck, of the well-known firm of Calvin & Breek, and sister to Mr. Calvin's second wife. The fruits of this union were Benja- min W., Henry M., Fred A., Helen, Hattie, Mamie and Etta. The sons are too widely and favorably known to need further men- tion here. It was their misfortune that their father died when they were very young, and at a time when the guidance of such a father would have been a priceless boon. He died on the 28th of September, 1851, aged 42 years. He was cut off in the very prime of manhood, beloved by all, mourned by all. When Cape Vincent was taken from Lyme and erected into a town in 1849, he was the first and only choice of the people for their supervisor. Kind-hearted, affable, polite, agreeable, he was popular with all classes. Quick-witted, he had no equal at repartee ; and yet so acute his perceptions and gentle his nature, that his keenest shafts, pierced they never so deeply, begot nothing but love and admiration in the breast of the wounded.

His early demise was not only a great loss

to his family, but if such a thing were pos- sible, greater to the community in which he lived. As one who knew him well said to the writer: "What a pity it is that Cape Vincent did not have a hundred such men."

FROM THE WATERTOWN JEFFERSONIAN.

Died, on the 28th of September, at Cape Vincent, in the 43d year of his age, F. A. Folger, Esq . the idol of his family, the ornament of the social circle, the useful citizen, the benefactor of the poor, the friend of man.

Cut off in the midst of his years and his labors for the public good, his death will be universally and deeply deplored.

The following, copied from a Nantucket newspaper, shows the ancient renown of the Folgers, who seem to have been related to the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Franklin :

Considering its position, writes a correspondent of the New York Post, Nantucket has been wonderfully prolific of great men and women. Among the first families on the island were the Macys. The Folgers are another noteworthy race. The only child of "Peter Foulger, " born after his removal from Martha's Vineyard to Nantucket. was Abiah, who, in her young maidenhood, removed to Boston and mar- ried Jonah Franklin, the tallow chandler. The 15th child by this marriage was Benjamin Franklin, the philosopher. The mother, in talent and worth, is said to have been every way worthy of her illustrious son. Another member of this family was Charles J. Folger, the present secretary of the treasury, who was born in Nantucket, in a house which stood on the site of the present Sherburne House, on Orange street. The Coffins, famous in naval annals, are a numerous family on the island. Lucretia Mott was born at Nantucket in 1793. Phoebe A. Hanford is a native of Siasconset; Gen. George N. Macy, of the late war; the Rev. Dr. F. C. Ewer, of New York; the Mitchells, mathematicians and astronomers, and scores of other men and women who have gained honorable positions in the professions figured in these reminisoences.

NATHANIEL CARVER.

JOHN CARVER landed from the Mayflower, and among the Pilgrim band who thanked God for their preservation, he knelt on Ply- mouth rock. In time he became the first Governor of the Colony of Massachusetts. The Carver family grew and multiplied, a grandson, Dr. Eleazer Carver, settling in Marshfield, neighbor to Daniel Webster. The doctor had a son, Nathaniel, who seems to have been fully endowed with the Yankee spirit of push and unrest ; and withal, he seems to have been to some extent the unruly member of the flock, or to put it mildly, not so fully imbued with the Puritan notions of the day as should have been the case, or might have been looked for in one of his anecstral descent. At all events the young Nathaniel wandered into the South, where he spent many years in varying fortunes. He was very ingenious, and at one time devoted much attention to the cotton-gin as invented by Eli Whitney, an improvement on which he finally invented, taking out the first patent ever issued for "an improvement in cotton- gins." With the usual fate of inventors, however, Mr. Carver grew poorer, while those who had the capital to invest in his im-

provements grew wealthy, and finally he left the South in disgust, and straying finally into Northern New York, settled on the shore of the St. Lawrence, sometime in the thirties. Here he married Sarah Jane, daughter of . Samuel Britton, of whom mention has already been made, by whom he had three children, Nathaniel Eleazer, who graduated at Bridge- water, Mass., Normal Institute, and is now in Wisconsin ; Sarah (Britton), who is now the wife of James H. Fox, Esq., of Clayton, and Lizzie M., who married Capt. Myron W. Gotham. Nathaniel Carver died in 1849, and was buried close to the shore of the St. Law rence river, of which he was often enthusi- astic in his praise. Some years later, through the efforts of his daughter, Mrs. James Fox, his remains were removed to the little ceme- tery at Sand Bay. where, with a modest stone at their head, placed there by the hands of a loving daughter, they now rest, a broken link of a long chain of Puritan ancestry, whose blood, however mixed, has been the predominating strain, whose influence has been strongest felt in the growth, training and development of the American Nation. Peace to his ashes.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

BRIGADIER GEN. DELOS B. SACKET

WAS the son of Dr. Gideon S. Sacket, a prominent physician of Cape Vincent in an early day. He was born in 1822, and at first attended the common schools of the village, but later attended the celebrated school in New York, taught by Hyacinthe Peugnet, a distinguished Frenchman, whose home was in Cape Vincent. He was one of those who fled from France on the downfall of the First Napoleon. Here the young student became a ripe French and Spanish scholar, in com- pany with many young Cubans and rich planters' sons from the Southern States. At this school young Beauregard, afterward a distinguished Confederate general, got his rudiments of military tactics and his knowl- edge of fencing, spending his vacation at

one time in Cape Vincent, to keep up his practice with the foils at his teacher's home, in company with a dozen or more young Cu- bans. Later on, our general in embryo, se- cured an appointment to the Military Academy and from that time his biography is a matter of record. Graduating fairly in the class of '45, he was breveted 2nd lieuten- ant of the 2nd Dragoons, then the elite of the army, on the 1st of July, 1845, and was made full 2nd lieutenant of the same regi- ment on the 30th of June, 1846 ; and promo- ted to be a 1st lieutenant of the 1st Dragoons on the 27th of December, 1848. He was again promoted to a captaincy in the 1st Cavalry, on the 3rd of March, 1855; major, January 31, 1861, and lieutenant-colonel of

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the 5th Cavalry, May 3, 1861. He was ap- pointed on the staff of the army to the grade of colonel and inspector-general, October 1, 1861, and filled that position with great credit until long after the close of the war. In 1881 he was promoted to the rank of briga- dier general, and became the head of the In- spector-General's department. He was several times breveted for gallant and meritorious service. His first brevet was that of 1st lieutenant for gallant and meritorious con- duct in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, where he followed the gallant May, in the memorable charge of the 2nd Dragoons upon the Mexican artillery and the capture of the Mexican General La Vega. Again, he was breveted brigadier general for gallant and meritorious service in the field during the Rebellion, March 13, 1865, and on the same day to brevet major general of the U. S. A., for like services. He was a brave and efficient officer, and esteemed by all. Among his old friends and neighbors at Cape Vincent, he was idolized. Simple and unassuming in his manners, he was the friend of rich and poor alike, and every one was pleased when it was known that the "General " would pass even a small part of the season in his elegant summer home in the village. His death took place in Washing- ton, in 1885, and his remains were brought to Cape Vincent for interment in the cemetery of St. John's (Episcopal) church. He left a widow and four children, two sons and two daughters, to mourn his loss. One daughter is married and resides in the Northwest, and the remainder of the family usually spend their summers at Cape Vincent, where the memory of the distinguished husband and father will ever be cherished in the com- munity where he was born.

LIST OF SOLDIERS.

The following are names of soldiers of Cape Vincent who served in the Union army, and the list is believed to be nearly correct. Many of them are dead :

H. F. Rogers, M. B. Ladd, Robert Percy, Samuel White, James McKee, James Brown, J. G. Roseboom, Henry Huck, John Cleene, Jacob Miller, Joseph Hibbard, Joseph Majo, Thomas Hudson, Albert Lee, John O' Connor, E. Brooker, Samuel Hubbard, H. M. Downey, J. F. Ackerline, Patrick Ryan, Jno. H. Moore, William Cary, Patrick Ryan, William Bar- up, James Rachford, Alex. Delmars, John Rinagle, A. G. Rogers, Lorenzo Dodge, Fran- cis Bailey, John Miller, George Darby, Nel- son Swartwout, L. Swartwout, Joseph Zeron, O. Stowell, Frank Goulding, Jabez Bullis, A. Hurlburt, Sidney Ainsworth, J. B. Esselstyn, R. W. King, Horace Smith, Joseph Albecker, Sidney Ainsworth, B. B. Offin, Peter Hose, Norman Ross, William Betts, James Rachford, B. Harrington, A. D. Shaw, Thomas Cameron, Erasmus Watkins, John Whiting, A. Pettet, Peter Delmars, R. Chapman, Joseph Chapman, H. D. Chapman,

Merrit Sperry, A. K. Tuttle, G. W. Pratt, M. B. Ladd, Orrin Rice, Phillip Gates, F. B. Smith, James Knight, W. H. Powers, Alex. Ladd, Alonzo Walrath, Watson Walrath, Joseph White, C. R. Robinson, F. Whitte- more, William Betts, John O'Connor, Charles A. Briggs, Andrew Miller, Chas. Clark, Phil- lip Monroe, Thomas Maloney, William War- ren, Orville Fish, T. E. Briggs, H. or M. Perego, John Reff, Jude Loilet, George Fa- ker, Andrew Faker, John Woolover, Sebas- tian Gregor, Joseph Welch, J. Graham, E. F. Morrison, A. Morrison, Peter Sheldon, Ransom Campbell, Delos Arnold, I. Griffin, Austin Horr, Austin M. Horr, Ed. Garland, Louis Mentz, James Webber, Joseph Bed- ford, Robert Carrigan, Charles Elsworth, Don A. Freeman, J. N. Forton, Sweetin Miller, Richard E. Keys, John Shareman, Louis Lafleur, Bruce Cough, William Karney, William McKendry, Marshall S. B. Pringle, William Hill, James Ratican, Samuel Blair. Thomas Connely, Patrick Scheedy, Joseph Trimble, James Wall, Jethro Worden, John Hair, James Griffin, Peter Carrol, George Frasier, Howard Roseboom, Jno. Shaffer, Henry Zimmerman, James East- erly, Fred. G. Shaffer, Geo. Montney, U. M. Burnett, Isaac T. Cross, B. F. Cross, Joseph Lovell, Z. P. Briggs, J. W. Pool, John O'Connor, Charles A. Briggs, Albert Briggs, Robert Burgiss, John Armstrong, Jacob Bassa, John D. Clark, C. Clark, Henry Bechut, George Jondeo, W. Tanson, George Doty, W. E. Franklin, Joseph Rouse, Gilbert Chapman, G. W. Pratt, James P. Rector, George Lince, J. P. Lince, W. S. Carlisle, George Rinagle, Michael Reff, Frank Fav- rie, E. Dezongremel, Augustus Roats, Wil- liam Anthony, Charles Judd, A. Hollenbeck, John Smitling, Charles Warren, Timothy Farlick, W. A. Farlick, E. Cornwell, Arthur White, 'Horace Ingerson, Thomas Cameron, Horace Dodge, B. B. Braun, O. B. Cadwell, Louis Ruso, Benjamin Akin, Carl Britzki, W. H. Bush, Amasa Bass, Elisha L. Dodge, John Donahue, E. Dugal, Jacob Folen, Frank Favry, Joseph Fyrle, David Forton, Barney Hazer, Louis P. Jodwine, E. Lawrence, Asa Lanphear, James Lawrence, Fred. Marks, N. McCarty, Ira C. Nicols, Albert Percy, Alfred Pluche, G. H. Reade, Henry S. Simmons, B. L. Seeley, Samuel Woolover. Col. A. D. Shaw, our distinguished citizen, eminent puh- lic speaker and grand, good soldier, was the first man to enlist from Cape Vincent in Co. A, 35th N. Y. Vol. Infantry, May, 1861.

The Historian finds it very difficult to pre- pare rolls of Union soldiers that are entirely reliable. Such as they are, we present them, and if any veteran is unmentioned he can charge it to his own inattention in neglecting to have his record right at G. A. R. head- quarters.

The death rate of Cape Vincent is but 8 per thousand, being the lowest in the State, as per report of the Health Commissioners of the State.

498

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

MAJOR JAMES HERVEY DURHAM

Is the youngest son of John Perrin Durham, who came from County Durham, in the north of England, with his father William Egbert Durham, just at the close of the Revolution, at the age of two years. William E. was a major in the British army, but becoming dis- gusted with the license given to the Indians to murder and scalp their prisoners, he threw up his commission, returned to England, and finally emigrated to the United States. John P. became first an ensign in the Fraser rifles, and finally a major in that noted regiment. James H. Durham, the subject of this sketch, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., Dec. 17, 1821, and in 1831 went with his parents into the wilds of Ohio, on a farm five miles from the nearest inhabitant. He attended the district

schools for a time, then the seminary at Nor- walk, O., Baldwin Institute, Berea, O., and Oberlin College. He entered the 2nd Dra- goons U. S. A., in 1849, serving up to the breaking out of the Rebellion. He was a member of B Co., Capt. Blake, 9th Indiana Vols., under Colonel, afterward Gen. Robert H. Milroy, in the first three months' cam- paign in West Virginia. He reported to Geu. George B. Mcclellan at Grafton, West Va., and was sent by him on important scout- ing service ; was in the battles of Phillipi, at Laurel Hill, and Carrick's Ford. At the close of the three months' campaign, he was appointed by Gov. Oliver P. Morton to the command of a camp near Indianapolis, and finally went to the front as 1st Lieutenant

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and Adjutant of the 33rd Indiana Volunteers, Col. Cohurn. Resigning from that command at the end of eighteen months' service, he be- came major of cavalry, and later was con- nected with the artillery of the 23rd Corps, under Gen. Schofield. He was once in Libby prison, and the Andersonville stockade 15

days. He participated in several of the hardest-fought battles of the war, and was several times wounded. He has an honorable discharge and is a pensioner. He is the au- thor of our history of Cape Vincent but not of this sketch. J. A. H.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

JOHN B. GRAPOTTE was born in Cham- plette, France, in 1826, came with his father, Augustus Grapotte, to the United States. The family bought and settled upon a farm in LeRay, where they continued to reside until the death of the father. John B., the subject of this sketch, being desirous of learning a trade, chose that of a painter, which he learned of William Casse, Sr., at Evans Mills, in 1848-9, working a part of the time in Syracuse. In 1850 he opened a shop in Cape Vincent, which he ran for about five years. He was married to Rosalia Cocagne in 1851, and in 1855 went into a hotel at Cape Vincent, which he kept for five years, pur- chasing a hotel at Three Mile Bay, in 1860. He kept this house five years, and then re- turned to Cape Vincent, where he entered into partnership with R. J. Smith in the drug and grocery business, selling out in 1868 to Dr. Bushnell and E. C. Kelsey, and opening a general store, which he kept for 31 years, and finally sold out to his son, John H., who still continues the business. Mr. Grapotte has always been a prominent citi- zen, having been a trustee and president of the village, and president for several years of the Cape Vincent Agricultural Society.

CHARLES B. CAREY was born in Richland, N. Y. In 1847 he removed to the town of Lyme, and thence to Cape Vincent in 1866, locating at St. Lawrence, where he keeps a general store, and for several years has been the postmaster. He married Miss Lydia Tarbell, of Cape Vincent, and has raised an interesting and accomplished family of daughters. Mr. Carey is a musical composer of much talent, and some of his compositions are meeting with great favor with the public. Prompt to aid in everything that tends to elevate and better his kind, Mr. Carey is a good citizen, and an acquisition to the com- munity in which he lives.

JOHN G. ROSEBOOM is the son of John H. Roseboom, of Amsterdam, N. Y. He was born in Albany, to which city his father had removed. The family came to Cape Vincent in 1851. John G. was a soldier in the Union army, having enlisted in D company, 122d N. Y. Vols. He participated in the battle of the Wilderness, was wounded and taken pris- oner, May 5, 1864, and confined in the An- dersonville Stockade, where he remained several months ; from there he was taken to Millen Stockade, and was one of the last squad released from that prison and for- warded to Savannah, where he was paroled

Dec. 5, 1864. He first heard of Lee's sur- render at Fortress Monroe, while on his way to join his regiment at or near City Point. Mr. Roseboom has been for many years a hardware merchant in Cape Vicent, where he married, and has raised an interesting family. He has been once the president and several time a trustee of the village.

HORACE C. STOEL was born in Hounds- field. He is the son of William Stoel, who for many years was a hotel-keeper at Stowell's Corners. The family came to Cape Vincent when Horace was but 12 years of age, and settled on what is now the Charles Gozier farm, where the lad was initiated into the mysteries of farm-life, in the meantime pick- ing up all the knowledge he could at the dis- trict school. In 1852 he fully satisfied his desire for travel by a trip to California in search of gold. On his return he purchased the farm where he now resides, and which he has made a model. He married Miss Anna Irving, daughter of James Irving, Esq. They have six children, four sons and two daughters. Mr. Stoel has now two farms, one of 115 acres, the other 202 acres. He has in the past engaged quite largely in stock- raising ; some extra fine cattle and horses be- ing the result. For six years he was one of the town assessors and president of the Cape Vincent Agricultural Society for several years. He has been a successful farmer, and enjoys the respect and confidence of his fel- low citizens.

FRED STOWELL is a son of Horace T. It will be noticed that he has adopted the more modern English way of spelling the name, Stowell. rather than the old Huguenot Stoel, to which his father rigidly adheres. Fred was born in Cape Vincent, raised on a farm, educated at the district school, and at Ives and Cazenovia seminaries, and at the Alhany Law school, reading law in the office of Porter and Walts, Watertown. Spending a few years in the West, he returned to Cape Vincent, and has now settled down to the practice of his profession in which those who best know him prophesy that he will achieve success.

SIDNEY S. BLOCK is the only son of Sig- mund Block and Lucy (Niles) Block, of Cape Vincent. Sigmund Block, new de- ceased, was born in Tloss, Germany, in 1812, and in 1846 came to Cape Vincent. He was an active merchant for 44 years, retiring for some years before his death. Sidney S. was brought up to mercantile pursuits, educated

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

at the Cape Vincent schools, became a tele- graph operator, and an insurance agent, and is now cashier and principal stockholder in the Bank of Cape Vincent.

HANDLEY N. BUSHNELL, M. D., is a son of Dr. Handley Bushnell, who resided in Cape Vincent at the time of his death, an able and prominent physician. Handley N. has practiced medicine successfully for many years, besides carrying on a large drug busi- ness. His recent discoveries in the way of new remedies, are not only making him known throughout the country, but are proving very remunerative, because of their popularity.

JOHN F. CONSTANCE, JR., is a son of Law- rence Constance, Jr., who was a native of Germany, and who came to Cape Vincent in 1840, locating in the French Settlement with his parents. John F. early evinced a taste for business, and on the death of his brother- in-law, the lamented Alfred E. Gregor, who was a clothing merchant, he took charge of the business to settle up the estate on behalf of his sister, and finally purchasing the stock, he began business for himself, in which he has proved successful, and won for himself a position among the best merchants of the village.

LEVI ROUSSEAU is the son of Cyrille Rous- seau, who was a native of Canada, but who came to Cape Vincent, where he yet resides. Levi was born and raised in Cape Vincent, and received his education in the village schools. A lover of horses from his child- hood, he has, since old enough to handle them, been more or less a dealer in them. He is now the proprietor of the livery stable in the village, and the owner of some speedy trotters. Mr. Rousseau is also a constable of the town, and oue of its most efficient offi- cers.

JAMES L. DUNNING is a son of Eli L. Dun- ning, who was a native of Connecticut, and a soldier in the War of 1812. His grand- father was Luther Dunning, a captain in the War of the Revolution. James E., the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Amsterdam, N. Y., May 12, 1834, and with his parents came to Cape Vincent in 1835. He was raised on a farm, and gained his education in the common schools. In 1857 he married Miss Julia B. Cary, and they have one son and three daughters: Claude C., of El Paso, Texas, Maggie E., Nora M. and Inez M., who is deceased. Mr. Dunning is the present postmaster of Cape Vincent, in which office, with the very efficient aid of his accomplished daughters, he has succeeded admirably in giving satisfaction to the public.

JOSEPH C. GREGOR is the son of Charles Gregor, deceased. He was born in Chicago, and came to Cape Vincent at nine years of age, and began work in the clothing store of his uncle, Alfred E. Gregor, now deceased, where he staid several years. After the death of his uncle, he entered into partner- ship with Frank Dezengremel, Esq., in the grocery business, and at the end of two

years purchased the entire interest. With the business in his own hands, the young merchant made a success from the start, con- stantly increasing the extent of his trade until burned out in the disastrous fire of September 24, 1894. Nothing daunted, he has again begun business in a new store on the same site, which is in every way a model. Always noted for the style and quality of his goods, Mr. Gregor proposes to fully sustain his reputation ; and he is pre- pared to supply the wants of the people along many lines not usually found in stores of the kind. Here will be found the finest grades of fishing tackle and sportsmen's sup- plies, and fancy goods of every description, besides all the best standard groceries known to the trade. Mr. Gregor has very recently taken an accomplished partner, in the person of Miss Elizabeth Kanaley, of Clayton, on which he is yet receiving the congratulations of his many friends. May the partnership be long and happy.

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 106

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823- Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company Number of Pages: 1098

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098