The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 157

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 157

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WATERTOWN.

743

ANDREW JACKSON FAIRBANKS.

France and Germany genealogical records are preserved by law, and thus ancestry may be traced back for centuries. In some of the New England States, notably in Massachu- setts, vital statistics are by law compiled in duplicate by the town clerk of each town- ship, one copy retained and its duplicate filed with the State authorities, becoming a part of the archives of the State. At intervals these records are printed in book form for the information of the general public. This valuable compilation has been carefully going on since colonial days, even prior to the French and Indian war, and the War of the Revolution. The value of such records cannot be overestimated ; from information derived from such files many sequestered estates have been restored, lost wills traced, and missing relatives and friends located. This subject is worthy of the investigation and

study of the present generation. It would become a duty, pleasing and instructive, and not so difficult as may be imagined. A per- son of New England ancestry, if able to indicate the locality whence his forefathers emigrated. can procure by correspondence a list of past generations of their name, com- prising births, marriages and deaths, as far back as the landing of the Pilgrims. As an example we have been shown a complete genealogical record compiled by Mr. Fair- banks, relating to his own ancestry, com- mencing with the founder of the family in America, who landed on these shores in 1633, with his subsequent successors of lineal de- scendants, comprising their names, the date of their births, marriages and deaths, even down to the present day, comprising 10 gen- erations, and covering a space of 262 years- the present family finishing the line.

744

THE GROWTHI OF A CENTURY.

JOSIAH HUCKINS,

WHOSE face will be readily recognized by many of the older residents of Watertown, was born November 20, 1806. He was the son of Josiah and Polly (Duch) Huckins, who emigrated, at an early date, from New Hampshire to Canada. The father, Josiah, died when his son was but three years of age. When about 15 years old, Josiah, the subject of our sketch, came to Franklin county, and later to the town of Watertown. He was cducated at the common schools, and was a carpenter and contractor. He was interested in, and helped crect, nearly all the public buildings, and many of the private residences of the city of Watertown. He was a member of the Arsenal Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and when it was divided he was the contractor for the

State Street Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1849, and remained a member of the same, and was an official member until he removed to Carthage in 1874.

He was four times united in marriage. His first wife was Arabella Welch, of Rod- man, who died May 5, 1836. His second wife was Fanny Woodruff, daughter of Ben- jamin Woodruff, of the town of Watertown, who died March 14, 1847. They had one daughter, Sarah, who died at eight years of age. His third wife was Sophia Wood- ruff, sister of his second wife, who died April 11, 1872. For his fourth wife he mar- ried, June 9, 1874, Marie H .. only daughter of William and Polly Fuller, of Carthage.

Mr. Huckins was an invalid for many years, and died from consumption, December

745

WATERTOWN.

10, 1878, in Carthage. Although not physi- cally strong, he always took a deep interest in all pertaining to public affairs, and the improvement of the home of his adoption.

The author of this History was for several years a member of the State Street M. E. Church congregation when Mr. Huckins was class-leader and trustee. To him and to Joshua Hemenway, Judah Lord, J. W. Weeks, Thomas Baker, the Johnsons, the Butterfields, A. J. Peck and his brother Willard, and to others, "their names forgot-

ten or remembered," that progressive church owes much of its stamina and later growth. Mr. Huckins was naturally a Christian, for his mind was without frivolity, his ideas of morality became fixed in early life, and he showed to all whom he knew that his pro- fession was not a matter of mere form, but an earnest and pervading conviction. He was a good man, and his widow, who sur- vives him, has shown her affection for her hushand in rescuing his name and character from oblivion by the printed page.

JUDAH LORD,

FOR many years a prominent mechanic and citizen of Watertown, was born in 1802. He first came into the county from Connecticut, settling in Brownville, where he had been preceded by his brother, Colonel William Lord. Judah remained at Brownville some six years, and then removed to Watertown. In 1825 he married Miss Almira Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith, who came from Vermont. Mr. Lord's first business venture was in manufacturing mechanical

JUDAH LORD.

tools. This proved a profitable investment, and he continued it until he was induced to return to Brownville, where he remained nearly five: years, the business he was en- gaged in proving unremunerative, and in- volving him in debt. In 1841 he returned to Watertown and accepted a position with George Goulding as a pattern-maker, having as a companion in the shop, Theodore T.

Woodruff, his brother-in-law, afterwards in- ventor of the sleeping-car.

About 1847 Mr. Lord became a partner with John Ransom in his former business- the manufacture of carpenters' tools, and so continued until finally, after years of labor and struggle, he became partner with his nephew, Gilderoy Lord, and they built up a large and remunerative business on Beebee's Island. In this business Judah Lord was the inventive head; his mechanical genius, joined to his extraordinary ability as a prac- tical mechanic, rendered his services un- usually valuable. He was the inventor of the Young America mowing machine, of several improvements upon the plow, as brought out by Gethro Wood, and many other mechanical devices intended to lighten and facilitate labor.

As a mechanic, Mr. Lord had no superior in this vicinity. He was a remarkably modest and unassuming man, hut possessed rare ability. and an industry that was never satisfied without doing all in his power. He was never a robust man, but kept on untir- ingly almost to the end of his life. He died in 1876. His widow survived him nearly nine years. They reared five daughters, three of them now living: Mary, wife of James De- Long; Frances A., wife of Judge Ross C. Scott, and Miss Lydia, who makes her home with her sister, Mrs. Scott. They are all devoted members of the Methodist Church, and have been such almost from infancy, maintaining the faith of their ancestry with a persistency and zeal that knew no abate- ment for many years.

DANIEL BRAINARD, father of O. V. Brain- ard, came to Watertown from Whitestown, Oneida county, ahout 1805, and married Miss Lorraine Hungerford, sister of Hon. Orville Hungerford, in 1806. He practiced medicine in Watertown, joined the Medical Society in 1807, and died the 27th day of January, 1810. O. V. Brainard, his son, was long and inti- mately associated with the business of Water- town and the county at large, he having been for over 20 years cashier of the Jefferson County Bank. He was an intelligent citizen and an honest man.

746

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

REV. WILLIAM DIXON MARSH.

AMONG the preachers of Watertown who have made a marked impression upon the public, as well as secured the affectionate regard of his own congregation, is the Rev. Mr. Marsh, in the second year of his pastorate at State Street M. E. Church. He was born at Potsdam, N. Y., in 1854, the third son of Samuel and Hannah Marsh. His father was killed in the battle of Gaines' Mills, Va., June 27, 1862, at the head of his regiment. He was lieutenant-colonel of the 16th N. Y. Volunteer Infantry, one of the best regiments in the gallant Sixth Corps of the Grand Army of the Potomac. When this regiment was marching through Baltimore to the front a few days after the Massachusetts regiment had been fired upon, a crowd of rowdies on

the sidewalk demanded of the colonel, "Where is your music?" "In our cartridge boxes," was the prompt reply. This is the regiment so graphically spoken of on page 101-2 of this History, and in which Major- General N. M. Curtis and our beloved Captain Parker once commanded companies.

The death of his father occurred when William Dixon was only. eight years of age. He attended the district school at Potsdam, and afterwards worked three years in Geo. B. Swan's sash and door shop. These years at handicraft gave him an insight into the wants and aspirations of working men, and has made him especially the champion of labor through all the years of his pastorate. He graduated at Potsdam State Normal

747

WATERTOWN.

School in June, 1874, in the classical course. He was principal of Gouverneur Graded School one year, 1874-5. He then entered Syracuse University, from which he gradu- ated as A. B. in June, 1879. He was called to the chair of mathematics in Potsdam Nor- mal School, in February, 1879, and occupied it until June, 1881. He then entered the Theological School of Boston University, finishing the three years' course in two years, graduating B. D. in 1883. In June, 1882, he received the degree of A. M. from Syracuse University.

September 5. 1883, he married Miss Lilian Church, of Morristown, N. Y. In 1872 he was soundly converted at a revival conducted by the distinguished Phoebe Palmer and her husband during the pastorate of Rev. L. D. White. In 1875 he was licensed to exhort hy Presiding Elder Bramley. During his college and teacher's life he preached more or less, and has always, since his conversion, been ready, in season and out of season, to do his Master's work. In April, 1883, he joined the Northern New York Conference at Watertown. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Warren, in 1882 ; elder hy Bishop Foss, in 1887, at Little Falls. His appoint- ments have been: 1883-84, Parishville ; 1885-88, Norwood; 1888-93, Malone; 1893, State street, Watertown.

Mr. Marsh's great forte is his earnestness. His manner is always argumentative and im- pressive, and at times rises into unusual eloquence. His command of language is ex- ceptionally fine, and this, added to his per- suasive and sympathetic manner, makes him the typical Methodist minister. He has

always been popular in the charges he has served, as evidenced by the following extract from the Potsdam Palladium of April 20, 1893 :

Rev. W. D. Marsh has been asked for hy Gouver- neur and hy Watertown. It is, of course, not certain that the Bishop will send him to either place, but his friends here hope that his own preferences may gov- ern in the matter. He has been in Malone the full five years permitted hy the rules of his church, or his people here would never think of relinquishing their claim upon him. They appreciatively recog- nize his exceptional abilities in fostering the church's material interests, value his social qualities, admire his independence, courage and intellectual endow- ments, and profoundly respect the intensity of his convictions and intolerance of anything that bears even a semblance of compromise with wrong. In- deed, this latter characteristic seems to us the strongest side of Mr. Marsh's nature, and it compels regard and almost veneration, even when in disagree- ment with him. In all his works he is open, aggres- sive, manly, striking brave blows and reaching out always for ends that he at least believes right. The esteem in which he is held ie far from heing con- fined to his own parishioners, but is shared hy all socleties, as has been testified in various ways many times during these closing days of his service in Malone. The Womans' Christian Temperance Union tribute last week was one evidence of it ; a Christian Endeavor social on last Friday evening was another, and the great union service of the Baptist, Congrega- tional and Methodist Societies on Sunday evening last to hear his farewell sermon, was a third and per- haps the most striking of all. The auditorium of the Methodist Church was crowded, even to its aisles. The words that Mr. Marsh spoke reflected the mind and heart of the speaker-dwelling most of course, on the theme of temperance, which always calls out most of his earnestness and fervor. The discourse can not hut interest every one concerned for Malone's welfare, and we give it to our readers in a supple- ment sent out with this issue of the Palladium. Wherever Mr. Marsh may go, the respect and love of hundreds into whose hearts he has grown while in Malone, will attend him, and kindly, sympathetic wishes will be with him that health, happiness and rich results in his labors may be his portion.

REV. OSGOOD E. HERRICK, D. D.

THE Rev. Osgood E. Herrick, D. D., Post Chaplain U. S. Army, retired, who now resides in Watertown, spent his boyhood in this county. He was born April 25, 1836, in Windsor, Vt. His father, the late Samuel Herrick, removed his family to this county in 1839, and to Watertown in 1846. Rev. Dr. Herrick was ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church by the late Bishop DeLancey, January 15, 1851. His first parish was in Adams, this county. In 1853 he became rector of Christ Church, Manlius, N. Y., and in 1856 he became rector of St. Pauls Church, Key West, Florida, which office be held 13 years, including the years of the Civil War. In 1864 President Lincoln, having learned that he was the only clergyman in the South who had not changed or omitted the stated prayers for the Presi- dent and Congress of the United States, had him appointed Post Chaplain in the United States Army. In 1870 he was ordered to Fort Warren, Boston, Mass., and in 1875 to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where he re- mained till he was retired, "by operation of law," having reached the age when all

officers of the army are retired from active service. While in Key West, he and his wife passed through several seasons of yel- low fever. he having it twice and his wife once. Before his leaving Key West, General T. W. Sherman issued an order, of which the following is a part : * * * * * *

2. To Rev. Osgood E. Herrick, Chaplain U. S. A., and his estimable wife. There is probably not a single officer or soldier stricken down who does not feel greatly indebted for their sympathies and their kind and constant attentions.

The arduous services, too, of the Chaplain, hoth as pastor and friend, among the stricken in the city as well as in garrison, were unremitting to the extent of sacrificing his own health for the good of others. Contrary to the advice of the commanding officer and his physician, this officer insisted upon keeping his post in spite of ill health, and continuing in the performance of every duty-official, pastoral, and social-until this epidemic was stayed; and he has thereby shown how well the great military virtue of self-sacrifice combines with the higher virtues of religion. By order of

* BREV. MAJ GEN. T. W. SHERMAN. * * * *

And when he was retired, the command- ing officer of Fort Monroe issued the follow- ing order :

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

REV. OSGOOD E. HERRICK, D. D.

FORT MONROE, VIRGINIA, April 28th, 1890. * *

* * *

V. The Reverend Osgood E. Herrick, Post Chap- lain, having attained the age fixed by law, is retired from active service. In thus severing his official relations with those among whom he has served so long, Chaplain Herrick takes with him the affection and regard of all who have been the recipients of his faithful ministrations. His nobility of character and devotion to the duties of his sacred office will ever make his welfare and happiness the object of their most earnest solicitude.

* ** * *

BY ORDER OF LIEUT. COLONEL FRANK.

The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y. He is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, "having been specially distinguished for faithful services in maintaining the honor, integrity and supremacy of the Government of the United States." He was married May 16,

1853, to Miss Charlotte Willard Smith, whose mother and the mothers of Bishop Whipple, of Minnesota, and of the late General H. W. Halleck, U. S. Army, were sisters. Dr. and Mrs. Herrick have the honor of having had for their friends many of the distinguished men of the country, including the late Gen- erals Winfield Scott, Meigs, Woodbury, Sey- mour, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, French, Brannan, Barry, Gillen, Getty, Mcclellan, Hancock, McDowell, Reynolds, and others of the army; also Admirals Farragut, Porter, Paulding, Bailey, Wilkes, Fairfax, Craven, Scott, Alden, Trenchard, Sems, and others of the navy.

The loyalty of Dr. Herrick among those fire-brands of secession in the days when a Union man in the South was counted as a public enemy, required peculiar courage, joined to a high sense of duty.

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WATERTOWN.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

REV. CHARLES G. FINNEY, D. D .- The county of Jefferson has not been behind other portions of the State in the number and ability of the great preachers who have from time to time become prominent within her borders before going out into the "wide, wide world," and demonstrating upon a broader theatre the ability which they pos- sessed. One of these, a most peculiar and entirely unique character, was the Rev. Jedediah Burchard, whose life will be found somewhat briefly delineated among the early residents of Adams. [See index. ] There was one of these preachers, however, who was destined to become more widely known than Mr. Burchard, and to leave a lasting impres- sion upon his contemporaries. The Rev. Charles Finney, D. D., for many years presi- dent of the Oberlin (O.) College, was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1792, and was spared to perform great labors, living to be nearly 83 years of age. He came early to Jefferson county and began to study law at Adams. In early manhood he gave evidence of un- usual independence of character, and force and clearness of intellect. During this period of his life he manifested an indifference and even antagonism to religion, which caused him to be regarded as a dangerous companion for young men ; but, under the influence of the revival of 1821, he embraced religion, and in 1824 commenced the career of a preacher. He at first decided not to enter the pastoral office, but labored as an evangelist, with marked and wonderful success, for more than 10 years. Unquestionably, President Fin- ney's greatest power was displayed in this field. Many are the anecdotes told of his power and fervor as a preacher of the gospel. In 1835 he went to the infant colony and col- lege of Oberlin, then just established, at the earnest request of its founders, and became professor of theology in that institution-a position he held for more than 40 years. The entering upon this new field of labor, did not, however, lead to his abandoning the old. In 1848 he visited England, remaining for three years. In 1851, on his return, he was elected president of Oberlin College, and held the office until 1866, when he resigned, retaining, however, bis theological professor- ship. Mr. Finney was a voluminous writer on religious and theological subjects. His principal published works are Lectures on Revivals, Lectures to Professing Christians, Sermons on Important Subjects, Lectures on Systematic Theology and Guide to the Saviour, all of which have passed through several editions, in this country and in Eng- land. Up to the time of his death, President Finney retained those physical characteristics which made him a distinguished man in any assembly. His tall and erect form was un- bent by age, his eagle eye had lost none of its keenness, and his hair and beard were but slightly touched with gray. His extreme

age, however, made it necessary for him to restrict his labors, and he attempted very little beyond his lectures in the theological department of the college. It may truth- fully be said that but few men had the power so strongly to mould and influence those with whom they came in contact as he. As a revival preacher he was probably with- out an equal since Whitfield ; as a writer on theology and moral philosophy he has left some memorable works behind him. His useful life closed at Oberlin, O., in 1875.

CHARLES DAYAN SMITH, long a prominent manufacturer and merchant of Watertown, was the son of Ansou Smith, an early settler of Rutland, coming from Connecticut, who had married Miss Polly Smith in his native State before removal to the Black River country, and they brought two children with them; five more were born to them in Rut- land. He settled on the State road, and there lived until his death, in 1847. He was a farmer as well as tanner and currier, and manufactured a large amount of leather, the small stream upon his farm being especially adapted for the use he desired in making a complete tannery. He was an energetic, thrifty man, seldom obliged to borrow, but usually lending money. He was a model citizen, blameless in his life, honored by his children and neighbors. Charles D., his son, had the benefits of the excellent common schools of Rutland, completing his scholastic education in the Academy at Champion, where Hon. Lysander H. Brown was the controlling spirit. He soon became a farmer, buying land of his own, and later falling into possession of his father's farm by the terms of the will. In 1844 he married Miss Sahra Andrus, and they reared three children, Ada, Emma and Alida A. In 1847 Mr. Smith removed to Watertown, and within a year he formed a partnership with Mr. Richard VanNamee, a practical cabinet- maker. They continued in business for nearly 20 years, being the largest manufac- turers and dealers in furniture in Northern New York. His failing health induced Mr. Smith finally to withdraw from the firm, and he was soon thereafter obliged to give up all active business. Consumption at last carried him off, in 1870. He is buried in beautiful Brookside. Mr. Smith was a peculiarly kind-hearted, sympathetic man. Those who were the closest to him loved him best. He was a partizan Democrat, and at first thought the war ought to have been avoided, but before its close he clearly saw the imminence and necessity of the struggle, and was a War Democrat thenceforth. In manner he was gentlemanly, though some- what reserved. He was a good citizen, and much lamented at his death. His amiable companion for so many years yet survives him, as does also his eldest daughter, Mrs. James W. Tower, of Rochester, N. Y. His

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

second daughter, Mrs. Charles A. Tubbs, died in August, 1894, a most beautiful and interesting personality, with a fine mind and a charming manner. He death was deeply mourned by her friends, and the whole city shared in sympathy with those who lost so much when Emma died. Like her father, she died from a wasting consumption. and they sleep together in Brookside. The youngest daughter, Miss Alida, died in the very opening flower of her youth, almost yet a child. She was a wonderfully lovely young girl, and her early death was for a long time deeply mourned. The writer knew these people well, for Mr. Smith's children and his own were very intimate. They were an unusually closely united fam- ily, loving each other in a marked degree. The parents always seemed the companions of the children, and for them to be separated by death was a correspondingly cruel hard- ship, scarcely able to he horne. But their divine faith and trust enables those who sur- vive to say, "It is well."

WINSLOW PATTRIDGE, long a resident of Watertown, was born in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, July 1, 1791. He was of a fam- ily of 12 children, being the fourth son of Joseph and Sarah Pattridge, both of whom were of New England birth. His father was of Scotch descent; but his mother, Sarah Warren, was a daughter of Captain Warren, and a near relative of General Warren of the Revolutionary War, and supposed to be of English descent. His father was a farmer hy occupation. He lived at home until he was of age, and then went for himself, and for the first few years learned the cloth- dressing and wool-carding business. Entered a partnership with Jonathan Wood in the same business, in Otsego county, and re- mained there for two years, and in the year 1818 removed to Jefferson county, settling where the city of Watertown now is. Previ- ous to leaving Otsego county, in 1816, he married Miss Levina Wood, daughter of Jonathan Wood, of Massachusetts, and of English descent. On coming to Watertown he at once commenced his business of cloth- dressing and wool-carding, and after a few years erected a building and began the manu- facture of cloth. This business he continued until the year 1846, and accumulated a fine property. He rented his mill and retired from active business, but the next year his mill was hurned, which resulted in a total loss to him. They reared ten children, five of whom died while young. Julia Ann mar- ried Luther J. Dorwin, Esq., an attorney of Watertown, and resides in this city. Robert Kirkwood married Miss Catherine Seaver, and resides in California. He went there early in 1850, and has been successful. Levina E. and Caroline M. reside at home. Mr. Pattridge died June 2, 1864, in his 73d year. His widow survived him many years. She was numbered among the living repre- sentative pioneer women of Jefferson county. Mr. Pattridge was a kind hushand, father

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 157

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