USA > New York > Washington County > Washington county, New York; its history to the close of the nineteenth century > Part 83
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In 1884 Mr. Williams married Edith Jones, daughter of Benjamin and Lucinda (Manning) Jones.
His parents were Edward and Ann (Griffith) Williams, both of whom were natives of Wales.
JAMES SMALL was born in the town of Jackson, Washington County, N. Y., January 13, 1845, and was a son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Maxwell) Small. He received his early education in the district schools and afterwards took a course in the Cambridge Academy. After leaving the Academy he began farming on his own account on the farm where he now resides and which has been in the Small family for one hundred years. Mr. Small has taken quite an active part in politics and represented the town of Jackson on the Board of Supervisors for five years. He was also Assessor for a period of twelve years. He is a Republican in politics and is associated with the Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder.
On May 27, 1868, James Small married Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Henrietta Ann (Clapp) Edie. They have two children, Alfred M. and Hattie E.
Major Stephen Clapp was of English descent and served in the War of the Revolution, during which he rose to the rank of Major. He married Catharine, daughter of Paul Wheeler. Major Clapp came from Massachusetts and settled three miles southwest of the village of Salem, where he bought a large tract of land and built his home and a number of mills, and the place was called Clapp's Mills. Major Stephen Clapp and his wife Catharine had two daughters and seven sons. Stephen married Jane Mack. They had eight children. Azubah married Levi Farwell, Caroline D. married Hiram Green, Ambrose S. married Laura Raymond, Maria L. married Henry W. Hewitt, Hawley L. married Hulda D. Van Brunt, Jane A. married Silas Rice, Elizabeth married George Porter, Sarah married Henry Herrington.
Constant, second son of Stephen, married Statira Bartlett. They had five children. Leonidas married Jane Chamberlain; Alfred mar- ried Sarah Chamberlain; Louisa married William Baker; Statira married Henry Holcome; Amelia died in 1847.
Otis, third son, married Harriet Monroe. They had six children. Monroe died in 1873; Benjamin died in 1873; Willoughby died in 1873; Francis died young; Octavia and Catharine.
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Ephraim W., fourth son, married Sarah Rice. They had eight children. Clark, who married Ellen Knowles; George R., who mar- ried Lucy Hard; Harriet A., who married Thomas Edie. (They had two children, Sarah M., who married James Small, and George C., who married Harriet Paddon.) Martha T., who married Henry Minor; Mary C., who married Clement Minor; James W., who mar- ried Mary Evans; Sarah died young; William died young.
Samuel, the fifth son of Stephen Clapp, married Lois Cleveland. They had five children. Catharine married Mr. Woodworth; Elmira married Albert Billings; Mary, Julia A. and Frances are dead.
Leonard H., sixth son, married Sarah Stephens. They had two children, Samuel and Julia. Both are dead.
Divella M., married Dorothy Acre. They had three children, Addie K., Maria and Otis C.
Major Stephen Clapp's daughters were Debora, who married Mr. Otteral; Abigail, who married William Hutchins.
Major Clapp's sons settled on farms in the vicinity of Clapp's Mills, except one son, who settled in Adrian, Michigan.
Major Clapp's forefathers came over with the Puritans, on the Mayflower. Ephraim W., fourth son of Major Clapp, served in the War of 1812-14, and was called Colonel Clapp. He was born July 4, 1796, and died in October, 1876.
CHARLES CARY, son of Patrick and Ann (Kelly) Cary, was born in Arlington, Bennington County, Vt, November 1, 1840. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and lived at home, working on his father's farm until twenty-one years of age, when he began working by the month for others. In 1870 he moved into New York State, and on September 11, 1872, married Mary, daughter of James and Elizabeth Walsh. They have two children, namely: John, born June 11, 1873, and Elizabeth, born March 3, 1882.
Mr. Cary has been engaged in the dairy business for about twenty- one years, and besides his extensive dairy farming, has also been in the ice business. He first engaged in the ice business in company with William Reynolds, the firm being Cary & Reynolds, and the partnership lasting two years. Mr. Cary then formed a partnership with Dr. Gray and they carried on the business for eleven years,
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under the firm name of Gray & Cary. Then for two years Mr. Cary carried on the business alone, after which he was again joined by Mr. Reynolds, and the old firm of Cary & Reynolds was revived, again lasting two years, when it was succeeded by the firm of Cary & Qua. This partnership continued four years and was succeeded by Cary & Kenyon, the present firm.
Mr. Cary is a Democrat in politics, and was Trustee for four years and Excise Commissioner for three years. He owns a splendid farm of 227 acres, and is one of the representative men of his town.
RANDOLPH B. WOODRUFF was born in New York City on August 24, 1849, and was educated at Peekskill Academy, from which he graduated in 1867, and at Charlier, where he remained two years, studying languages, after which he was engaged with a commission house for two years. He then went west and settled in San Fran- cisco, where he remained for twelve years, when he returned to New York State and settled in Greenwich, Washington County, in 1883.
In November, 1878, Randolph B. Woodruff married Mary Giffin, daughter of Herman and Anna (Gorden) Giffin.
Mr. Woodruff's parents were Marcus P. and Mary (Brant) Woodruff. The ancestors of the Woodruff family came from England.
JOHN EDWARDS was born in Carnarvonshire, North Wales, April 10, 1839, and was educated in the public schools of his native country and in the United States. He came to the United States in the spring of 1860 and settled in Hampton, Washington County, N. Y. There he embarked in the slate business, quarrying red slate directly west across the river from Poultney, Vt. The war put a stop to this enter- prise, and he went to Salem in 1864, where he worked in the quarry until ISSI.
While living in Salem he was Supervisor of that town for two terms, namely: in 1878 and 1879.
He married in Salem on March 17, 1868, Kate V. Egery, daughter of J. W. and Margaret (Boyd) Egery of Salem, N. Y. They have six children living, namely: Mrs. W. J. Edgar of South St. Paul, Minn., Charles, William, Margaret, George W. and John F. Edwards.
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In 1886 Mr. Edwards embarked in the slate business, his quarries being in Pawlet, Vt., but he kept his residence in Salem until 1898, when he settled permanently in Granville. For a few years he was in partnership with Robert J. Williams, but this was dissolved in 1895. Mr. Edwards subsequently formed the Edwards Slate Com- pany, which operates several quarries.
JOHN SKELLY was born in Ireland, and was educated in the schools of his native country, and also in the district schools of America. His parents were Patrick and Mary (Muloihill) Skelly. He has always followed the occupation of farming. Mr. Skelly is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Catholic Church. Mr. Skelly married Bridget Connors, daughter of Timothy and Catherine (Burke) Con- nors. They have two children, Michael and Mary, Mr. Skelly was formerly a member of the State Militia, and was connected with it at the time of Lincoln's assassination.
WILLIAM LEWIS HITCHCOCK was born in Pittstown, N. Y., August 27, 1858, his parents being William Edward and Lucinda (English) Hitchcock.
The family moved to Cambridge while William L. was a boy. Here he was educated at the Putnam Institute and the Cambridge Washington Academy.
In 1874 he secured a position as clerk in the gent's furnishing and clothing store of B. F. McNitt, with whom he remained until the latter's death in August, 1885. In October of that year he succeeded Mr. McNitt as proprietor of the store, and enjoys a large trade, both in the village and throughout the surrounding country.
On September 11, 1889, William L. Hitchcock married Charlotte M. Sharpe, the only daughter of Justice Sharpe, of Cambridge.
Mrs. Hitchcock died in 1899, leaving a family of four children, namely: Charlotte, Marian, Henry and Lois.
Mr. Hitchcock has been a prosperous business man, and in 1899 he erected the handsome two story brick building on Main street, adjoin- ing the grounds of the First Presbyterian Church, which is quite an addition to the architecture of Cambridge.
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The Hitchcock family has been a prominent one in America. The family genealogy is published in a book containing about 700 pages. The progenitor of the family came from Wiltshire, England, in 1624.
CHARLES EDWARD TINGUE, the leading liveryman of Cambridge, was born at Cambridge, Washington County, N. Y., January 7, 1853, and was educated at Williamstown, Mass.
On September 1, 1870, Mr. Tingue embarked in the livery business, and has continued in this line up to the present time.
He takes an active part in the public affairs of Cambridge, and has been President of the village for three successive years, namely: 1899, 1900 and 1901.
On August 23, 1870, Charles E. Tingue married Sarah Ella Gifford, and they have one daughter, Carlotta Tingue. Mr. Tingue's parents were Charles and Harriet (Boone) Tingue.
EZRA H. SNYDER, County Clerk of Washington County, was born in the town of Argyle, this county, March 17, 1838, and was educated at the Argyle Academy, Argyle, N. Y. After leaving school he pursued the vocation of teaching for some years, and taught in Argyle, Adamsville, Fort Edward Center and Fort Miller. The chief occupation of his life has been that of farmer, in which he has been engaged for years He has long been prominent in the public affairs of the town and county, and was School Commissioner for the first district of Washington County; was representative of the town of Argyle on the Board of Supervisors for five years; was Deputy Col- lector of Internal Revenue nine years, and was elected County Clerk in November, 1900. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is affiliated with Argyle Lodge, F. & A. M.
On May 28, 1862, Ezra H. Snyder married Caroline Augusta Potter. Their children are Clarence B., Jessie F., (deceased), Edith, wife of Warren H. Dennis; Edward J., Marian Ila, Anna, Caroline B. and Howard.
Mr. Snyder's parents were John B. and Anna (Carl) Snyder. His paternal grandparents were Peter L. and Mary (Bush) Snyder. His maternal grandparents were Thomas and Mary (Thompson) Carl. His great grandfather, Lodewick Snyder, came from Holland, and was one of the early settlers of Columbia County, N. Y.
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PATRICK B. DALY was born at Smith's Basin, Washington County, N. Y., October 12, 1857, and was educated in the district schools of his native town. His parents were Bryant and Mary (McGinnis) Daly. Mr. Daly has always been a farmer, and every fall makes a large ship- ment of potatoes to New York City.
On February 23, 1881, Patrick B. Daly married Isabella, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Parker) Henry, and they have two sons and two daughters.
Mr. Daly is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Catholic Church.
ROBERT HENRY WATKINS .- It can be said to the credit and advan- tage of Cambridge that the village has some enterprising merchants, who conduct absolutely up to date stores, with metropolitan prices for their goods; of which the variety is great and the quality high. One of the best appointed and most completely stocked hardware stores in the county is located on West Main street, and is conducted by the subject of this sketch, Robert Henry Watkins, who has the reputation of being so watchful a business man that he invariably has the advan- tage of the market, and sells hardware from his counters at less than metropolitan prices.
Robert Henry Watkins was born August 1, 1852, in the town of Jackson, Washington County, N. Y., and like many other Washington County boys, received his education at the district schools and the Cambridge Washington Academy. He began the active duties of his life in the capacity of clerk for S. B. Norton, in Granville, with whom he worked for six years, from 1871 to 1877.
In 1877 he formed a partnership with Henry A. Qua, under the firm name of Qua & Watkins. They dealt in groceries, hats, caps. boots and shoes, and built up a large business. In 1887 their store and all its contents were destroyed by fire, but they immediately rebuilt and continued the business, until Mr. Watkins retired from the firm and purchased the large hardware business of H. R. Eldredge & Co., next door to where he had been doing business for seventeen years. This business he has since conducted with the most pronounced success.
In 1880 Mr. Watkins was united in marriage to Julia Livingston, the only daughter of Thomas Livingston, of Cambridge, N. Y., and
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they have a family of three children, namely: Thomas Livingston Watkins, born September 16, 1883; Frank Billings Watkins, born April 24, 1888; Elvira Elizabeth Watkins, born August 18, 1892.
Mr. Watkins' parents were William and Selina Billings (Simpson) Watkins. William Watkins, born August 31, 1818, died at East Salem, N. Y., December 13, 1898. Selina Billings Simpson, daughter of Robert Simpson, born Novemcer 15, 1821, died at East Salem, N. Y., September 7, 1897.
Mr. Watkins is well known, not only as a successful, but as a thor- oughly honorable and upright business man.
LIEUTENANT HARPER N. ROGERS, soldier and business man, is a son of Harper and Eliza (Reynolds) Rogers, and was born in the town of Moreau, Saratoga County, November 22, 1840. His first employ- ment, after his school days, was in the capacity of a clerk for William Tice, with whom he remained until the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, when an ardent desire to serve his country led him to enlist in Company F, of the 2d New York Veteran Cavalry, in 1863. Shortly after joining Company F he was elected Second Lieutenant, but after a few months' service he was promoted to First Lieutenant of Company M, in the same regiment. In this capacity he served until the end of the war, participating in all the operations of his regiment with gallantry and distinction, and received his honorable discharge in December, 1865, at Talladega, Alabama. After receiv- ing his honorable discharge he entered the mercantile business again as a clerk, and so continued for some years. In 1880 he formed a copartnership with Mr. Carlton, at Sandy Hill, under the firm name of Rogers & Carlton, under which the business was conducted until 1890, when the firm name was changed to Rogers & Company. They are, and have been for years, the leading furniture dealers and under- takers of Sandy Hill, where Mr. Rogers has resided since the spring of 1866.
On December 20, 1870, Lieutenant Rogers married Sarah A., daughter of Asral M. Bond, of Oswego.
Mr. Rogers has proved himself not only a valiant soldier and patriot, but also an enterprising and progressive business man, who takes an interest in the general welfare of the community, as well as
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in his own business. He has held the office of Town Clerk for a period of ten years, and is a member of W. M. Collin Post No. 587, G. A. R., of Sandy Hill Lodge No. 372, F. & A. M., and of the Presbyterian Church.
His family has been identified with the history of Washington County for four generations, his paternal grandfather having been born in the county and pursued the occupation of farming in the town of Greenwich, and died in 1835. The family is of English extraction, and is one of the oldest in Washington County. Harper N. Rogers, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Green- wich, but moved to the adjoining town of Moreau, in Saratoga County, when a young man. He was noted for his sterling character, energy and success, but died in the middle of a successful career, and in the early prime of his life, being only thirty-six years of age at the time of his death, in 1847. Both he and his wife were Presbyterians. She was a native of the town of Moreau, and died in 1879, at sixty- five years of age.
REV. M. J. GRIFFITH, LL. D., is a native of Wilmington, Del., and received his education, first at St. Mary's College, and finishing at St. John's University. He subsequently received the degree of LL. D. from St. John's College, Fordham. He came to Fort Edward in August, 1893, after a series of pastorates in different places, the last one before Fort Edward being at Valatie, N. Y., where he was sta- tioned for twenty years. His parish there also included the church at Stuyvesant Falls, Stuyvesant Landing, Malden Bridge and Castleton.
He previously had charge of the church at Carthage, Jefferson County, N. Y., for four years, and the church at Deposit, Broome County, N. Y., for four years. The Deposit parish also included Hancock, French Settlement and Delhi, which were out missions. While in charge of this parish Dr. Griffith built a very handsome church at Hancock.
The church at Fort Edward has been unusually prosperous under his charge, and during the autumn of 1899 the church building was remodeled and refitted under his direction and supervision.
Dr. Griffith is not only a very successful and popular pastor, but is
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also a scholarly divine, and an author of note. His two principal works, "The Mystery Solved," and "The Cross of Christ," are of themselves sufficient to place him in the front rank as a thelogian, scholar and writer. The first of these, "The Mystery Solved," is a profound explanation and interpretation of the Apocalypse, and the subject is one which none but a finished scholar and devout Christian would attack. The work has a peculiar value, because it explains, in an understandable way, a subject which is enshrouded with mystery to most minds. "The Cross of Christ" is a treatise on Christianity, forcibly arraying all the tenets which uphold Christ's position as the Son of God and the Savior of Man.
BENJAMIN SMITH was born in the town of Holland, Orleans County, Vermont, April 8, 1849, and was educated at Stanstead Academy, in the Province of Quebec, and the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, in both of which institutions he carried off first prizes for oratorical ability. Mr. Smith is by profession a public school teacher and lec- turer, but is also interested in farming, and was engaged in the pro- duce business in 1890 and 1891, covering the territory from Coaticook, P. Q., to Jersey City. From 1892 to 1894 he was bookkeeper and traveling salesman for Close & Christie, at Mayfield, N. Y. In 1896 he was purchasing agent for a New York produce firm.
In politics Mr. Smith is a staunch Republican, and in 1892 was appointed by C. H. Hackett, Chairman of the Republican State League for Fulton and Hamilton Counties, to the position of Political Campaigner. Mr. Smith delivered thirty-eight addresses in these two counties. He is a member of Union Lodge No. 4, I. O. O. F., Lyndonville, Vt., and also of the I. O. of G. T.
On April 13, 1874, Mr. Smith married Elizabeth Allen, youngest daughter of Norman Allen, of Hartford, N. Y., and they have a family of four children, namely: Carrie Belle, Frederick E., Jessie Edith and Carl Allen. Mr. Smith's parents were James and Ann (Abbott) Smith, both natives of the north of Ireland. They came to this country about 1830. and settled in Stanstead, P. Q., and after- wards removed to Holland, Vt., where they died at the respective ages of seventy-five and seventy-six years.
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SIEGMUND WEINBERG was born in Treysa, Province of Hesse Cassel, Germany, March 26, 1857. His father, Israel Weinberg, was a mer- chant; his mother was formerly Sarah Lion, of Mardorf; her brother, Philip Lion, was a government counsel of Appeal Court. As a boy young Weinberg attended the public schools, and afterward private schools, up to the time he was sixteen years of age. He then became an apprentice in a dry goods store in Munden, Hanover, where, as was the custom, he had to pay to learn the clothing and dry goods business. He served eighteen months, doing the hardest kind of work around the store, with but little to eat, and suffering many hard- ships. He returned home ill, and as soon as convalescent, came to the United States to avoid the compulsory military life, for which he had no taste. He landed in New York with $150 in his pocket, on August 26, 1874. He sought and found an acquaintance he had known in Germany, and, giving him most of his money to take care of, he began life in this country as a peddler. He purchased $33 worth of Yankee Notions, and with $7 for car fare and expenses, he went to Greenwich, N. Y., where he began as a pack peddler, from door to door, sending the money thus earned to his friend in New York, to keep for him and purchase goods as needed. In six months' time he found his friend had spent all the money he had sent to pur- chase goods, and as he had sold all his goods, and his friend had no. money left with which to replenish his stock, he was forced to go to. work piling wood. Writing to a friend in Kalamazoo, Mich., for credit, he soon secured another lot of goods, and in a few years' time he had saved about $500, had bought a horse and wagon, and was. again prosperous. But a serious illness, in 1878 to 1879, overtook him, and again his finances were crippled, but only for a short time, for, with characteristic energy, he was soon reaping good benefits. from hard work. In a few years he got together a neat sum of money, and was looking about for a permanent place in which to settle and to become a merchant. In 1890 he bought of Mrs. Nathan Lewis, in Granville, N. Y., a piece of land on the west side, and adjoining the Mettowe River, on Main street, for which he paid $1950, cash. This is where the Thorn and other buildings are now located. Old resi- dents thought the investment foolish, but in less than four years he had sold less than one-eighth of the land for $2000. In 1891 he bought. a residence on Quaker street, and also a tract of land lying west of this street, which was then assessed at $1200. He divided this land
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into 128 building lots, and in three months had sold thirteen lots for $3300. He then began to build houses on some of the other lots, which found ready market. The property which was assessed at $1200, in 1891, is now, with the buildings thereon, assessed at more than $75,000. He built seven stores and about sixty houses, bought and sold real estate, and now owns one of the most valuable undevel- oped slate properties in the vicinity of Granville, N. Y., or the State of Vermont.
In 1890 Mr. Weinberg married Miss Fanny Menges, of New York. They have three children, Irving, born January 13, 1892; Harry, born March 17, 1894, and Lawrence, born December 14, 1896.
Mr. Weinberg's various interests and new ventures keep·him "on the go" from early morn to late at night. He is a pleasant and affable gentleman, and has done more toward the building up of Granville than any other man. His buildings are not of the cheap tenement sort, but are fine residences and stores, being a credit to their locality.
C. A. RATHBUN Was born in Whitehall, Washington County, N. Y., November 7, 1847, and received his education in the schools of his native place. He moved to the town of Fort Ann about 1870. He always pursued the occupation of farming in that town, and in the century year of 1900 he left this town and moved into Granville, where he now resides. He married Mary Bartholomew, of Whitehall, and they have one son, George Rathbun.
Mr. Rathbun's parents were Anthony and Milandy Rathbun. Anthony Rathbun was a native of Whitehall, and died in 1891. His wife was born in Fort Ann. C. A. Rathbun has two brothers, William, who lives in Granville, and George, who resides in Whitehall.
M. C. TEFFT was born April 2, 1832, and on February 12, 1862, married Mary Clum, daughter of Martin and Sally (Worthington) Clum. Their children are: Blanche C., born July 12, 1864, died March 15, 1883; Oscar W. Tefft, born September 1, 1865; Nellie F., born August 26, 1869; Susie J., born February 10, 1872, died Septem- ber 8, 1878, and Grant J. Tefft, born October 4, 1874. M. C. Tefft is of the eighth generation, and his children of the ninth generation,
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from John Tefft, a contemporary of Roger Williams, who lived in Providence, R. I., and died in 1676. He appears to have been a native of Wales, and was in America as early as 1646. All the Teffts of Greenwich, and, indeed, all in Washington County, are descendants of the family of that name which resided in Kingston and Providence, R. I., in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The first authen- tic record of the family is in the will of William Tefft, of Boston, dated 1646, and in which he mentions his brother, John, of Ports- mouth, R. I. It was this John Tefft whose descendants, in the fourth and fifth generation, came to Greenwich and vicinity, and who were among the earliest settlers. Judge Nathan Tefft, of the fourth gen- eration, was the first to come from Rhode Island. He, with his two sons, Nathan and Stanton, settled, in 1776, on land still owned by his great grandson, Nathan Tefft, just below Middle Falls, on the Easton side of the Battenkill.
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