The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 129

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 129

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In the progress of every frontier town, from its early settlement to a later perma- nent growth there are usually found some men who maintain an equable and continuous course, and become the ones whose integrity is never questioned, and whose word is al- ways as good as a bond. Such an one was Mr. Canfield, whom the writer remembers away back in the fifties, the same just and honorable man he is to-day-equipoised, dis- criminating, fair and just.

A. JUDSON HORTON.

A. JUDSON HORTON, eldest son of C. Van Ranst and Emeline E. (Dickerson) Horton, was born at Somerville, St. Lawrence county N. Y., March 13, 1850. His parents removed to Point Salubrious when he was quite young, and where they continued to reside until he was 11 years of age. In 1861 he went to live with an aunt, where he remained until after the death of his father, in 1862, when he returned home to his mother in Chaumont. November 19, 1863, he, together with his youngest sister, Eva (now Mrs. J. S. Pettit, of Sackets Harbor), went to live with Hon. Jay Dimick, of Houndsfield, remaining there until 21 years of age. After attaining his majority he went to Missouri, and upon his return, February 22, 1872, was married to Ellen L. Maxon, youngest daughter of Hon. Benjamin Maxon, of Houndsfield. They took up their abode with her father and worked his farm. Two years later, in 1874, his wife and her father died within a short time of each other, At the earnest request of his mother-in-law, he continued to stay with her on the farm until her death, in 1891. February 19, 1882. he was again married to Mary Ladd, by whom he has three children: Hannah Ellen, Gilbert Van Ranst and Kenneth Field, aged respect- ively 11, 9 and 6 years.

Hu. Comfree

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NEWMAN HOLLEY POTTER,

WHO was a gallant soldier in Company K, 35th N. Y. Vol. Infantry, was born in Hounds- field in 1829, the son of Anson and Abby (Fall) Potter. Mr. Potter, Sr., came from Massachusetts, and his wife from Connecti- cut, both from good New England stock. They came into Jefferson county in 1808, lo- cating at Stoel's Corners. They were mar- ried in 1826, and reared five children, all of whom are now (1895) living : Walter W .; who married Delila, daughter of Daniel Ben- nett, of Houndsfield ; Newman H., Loren- tine C., who married Chauncey W., son of Col. Bates, of Houndsfield, they now resid- ing at Crocker, Iowa; Lydia M., who mar- ried Harrison E. Spaulsbury, of Leonidas, Mich., and Anson A., of Syracuse, N. Y., who has never married. Anson Potter, the

NEWMAN HOLLEY POTTER.

father of this family, and his amiable com- panion, were people highly respected by all who knew them. He died in 1883 in his 79th year, after a long life of honorable and suc- cessful effort. His farm, where he lived so many years, was located on the Military Road between Sackets Harbor and Brownville. His widow survived him nearly nine years, dying in 1891.

Newman H., the subject of this sketch, had the benefit of the common schools of Hounds. field, completing his education at the Water- town Institute. He worked upon his father's farm in summer and attended school in win- ter. In his 32d year he joined the 35th N. Y. Vol. Infantry in 1861, being one of the first to enlist. He had previously married Miss Harriet E. Goodrich, daughter of Major

Goodrich, of Houndsfield, and they had three children born to them when the hus- band and father volunteered to go and be shot at for the princely reward of eight dol- lars per month, payable in greenbacks, worth all the way from 50 to 80 cents on the dollar. Mr. Potter served with his company and regi- ment through the whole term of their two- year enlistment, sharing in all the battles in which the 35th participated, from the first skirmishing at Fredericksburg to Antietam. He was never in the hospital a single day, and that gallant regiment never stacked arms without his being with them from beginning to end.

On leaving the army he returned to his original avocation, farming, and has gone right along in that business until he is now the proprietor of the farm first located by his grandfather, John Potter, who married a sister of Charles Holloway, of Houndsfield. Mr. Potter has now five children, all of whom are married, and he is about ready to give up the hardships of farming and take a little rest after a life of unusual activity and en- deavor.

Mr. Potter, in his early manhood, taught district school, and in the days when teach- ing a common school in Jefferson county was no idle pastime. The larger boys occasion- ally amused themselves by throwing the teacher out of doors, and one of the schools Mr. Potter engaged to teach had witnessed the dismissal of two teachers before he was (owing to similar treatment) engaged. As a result, a good deal of curiosity existed as to how long the new instructor would hold his place. The second day after he took charge four or five of the biggest boys purposely in- fringed the rules so as to dump " the teacher out doors," as they termed it. Potter was comparatively small in body, but he made up in muscle for what he lacked in flesh, and when the boys formed in line of battle and moved to the attack, amid the intense excite- ment of the school, it looked as though an easy victory was at hand for them. But they counted without their host, for, quick as a cat, Potter sprung forward and knocked down the foremost, and in quick time had them all sprawling on the floor, and before they were aware, he had seized them one by one and pulled and rolled them out of the door. Looking quietly round, Potter calmly said : "The next class will take their places." It is needless to add that there was no more trouble in that school during the winter.

The company with which Mr. Potter served was a peculiar one. Col. Lord and Captain Camp got it together in Brownville and Houndsfield. It was composed mostly of young men, some of the recruits being barely elegible. But it gradually developed into a very reliable fighting company.

This company was a part of the gallant 35th, whose service called for participation in every line of pickets from the Potomac to the Rappahannock, and it never failed to re- spond to every call.

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FAMILY SKETCHES.

DR. SAMUEL GUTHRIE .- One of the most unique characters that ever rosc to promi- nence in Jefferson county was Dr. Samuel Guthrie, of Sackets Harbor, the discoverer of chloroform. He was born in Brimfield, Mass., in 1782, his father being a physician. He be- gan to practice medicine soon after reaching his majority, removing to Smyrna, N. Y. During the War of 1812, he held the position of examining surgeon in the army. While at Smyrna he had paid considerable attention to the manufacture of gunpowder. and after coming to Jewettsville, one mile east of Sackets Harbor, he manufactured gunpowder in a small way. Hc was a great experi- menter, often receiving painful injuries as a result of his carelessness. But he must have had an inventive and highly intelligent mind, for his experiments resulted in two great discoveries-chloroform, now the stand- ard anasthetic in medicine, and the principle of percussion, as applied to the firing of guns. Years ago there was no means known for alleviating the pain of an operation in sur- gery, and the percentage of deaths under operations was very much in excess of the present time. During the Civil War there were over a million fluid pounds of cholo- form used in the Union Army, and the bene- fits it conferred upon poor wounded men are almost beyond description

The application of the principle of com- municating fire to the charges of a gun loaded with powder, by simple percussion, was first applied in the village of Sackets Harbor, preceding all other similar efforts. Dr. Guthrie was the inventor, but he never realized a dollar in money from his discovery. His fulminating powder, igniting by a slight blow, was the begining from which have sprung all the later high explosives, used in all countries, and of inestimable value.

After a life of great usefulness, Dr. Guth- rie died at the home of his daughter in Jewettsville, near Sackets Harbor, October 19, 1848.

HON. JOHN R. BENNETT, now a prominent judge residing in Janesville, Wisconsin, is a native of Houndsfield, and studied law in Sackets Harbor under Burnham. His pa- rents were farmers, and the Judge's father, Daniel Bennett, long supported them by burning charcoal, then the only fuel used by blacksmiths. The boy John had only fair advantages in the way of schooling, yet he possessed remarkable ability, which soon raised him to eminence, and he now occupies a position of much responsibility.

MERRICK M. BATES was born in the town of Brimfield, Mass., July 10, 1801. In the spring of 1801 his father, Samuel Bates, in company with Aaron Blodgett, came from Massachusetts and purchased 285 acres of land in the southeast corner of Houndsfield. Erecting a log house and making some slight improvements, he returned to Massachusetts

in the fall, and in December, 1802, returned with his family. Upon the breaking out of the War of 1812, he enlisted in Capt. Camp's artillery company, and served gallantly at Sackets Harbor. He died in 1813. The death of his father threw many responsibili- ties upon young Merrick, he being the eldest son and the main dependence of his widowed mother. His early life was one of toil, and but slight aid was received by him from the district school, but whatever ability was pos- sessed by him, obtained strength by improved opportunity. In military matters Mr. Bates was quite prominent. He was colonel of the 21st regiment of New York Light Artil- lery, and was astrict disciplinarian and an able officer. In 1816 he married Miss Abigail Stoel, daughter of Mr. Osline Stoel, by whom he had 10 children, eight of whom are now living. Mrs. Bates was all that is expressed in the terms, " amiable and intelligent." The attachment between husband and wife but strengthened with time; they lived in har- mony and labored in unison, and when she closed her eyes upon this world, in July, 1846, it was in a full faith in a higher ex- istence. Mrs. John Winslow now residing in Watertown, was the daughter of Merick M. Bates.

IRA HALL .- Samuel 'Hall, father of the subject of this sketch, came from Connecti- cut with his family, to Madison county, N Y., in 1798, and purchased a small farm, being a man of very limited means. Upon this farm he resided until his death, which occurred in 1841. Ira lived with his father until he was 27 years of age. He received the advantages of an academic education, which he made practically useful, teaching for 10 years. He was married April 3, 1827, to Miss Sophia Fort, and in that year located in Houndsfield, where he purchased 109 acres of land, now a part of one of the best in town. Mr. Hall was a success- ful farmer. By a long life of integrity, he secured the love and esteem of his fellow- townsmen. He filled the office of justice of the peace for 12 years ; that of postmaster for 28 years, and that of assessor for three years. In 1831 his wife died, and in the spring of 1832 he married Maudina Swift, of St. Law- rence county. By his first wife he had two children, and by his second wife he had eight. Mr. Hall is buried in the Sulphur Springs burying-ground.

JOSHUA CROUCH was one of the writer's earliest friends. He was a prosperous farmer near the Sulphur Springs, in Houndsfield, where he reared a large family, having mar- ried for his first wife, Miss Mary Resseguie, who was descended from an old and distin- guished French family. The Resseguies were also related to the Bonticous, a name well known in France as well as in the early settlements of this country. Mr. Crouch's ancestors were of English descent, coming to

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America in 1632, and settling in Hebron, Con- necticut. Mr. Crouch and his wife had born to them eight children : Esther, who died in infancy, Daniel, Cynthia (who married Syl- venus Tyler), Hannah (who married E. D. Maxon), Wm. Harrison, Samuel, John and Emily. This last named, the youngest child, is more particularly the subject of this sketch, being the sole survivor of this once numerous and well-known family. She married Martin P. Lawrence in 1849, and they have reared four children: Everett D., William G., Mary Inez, and Susan Emily, who died in infancy. They reside upon a part of the original Joshua Crouch farm, which once embraced 214 acres, though Mr. Crouch at one time paid taxes upon 500 acres of land in Houndsfield. He was one of those designated as "minute-men " dur- ing the threatened attack upon Sackets Har- bor, and on hearing the guns he started for the fight, but reached the town only in time to see the British in full retreat. The Grange Hall for Houndsfield, is near Mrs. Lawrence's home, and she is an influential and industrious member of that organization. Her children are about her, an abiding com- fort and solace, for they are dutiful and affectionate. Miss Mary, the only surviving daughter, is an expert telegraph operator, having had charge for several years of an important station upon the R. W. & O. Rail- road.

APPLETON McKEE, a native of Hartford, Conn., located in the town of Adams, in 1803, where he engaged in farming, and so con- tinued until his death, in 1831, aged 74 years. His wife was Mercy Hill, and of their nine children, Alvin was born in Connecticut. and removed to Adams with his father. In 1841 he located in Houndsfield, where he died at the age of 77 years. In 1830 be married Mary, daughter of Elisha and Elizabeth (Ed- wards) Allen, of Johnstown, Fulton county, and they had six children. viz : Corrilla, Levi, Elisha, Phila, Harrison and Oscar.

The latter was born in Houndsfield, in 1846. He married Frank R., daughter of Ephraim P. and Elizabeth (Dimick) Morse- man, and their children are Appleton G., Nellie I. and Teall. He still resides on the homestead farm, from which his mother died in 1890. Oscar R. McKee served in Co. C., 186th N. Y. Volunteers, until the close of the war.

FREDERICK M. LIVERMORE, long a resi- dent of Houndsfield, was the son of Elisha and Mercy (Benjamin) Livermore, who came into Houndsfield from Litchfield, N. Y., about 1808. They took up land, and began farming, rearing four children : Julia A., who married Lewis Livermore; Frederick M., William and George. Frederick M., the subject of this sketch, was born in Hounds- field, in 1824. He had the common school advantages, and completed his education at the Black River Literary and Religious Insti- tute at Watertown. He taught school for several terms in winter, working on the farm

summers. In 1847 he married Miss Mary A. Frost, daughter of Orra Frost, of Omar. They reared three children : George, Mary, who married L. G. Ives, and Miss Ida. Mr. Livermore may be classed as having been a farmer from his youth up. He purchased the farm on the State road from Watertown to Sackets Harbor, in 1857, and it has since been his home. His wife is still alive to share his earthly pilgrimage. He has held several town offices, and is one of the best known and most respected citizens of Houndsfield, a universal favorite. Mr. Livermore was com- missioned by Gov. Silas Wright to be Cap- tain in the 189th Regiment of State Militia, November 4, 1846.

NATHAN LADD, long a resident of the southern part of Houndsfield, came into the Black River country in 1811, from Bridge- water, though he was born in Coventry, Conn. He located upon the farm still held in the family, on the road from Stoell's Corners to Smithville. After lo- cating the land (102 acres), and putting in one crop of wheat, he returned to Bridgewater, and brought on his parents. He married Betsey Edick, and they reared four children : Eliphalet, Brayton, Matilda C. and Mary E. Matilda married Isaac B. Fults. Eliphalet married Charlotte Spaulding, of Onondaga county.

Nathan Ladd died in 1877, living to be 90 years of age. He was a much respected citizen, laboring diligently to support a grow- ing family. The farm he took up was part of the original Houndsfield tract, and was pur- chased from Col. Elisha Camp, the agent. The old homestead is now occupied by Miss Mary E. Ladd, a lady much respected, who owns one-half of the land, the other por- tion belonging to the son of her brother Eliphalet-who was one of the writer's school and playmates in youth. They are the near- est neighbors to Hon. Jay Dimick, who met his untimely death in trying to free his horses from his burning barn, late in Decem- ber, 1894.

HON. BENJAMIN MAXON, for many years one of the most prominent and capable farm- ers of Houndsfield, came into Jefferson county about 1828, from Brookfield, Madison county, N. Y., settling on the farm he occu- pied so many years. He was born in 1800, and had married, before coming to Jefferson county, Miss Lucy Ives, and they brought two children with them, Sophia, now the widow of Hon. Jay Dimick, of Houndsfield, and Rufus L., now residing on a part of the old homestead. Mr. Maxon was a large man physically- a very successful man-much above most of his contemporaries in ability, foree of character and natural capacity. His wife died in 1845, and he married, for his second wife, Miss Hannah Gilbert, by whom he had two children, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. Maxon died in 1874, in his 74th year. No man in the town was more respected. He was Member of Assembly from the first Assembly district of the

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county, and was supervisor of his town. In religious belief he was a Seventh Day Bap- tist, and his exemplary life shed lustre upon his profession.

RUFUS L. MAXON, son of the above, was born in 1828, and had the benefit of the com- mon schools, completing his education at the DeRuyter (Madison county) Academy, and at the Troy Polytechnic, where he learned surveying, which he practices more or less. But he is by occupation a farmer. He mar- ried Miss Azelia Warren, by whom he had three children. She died in 1871. In 1873 he married Mrs. Sarah Hall, who had three children by her former husband. Mr. Maxon owns a part of the farm originally settled by his father, and is a successful man and an honored citizen.

DAVID S. DICKERSON was admitted to the Jefferson County Medical Society in 1836. He was born in January, 1808; granted a diploma by the Medical Society of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Fair- field, December 25, 1826, and July 26, 1828, he received a license to practice medicine and surgery from the Herkimer County Medical Society. He located at Rice's Corners, in Houndsfield, and died there August 19, 1845. His death was the result of an oper- ation performed upon himself for the cure of stricture of the urethra, caused by an injury received in the saddle. By his early death the community was deprived of a bright, conscientious and energetic citizen and physician. The profession lost from its ranks one to whose example and career they could point with honest pride.

LEBBEUS F. ALLEN, a native of the town of Houndsfield, was born in 1831, and was the son of Leonard and Eunice (Knowlton) Allen. Leonard Allen came into the Black River country with his parents, settling upon the farm now owned by Lebbeus F., his son. Leonard's wife was the first white child born in the town of Brownville. They rearcd six children : Eleanor, who married Albert Allen; Jane, who married William Fisk; Lucy, who married Charles A. Os- trander; Phoebe, who married Safford E. Field ; Lebbeus F., who married Miss Meroe Warren. Lebbeus F. and his wife have had four children born to them, one of which died in infancy. Those living are; Leonard L., of Watertown, who married Stella Brimmer; T. Warren, of New York city, who married Bertha Marr; and Frank W., of New York city.

Mr. Allen was justice of the peace of the town of Houndsfield for 10 years. He en- joys the respect and confidence of his neigh- bors. The farm which he owns, and upon which he was born, has never been out of the Allen family. It was originally pur- chased by Mr. Allen's grandfather from Col. Elisha Camp, who was agent for Houndsfield, the original proprietor.

Mr. Allen has been always closely identi- fied with all interests pertaining to the com- munity in which he has spent his life-time,

foremost in church and educational work, and sacrificing much time, labor and money for the public good. In the school district in which he resides, is one of the best made and furnished district school houses in the county. It was built after his designs and under his supervisiou. The community's pleasant little church also owes much of the beauty of its interior to his labors. He has been a director in the Jefferson County Patrons' Fire Relief Association for the past 15 years, and foremost in the business of the Association. He has also had the settlement of several estates to care for. He was nomi- nated for supervisor of his town several years ago on the Republican ticket, but lacked a few votes of election.

EPHRAIM P. MORSEMAN, who was one of the earliest instructors the author of this His- tory remembers with grateful affection, was born March 11, 1809, at the village of Hen- derson, N. Y. He commenced teaching in 1827. In 1830 he married Betsey Dimick, the youngest sister of Hon. Jay Dimick, of Houndsfield. He continued his vocation as a teacher in the common schools for nearly 20 years; after that he became a partner with Alex. Salisbury in merchantile operations at Theresa, N. Y. Here he also taught the vil- lage school, having some of the distinguished Flower family as his pupils, also Mary Foote Lull, whose father had then lately died. Re- moving to the West he remained there only a year, when he returned and purchased a small farm not far from Sackets Harbor, where he raised garden seed and fruits, to supply the garrison at Madison Barracks. He has been superintendent of the schools for Houndsfield, justice of the peace and assessor. He purchased Moorland, a dairy farm of only a few acres, which he hasincreased, until now it contains 260 acres. Upon this farm he resided until he and his wife celebrated their golden wedding, on June 6, 1880. She died in 1882. He then left the farm in pos- session of his son. In 1887 he married Mar- garet, widow of Dr. Ferguson, of Mogadore, Ohio, when he again took up his residence at Moorland. In 1893, Margaret, his wife, died, which caused Mr. Morseman to again leave the farm, and he is now living with his daughter, Mrs. Stearns. There he is passing into the sere and yellow leaf, though in full possession of all his faculties ; in his 85th year, he is a remarkably well preserved man, good for several years yet of enjoyable life.

AMOS MOORE, born in 1796, was the son of Veranus Moore, Sr., one of the earliest settlers of Houndsfield, where he resided for many years, in the extreme southeastern portion of the town. Amos received his farm of 72 acres as a gift from his father, when yet a young man. He married Miss Harriet Smith (Barnes), and they began house-keeping on the road leading from Rice's to the Reed Settlement, above the beaver meadow in Houndsfield. There they lived many years, but had no children. They adopted a little girl, to whom they gave their

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own name, and when she had reached womanhood she married John Alexander. They raised two children. Amos, the boy (born June 2, 1844), lived with his grand- parents (the Moores), after the death of his mother, which occurred in his eleventh year. His father died two years after his mother, and young Amos remained with his grand- parents until he married Miss Amanda Smith, in 1873. They have reared four children, William H., Ida May, Harriet E., and Laura Etta. These children are very promising, and are heing well educated. By his grand- father's will, Amos Alexander inherited the Amos Moore homestead, where he now re- sides. He is a respected and honorable citi- zen, and has a neat farm. Amos Moore died in 1874; Harriet. his wife, died in 1882.

ORVILLE W. BAKER, a native and a long resident of Houndsfield, was born in 1827, the son of John and Rocksena (Weed) Baker, who were born in this State, and came to the farm they lived upon for so many years, near Stoell's Corners, where Mr. Baker died, in 1880. Mrs. Baker died in 1891. Orville W. had the benefit of the common schools of Houndsfield, aud graduated from the State Normal School at Albany in 1849. He taught school nine winters, and worked upon the farm summers. In 1852 he married Miss Olive Reed, daughter of Garret Reed, of Sackcts Harbor. Mr. Baker has always heen a farmer, except when he was teaching. He has been justice of the peace for 16 years, and served as railroad commissioner for Houndsfield for several years, and was secre- tary, for 13 years, of the Jefferson County Patrons' Fire Relief Association. Mr. Baker is an extremely modest and reticent man, hut he has so many sterling qualities that he en- joys the entire respect and confidence of all his neighbors and acquaintances. He, too, is one of the descendants of that primeval stock who have left durable traces of their ability and integrity.

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 129

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