The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 111

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

USA > New York > Jefferson County > The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894 > Part 111

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).

Lewis county. They have reared one child. When he first came to Carthage he was in the employ of Smith & O'Keefe, and after- ward in partnership with Charles Duffy in the manufacture of furniture, which enter- prise did not prove a financial success. At present he is conducting a chair factory in West Carthage, occupying the saw-mill property, formerly owned by the late Lewis Earl.

WILLIAM SISSON was born in Herkimer county in 1806. He came to Jefferson county in 1868, and had married Aramintha Williams. They had five children: Charles H. (who was an extensive dealer in lumber, on the Pacific Coast, and was murdered 125 miles from Vancouver, leaving three chil- dren); Harriet and Mary (hoth deceased), Almeron and Orman. William Sisson, the father, died in August, 1886. Almeron married Esther M. Ricket, and adopted two children. Orman is unmarried. These two brothers have been in partnership for several years In 1866-67-68 they conducted a saw- mill, shingle aud lath factory on the Rawson place, near Carthage, removing to Carthage after the great fire of 1884, and where they took contracts for building houses. At present they conduct the grist-mill, wood- working and shingle mills owned by Chaun- cey H. Clark, at Great Bend, established in 1881.

CASPER ZAPF was born in Bavaria in 1824. He came to America and married Agnes Waihel in 1855. They had three children : Lewis, a cheese-maker in Theresa; Francis X. and Barbara, who married Edwin L. Mc- Neil, in the employ of Rider & Fuller, of Watertown. Casper Zapf was a cheese- manufacturer, and an extensive dealer in cheese. He died in the town of LeRay in 1878. Francis came to Great Bend in 1876, and was a cheese-maker for eight or nine years. He is the present secretary of the Great Bend Paper Company, and is sole trustee of the school district. He married Julia M. Dodge, and they have four chil- dren : Casper, Bertha J., Ethel N., Walter J. He is a member of Pisgah Lodge, No. 720, of Evans Mills, and universally re- spected.

ERASTUS B. FREEMAN was born in Wilna, in 1809. He was the son of Alfred Freeman (who built the Checkered House), and one of 11 children, but one of whom survives, Charles, in Montana. Erastus B. came to Great Bend in 1851, and purchased a small hotel, to which he added and improved until finished, asit now appears, in 1873. For years the Freeman House has been a popular resort, and equally so under the present manage- ment of his sons, John and George, who suc- ceeded their father. Erastus married Abi, daughter of John Strickland, Jr., of Phila- delphia, N. Y., and of their eight children but six are living, Harriet (wife of Sylvester Loomis of Champion), Helen M. (wife of Clark Loomis of Champion), Almira C. (wife of Charles Roberts of Watertown), Martha

M.J. D. EALG. Ce.

LEANDER E. BOSSUOT. GEO. W. PARMENTER.

WILLIAM FULLER.

FREDERICK BENNET.

DR. ALBERT A. JOSLIN.

519

CHIAMPION.

A. (wife of Thomas B. Phelps, proprietor of the Lowville Democrat), Charles E. (who married Adelaide. daughter of Sandford Lewis, of North Wilna, and died in 1875), John E. (who married Adelaide, widow of his brother Charles), and George E. (who married Miss Susan Merritt). Erastus Free- man died December 21, 1873, aged 64 years. His widow survives him, and at the age of 86, is a remarkably smart lady.

JOSEPH F. DODGE was born in Goshen, Litchfield county, Conn., October 21, 1832. He came with his parents to Wilna in 1839, where his father took up 200 acres of land. He married Ann Maria, daughter of Bris- band Brownell, in 1856. Seven children were born to them. five of whom are living : Oliver F., Julia M., Walter R., Nellie L. aud Clinton B. Joseph moved with his family to Great Bend in 1867, and entered the em- ploy of L. H. Mills. About two years later he engaged with the Great Bend Paper Com- pany, where he remained until about four years since, when, his health failing, he was obliged to retire. His wife died in 1877. He is now in poor health and resides with his son Clinton, at Great Bend. Oliver F. Dodge is foreman of the Great Bend Paper Company, and is a justice of the peace.

FRANK A. FLETCHER, president of the Great Bend Paper and Pulp Company, was born in Mantrel, N. H., in February, 1836, and is the son of Lewis A. and Betsey M. Fletcher. He is one of seven children, and the

only survivor. Frank came to Watertown in 1874, and engaged as manager for Knowl- ton Brothers, of Watertown, and in 1887 be- came identified with the paper company at Great Bend. He married Ida LaDue, of Newburg, N. Y., and they have four. chil- dren. Frank enlisted May, 1861, in Co. G, 2nd N. H. Infantry, and served until June, 1864, when he was mustered out as sergeant. He was stationed on the Potomac, partici- pated in the battles of the first and second Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Williamsburg -18 ar 19 battles in all. He was wounded at first Bull Run, and also at Gettysburg. He has always been a straightforward Re- publican, and is a member of Spratt Post at Watertown.

JEWETT CLARK, a contractor on the Black River Canal, built. in 1842, the large stone hotel, the Jefferson House, which stands con- spicuously in the center of the village of Great Bend-a monument to his enterprise. It was used for many years as a hotel, but is now a tenement house. It is most substan- tially put together, and the oldest inhabitants remember an incident connected with its con- struction. The rafters of the roof were being placed in position, when they suddenly gave way and three men were precipitated into the cellar, and, what is remarkable, none of the were seriously injured. Mr. Clark was drowned in Black River two years after. Mrs. Clark's maiden name was Mahala In- galls; she survived her husband many years.

SOME SOLDIER BIOGRAPHIES.

LEANDER E. BOSSUOT, who is a merchant in West Carthage, was the son of George Bossuot, who was the first white child born in the village, afterwards called Carthage, the son of Jean Baptiste Bossuot, a native of Troyes, France. The family of this pioneer and earliest settler of Carthage, is an im- portant and historical one. In 1798 he found at Carthage only a single Indian's hut-the forest coming down close to the river-a boundless wilderness. He died in Cham- pion, July 26, 1847, aged 93 years. The children born to Jean Baptiste Bossuot were: George, Louis, Augustus, John Bonaparte, Peter, and a daughter named Julia, who died early. With the exception of Augus- tus, who died in Minnesota, all the rest of this numerous family resided in or near Car- thage until their death. Jean Baptiste was accompanied to Carthage by his brother Louis, who also reared a numerous family : John, Louis, Joseph, Ellen, Margaret, Mary, Ann and Julia. The girls all married and raised families, and the boys emigrated West excepting John, who is now residing in Car- thage.

Leander E. Bossuot, the grandson (as we have stated), of the original Jean Baptiste, is a respected citizen of West Carthage, and is clerk of the town of Champion. He enlisted

in the 20th Cavalry in July, 1863, and served . through with it until its final muster out. This regiment was the one which made the first entry into Richmond after its evacuation by the Confederates, and its colonel raised the first Union flag upon the State capital. It was a regiment full of veterans from the two-year service, and it is an honor to any man to have belonged to it. Its make-up may be judged of by remembering that Leander Bossuot served in it.

Mr. Bossuot is a Knight Templar, a mem- ber of Carthage Lodge No. 158, and the senior warden; is also a member of Carthage Chapter No. 259, of Watertown Command- ery No. 11, and of Utica Council. He is also an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Mystic Shrine, a Masonic organization.

DR. ALBERT A. JOSLIN,

THE subject of this sketch (the son of Phi- lander D. Joslin and Philindia Van Dusen Joslin, of Champion), was born in Wales, Erie county, N. Y.

While yet in his infancy, his parents re- moved from Erie county to Champion, Jefferson county, where he resided with them until the latter part of the summer of 1864, when he enlisted at the early age of 15,

520

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

in Company H, 186th N. Y. Vol. Infantry. He was the youngest soldier in the regiment who carried a musket. The regiment ren- dezvoued at Sackets Harbor, where it was organized. On the examination of the re- cruits by the surgeons, young Joslin was at first rejected on account of his youth, but being persistent, and anxious to become a soldier, he succeeded by stating that he was 18 years of age, in securing a second exami- nation, and was accepted.

The regiment was soon ordered to Vir- ginia, where it joined the forces of General Grant, before Petersburg. There he served in the trenches, within rifle range of the enemy's lines throughout the siege. He par- ticipated in the movement of a portion of the army in an attempt to destroy the South- side Railroad. The attempt was unsuccess- ful, but the battle of Hatcher's Run was fought on October 27, 1864, in which the regiment was engaged.

On the night of December 10, 1864, the regiment, with other troops of the 9th corps, were withdrawn from the entrench- ments, supplied with five days' rations and 80 rounds of ammunition, and made a forced march to Nottaway River at the crossing of the Weldon Railroad, to reinforce the 5th corps in the destruction of that road. This move was a success.

On April 2, 1865, in the final assault upon Petersburg, the regiment was in the charge upon Fort Mahone. In this battle young Joslin was captured by the rebels, and held a prisoner of war during the retreat of their army from Petersburg and Richmond to Appomattox Court House, where Lee sur- rendered, and he was recaptured. On this retreat the rebels were greatly harassed by the forces under Gens. Grant and Sheridan ; and were obliged to make long and rapid marches each day, which were sometimes prolonged far into the night. No rations were issued to the prisoners for the period of one week, with the exception of four ears of corn and a small piece of bacon at one time. By reason of this and of the exhausting marches, Mr. Joslin suffered greatly from hunger and fatigue. He, with other prison- ers, were compelled by hunger to search for kernels of corn where the horses and mules were fed, when the army halted at night.

About three years after the close of the war, he went to Litchfield county, Conn., and was there for three years. While in Connecticut, he commenced reading medi- cine, returning to Jefferson county and con- tiuued the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Ferguson. In 1879-80 he attended lectures at the University of the City of New York. In 1882 he entered the University of Vermont, at which institution he graduated, and commenced practice in 1882 at Greig, Lewis county, where he remained for several years. He then removed to Martinsburg, and there continued in practice several years.

He is a member of the Medical Society of Lewis county, of which society he was

twice elected president. In 1885 he was elected a Fellow of the New York State Medical Association. He is a member of the executive board of said Society. He also has served a period of six years as coroner of Lewis county.

GEORGE W. PARMENTER.

SNELL PARMENTER was horn in Putnam, Windham county, Vermont, in 1808. He came to St. Lawrence county in 1825, settling in the town of Gouverneur. Having driven stage over the Green Mountains of Vermont, he naturally took up the same avocation on removing to Gouverneur. When only 15 years of age he drove a stage drawn by four horses from Brattleboro to Walpole. He married Mrs. Clarinda Burdslee, and they raised seven children. The fifth child was George W. Parmenter, long a resident of Car- thage. He was born in Gouverneur in 1842. He had the benefit of a common-school edu- cation, and began to learn the carpenter's trade with Jacob Broxton, in Denmark, N. Y. He had not fully completed his trade when the civil war broke upon the country, and in August, 1862, he enlisted in the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery. He served through nearly three years with that regi- ment, participating in its engagements, and was mustered out with the regiment, receiv- ing an honorable discharge. He was ord- nance sergeant of his battalion during a part of his term of service.

On leaving the army he came to Carthage, and finished his trade with Joseph H. Root. He soon began to learn architecture, and finally made designs for buildings, and now he is a builder and contractor.

In January, 1868, he married Miss Hattie A. Dunham, and since then they have been continuously residents of Carthage. Mr. Par- mater has been twice elected a trustee of Carthage, now serving his second term He is a reliable, enterprising citizen, and his acts as trustee have been on the side of progress and improvement.

FREDERICK BENNETT,

LONG a resident of Carthage and a soldier in the Union army, was born in Weston, near Bath, Somersetshire, England. He received a very limited education in the schools of that country. He worked in a newspaper office in 1848 in the city of London, England, and was a newspaper carrier on the London Times. In 1852, in his 15th year, he enlisted in the British army, at Tauplemore, in Tip- perary, Ireland. He joined his regiment, the 55th foot, at Gibraltar. This was about the time the Crimean War began, and the 55th was ordered to that distant point, now celebrated in history.

Young Bennett served through that im- portant war, and received the honorary good conduct medal, with three clasps, upon which are engraved, "The Alma, Balaklava and Sebastopol." He was one of the volun-

521

CHAMPION.

teers who carried the scaling ladders at the assault upon the Redan, September 8, 1855, and was otherwise distinguished as a good soldier.

He was a witness of the charge of the im- mortal six hundred at Balaklava, his regiment being held within supporting distance, but not engaged.

He came to the United States in 1857, he- ginning work as a farmer in the town of Lyme, N. Y. In 1863 he enlisted in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery, in Company I, Captain Gilmore. He served right through with this company, participating in its bat- tles, terminating at the assault upon Peters- burg and the wind-up at Appomattox.

In 1858 he married Miss Martha Whittier, whose father was a cousin of the eminent John G. Whittier, the Quaker poet. She is also related to the Morrel family, which has among its members the Hon. Lot Morrel, the distinguished Senator from Vermont.

Mr. Bennett is six feet two inches in height. He joined the G. A. R. in 1867, and has held every office in E. B. Steele Post at Carthage, and has been delegate three times to the State encampment. He is yet stalwart and able to get around readily. A good sol- dier and citizen. When mustered out he was 1st sergeant of his company.

WILLIAM FULLER,

OF West Carthage, one of those shown in the composite soldier plate herewith, was a pensioner of the War of 1812. He was born in Savoy, Berkshire county, Mass., Novem- ber 13, 1795, and was the son of Aaron and Delaney (Pierce) Fuller, and one of 10 chil- dren. At the age of seven years he came with his parents to Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., where they engaged in farm- ing. At the age of 19, William was called out with the militia to the defense of Sack- ets Harbor. Although not of an eligible age, he served the government as a private soldier, from an inclination to see something of the world. After six weeks' service, peace was declared and he returned to Fair- field. In 1820 he came to Turin, Lewis county, where he held many offices of trust. In 1822 he married Miss Polly Hemstreet, daughter of Jacob Hemstreet, of Revolu- tionary ancestry. Her grandfather was at the surrender of Burgoyne at the battle of Saratoga. William Fuller's children are : Harriet, widow of Josiah Huckins, with whom he spent the closing years of his life ; Perry Pierce Fuller, of Watertown, and Wil- liam D. Fuller, of North Ridgeville, Ohio. In 1842 William Fuller went to Rutland, and while there united with the State street M. E. Church, of Watertown, in which year they were erecting their church edifice. He was a prime mover in building the church at Houseville, Lewis county, and afterward a steward in the M. E. Church at Carthage, where he hecame a resident in 1870, and held minor offices in West Carthage. "Uncle

Fuller" was a most genial, pleasant gentle- man, who loved a joke and had a good laugh for every one. He could be stern and fear- less in discharging the duties of an office. It is told that while he was justice of the peace in the town of Rutland, that a young lawyer of Watertown, who has since won distinction, sought to convince him by read- ing portions of the law. "Is that law ?" 'Squire Fuller asked. "Yes, that is the law," was the reply. "Well, it is not common sense," and his decision was unchanged. He retained his faculties until stricken by par- alysis, from the effects of which he died, April 20, 1888, aged 92 years.

GORDON P. SPENCER, M. D.,

WAS born in Salisbury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, April 29, 1789. He was the son of Eliphaz Spencer, who, with his two brothers, Thomas and Jared, were among the first settlers of Hartford, Conn. The father of Gordon P. Spencer was a farmer by occu- pation. His mother was the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Hall, of East Had- dam, Conn. He received private instruction in early life under the supervision of Rev. Joseph Crossman and Ammi L. Robbins. He entered Williams College in 1807, and gradu- ated from that institution with honors. He then began the study of medicine with Dr. North, of Goshen, obtaining his diploma from the Medical Society of New London in 1812.

This being the time of the breaking out of hostilities between Great Britain and the United States, he obtained a commission from the Secretary of War, and was ordered to report to the colonel of the Eleventh In- fantry Regiment. He remained at his post with the regiment from that time until the close of the war.

After the army went into winter quarters, the Doctor was engaged in the hospital at Sackets Harbor. The news of peace was received, and Dr. Spencer, on his way to his native State, called to assist Dr. Durkee, of Champion, in attending a man who had his leg crushed, making arrangements with that gentleman for a partnership. Returning to Champion, he began an extended and im- portant medical practice, of long duration and of most enduring success. He finally died in Watertown, where he had removed when too old to practice.

PLEASANT LAKE, in the southern part of the town of Champion, has been for several years a popular resort for picnic parties. A fine grove and dancing hall are among the attractions. A small steamer makes a round trip of the lake, which is very enjoyable. The water is said to be very deep and quite clear.

THERE is a small hamlet in the Southern part of Champion which is known as South Champion.

522

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

CLAYTON.

CORSICAN

R. W. & O. R. R. DOCK, CLAYTON.

IT should be an easy matter to write up the town of Clayton, for it is full of inter- esting material. For many years it has occu- pied a prominent position on the St. Law- reuce. There was a time when Cape Vin- cent had a better chance for commercial supremacy than Clayton, because the former was the terminus of the R. & W. Railroad. But the withdrawal of the railroad support from the town, and the fact that Clayton has now become the important terminus of a road having direct connection with the greatest system in America, has given Clay- ton a very important and doubtless a per- manent impetus and supremacy. That town is now the grand entrepot for the immense St. Lawrence river travel, which is increas- ing year by year with astonishing rapidity. The year 1894, although phenominally de- pressed in its business relations, saw more people on the river than for many years pre- vious, and the engagements for 1895 promise a large increase over the travel of 1894. Fully 80 per cent. of this immigration passes through Clayton. The railroad service has been surprisingly good, while the Folger boats have never missed a single trip-thus afford- ing swift, certain and agreeable transporta- tion to the vast crowds who visit the great river. The village itself, under these favor- able conditions, is obtaining a permanent

growth, and it is now (as it was when Meriek & Co. were operating there), the most enter- prising town on the St. Lawrence, above Ogdensburg. It has good banking facili- ties, electric light, a first-rate school, good hotels, fine boat manufactories, extensive wharves, with water deep enough for the largest steamers, and in addition is a beauti- fully laid-out town. We know of no more desirable village for a permanent residence than Clayton. The people are intelligent,

the death rate remarkably low, the business men enterprising and progressive.

In addition to the Folger boats, which make connections with all the trains, there are several steamers that run to different points upon the river, as well as to Ganan- oque. Directly opposite Clayton is the most costly and beautiful summer villa upon the river, the residence of Mr. Charles G. Emery, a wealthy New Yorker.

CLAYTON was formed from Orleans and Lyme, April 27, 1833, and was named in honor of Hon. John M. Clayton, United States Senator from Delaware, an act of courtesy due to Gen. W. H. Angel, who was then a member of the Legislature, and a distinguished Whig. It embraces two. fifths of Penet Square, a gore west and another north of that tract, and Grindstone and several smaller islands in the St. Lawrence. The surface of the town is level or slightly rolling. The principal streams are Chau- mont river, which takes a southwesterly course through the town ; and French Creek, which takes a northerly course through the northwestern part, emptying into the St. Lawrence. The town is bounded on the north by the St. Lawrence, on the east by Orleans, on the south by Brownville, and on the southwest by Cape Vincent and Lyme. Among the smaller islands lying within the limits of this town, and occupied as summer homes, are Governor's and Calumet islands. Calumet Island is the property of Mr. Emery, a New York merchant, and he has made there the most extended improvements of any upon the river opposite Clayton village; Round Island, upon which is located the Frontenac Hotel, Washington Island, Little Round Island, and Bluff, Robbins, Hemlock and Maple Islands. Jefferies and Grennell islands, constituting Grennell Park,

523

CLAYTON.

are in this town and are desirable properties. At the first town meeting, held at the house of Mr. Isaac L. Carter, June 4, 1833, the following towu officers were elected : Hub- bell Fox, supervisor; B. F. Faxton, clerk ; Gurdon Caswell and Stephen Martin, justices of the peace; Jesse Noyes, Abram Burdick, Beriah Carpenter, assessors; Caleb Closson and James Barney, overseers of the poor; Samuel P. Payne, Lloyd B. Farrar or Traver, Elkanah Corbin, commissioners of highways; Alfred Fox, John Consaul, Jr. and Joseph Mason, cammissioners of schools; Josiah Farrar, David Baker and B. F. Fax- ton, inspectors of common schools; Erastus Warner, collector; Erastus Monroe, T. Haskell, Sydney Spencer and Elbridge G. Tilton, constables.

Iu 1890 Clayton had a population of 4,411. The town is located in the third school dis- trict of Jefferson county, and in 1892 had 25 school districts, in which 33 teachers were employed 28 weeks or more. The whole number of scholars attending school was 1,063, while the aggregate days' attendance during the year was 96,909. The total value of the school buildings and sites was $21,- 295, and the assessed valuation of all the districts was $1,141,563. The town has an area of 49,244 acres.

CLAYTON VILLAGE was incorporated April 17, 1872, by a vote of the citizens, as pro- vided in an act passed by the State Legis- lature, April 20, 1870. The vote stood 140 for and 51 against the assumption of corpor- ate honors. The first election for village officers was held at the Walton House, May 8, 1872, at which the following were elected: Elijah McCarn, president; S. G. Johnson, William Hawes and S. D. Johnston, trustees; Stephen Hill, treasurer; Charles M. Mar- shall, collector; and C. H. Ross was ap- pointed clerk. The village is situated on the St. Lawrence river, at the mouth of French creek, and was the scene of a brief conflict during the War of 1812. The advance of General Wilkinson's army, under command of General Brown, reached French Creek on the afternoon of November 1, 1813, where it was attacked by a British force of two sloops, two schooners and a strong in- fantry force in hoats. Captain McPherson, with a battery of three 18-pounder guns, took possession on Bartlett's Point, now Prospect Park, and returned the fire of the enemy, who were repulsed, but renewed the attack in the morning, when they were again defeated, and forced to abandon their purpose. Three Americans were killed and two wounded, while the loss of the British was never fully known, although it was afterwards ascertained to have been quite severe. The safety of the Americans lay in the fact that the British vessels, with their heavy 32-pounders, fired too high, and thus overshot their foes. Some of their shots have been plowed up on what is known as the Kline farm, now within the corporate limits of the village.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 111

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