ONEIDA COUNTY NY RESIDENTS,
HERKIMER COUNTY NY CONNECTIONS
PART 1
Our County and Its People
A Descriptive Work On Oneida County, N.Y.
By Daniel E. Wager, 1896
Family Sketches of Herkimer County, N.Y.
If the Surname has connections to both Montgomery and Herkimer County, NY, then they are listed for each county.
AVERY J.B.,--Billious Avery was born in the town of Salisbury,
Herkimer county, N. Y., January 1, 1802, and died in Oneida Castle, N.Y., August
11, 1870. March 21, 1824, he married Levina, daughter of Col. Ichabod Bartlett,
of Salisbury. She died August 15, 1833, leaving him three sons: Milton B., Morgan
L., and Oscar F. Avery. May 13, 1838, he married Melinda Adelaide Norton,
daughter of James Norton, of Norway, Herkimer county, N.Y., who died in New York,
January 14, 1880. Their children are Emeline L. and James B. Avery. He filled
many offices of trust both in his native town and in the town of his adoption.
For several years he represented his town as supervisor, and for nearly thirty
consecutive years was justice of the peace of the town in which he lived. In 1854
he represented his party as candidate for member of assembly of his district. In
1857 he removed to Oneida Castle, Oneida county, N.Y., where he spent the
remainder of his life. In politics he was a staunch Republican from the first
foundation of that party. James B. Avery son of Billious Avery, was born in
Salisbury, Herkimer county, N. Y., November 19, 1844. At the age of twelve he
with his parents removed from Salisbury to Oneida Castle, N.Y., where he with his
sister occupies the family homestead. At the age of eleven Mr. Avery began the
foundation of his subsequent education in the Experimental School, a training
school of the Normal College at Albany, N.Y. He prosecuted his preparatory
studies in Oneida and Whitestown Seminaries and entered Hamilton College,
Clinton, N.Y., as sophomore in the autumn of 1864, taking his Bachelor degree in
1867 and three years later the degree of Master of Arts. He has served his
village acceptably in various capacities, and also the town of Vernon as a
justice of the peace. For a number of years he conducted a private classical
school at his residence at Oneida Castle, preparing students for various
colleges. (p. 253)*
AVERY, JOSEPH S., was born in Fairfield, Herkimer county, August
7, 1826, son of the late Prof. Charles Avery, LL. D., who was born in Munson,
Mass., July 29, 1795, and for thirty-four years was professor of chemistry in
Hamilton College. Joseph S. Avery was graduated from Hamilton College in 1848: He
studied law in the office of the late Hon. O. S. Williams. He was postmaster for
three years (1857-9). In 1864 he was elected surrogate of Oneida county, an
office which he held for three successive terms, fourteen years in all (1864-78).
He was an expert in testamentary law, and administered the responsible duties of
the office with unquestioned fidelity and satisfaction. After 1878 and until his
death, Mr. Avery had his law office in Utica. In politics he was a strong
Democrat up to 1860, when he avowed himself a Lincoln Republican, and continued
active and earnest in that party during the rest of his life. On May 8, 1856 he
married Jennie M. Wilcox, of Middle Settlement. From this marriage one daughter
was born, Isabella, now the wife of Rev. Theodore A. Allen of Mendota, Ill. From
this marriage there are four children: Joseph S., Dorothy, Ruth, and George E.
Mr. Avery was justice of the peace for several years and president of the village
of Clinton for ten years. He was for many years an officer in the Presbyterian
church, active in its interests and conspicuous for his charities. He died at
Clinton November 14, 1895. (p. 81)*
BACON, HIRAM H., was born in the town of Oppenheim, Fulton
county, N.Y., April 3, 1826. He was educated in the district schools and the
Little Falls Academy, then engaged in farming. July 4, 1850, he married Sarah J.
Barker, of his native place, by whom he had three children: H. Eugenia, David E.
and Alice A. H. Eugenia married Jacob Seme, of this town, and they have five
children: Harold J., D. Alvin, Sidney G., Jennie M. and Frank H. David E. Bacon
married Emma Cagwin, of this town. Alice A. married John W. Owen, of Rome, N.Y.,
and they have two children, Spencer and Mildred. August 7, 1862, Mr. Bacon
enlisted in Co. E, 117th Infy., N.Y.S. Vols., and participated in twelve general
engagements and was honorably discharged June 20, 1865. He is a member of Joseph
H. Warren Post No. 615, Verona, N.Y. Jonathan Bacon, his father, was born in
Fulton county, N.Y., about 1787. He married Huldah Davies, formerly of
Massachusetts, by whom he had seven children: Davis W., Warren A., William S.,
Harriet, George H., Hiram H. and Eliza A. He died when a young man and his widow
died in 1871, aged eighty-two years. Mrs. Bacon's father, David Barker, was born
in New Hampshire, January 5, 1797. He married Lois Heald, of his native State,
who was born in December, 1801. They had four children: David, Lois, Mary and
Sarah J. Mr. Barker died October 13, 1846, and his wife in 1863. Mr. and Mrs.
Bacon are members of the M.E. church of New London, N.Y., and he is steward of
the church. The family is of English and Scotch descent. (p. 335)*
BARNES, SAMUEL C., was born in Russia, Herkimer county, April
21, 1844, son of Samuel and Lydia Barnes. Samuel Barnes was a native of Oneida
county, and was engaged in the coopering business. He died in 1871, aged eighty
years. Samuel C. was educated in New York Mills, after which he engaged in the
mill. In the late civil war he volunteered and went to the front with Co. A, 97th
Infantry, and was in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Thoroughfare Gap, Rappahanock
River, and Second Bull Run, and although in some of the hottest battles of the
war, escaped without a wound and was discharged by reason of disability. Mr.
Barnes is second hand mule spinner in Mill No. 1. He married Jennie A. Herron,
daughter of James Herron of New York Mills, by whom he has one daughter, Jennie
S., married to Frederick Shaw of New York Mills. Mr. Barnes is a member of the F.
& A. M., Oriental Lodge No. 224, and also of the A. O. U. W. (p. 232)*
BARTOW, PIERREPOINT, son of Edgar John and Harriette Constable
(Pierrepont) Bartow, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 17, 1842. His father, a
resident of Brooklyn, but a leading merchant of New York city, was of the Bartows
of Westchester, N.Y. Others of his name had been in these parts before him,
notably Andrew A. Bartow, of Bartow Hill, Herkimer county, who was connected with
the introduction of the great Erie Canal in New York State. His mother was a
daughter of Hezekiah B. Pierrepont and a descendant of an old Connecticut family
of New Haven, and his grandmother was a daughter of William Constable, well known
in this State as the purchaser of large tracts of land in connection with
McCormick, Macomb, Lynch and others. Mr. Constable was in the war of the
Revolution and at one time aide to La Fayette. After the peace he settled in New
York as a merchant. Pierrepont Bartow received his early education in Brooklyn
and finished at the English and Classical School of Mr. Huntington. In 1862-63 he
was employed as draughtsman at the Continental Iron Works, Brooklyn, in preparing
the plans for the monitors Passaic, Cakskill, and others, which were being built
for the United States Navy. Later he was connected with the School of Mines of
Columbia College for several years. In 1867 he received the appointment of
draughtsman and designer for the Wood and Mann Steam Engine Company of Utica. In
1887 he was appointed to a position in the Engineer Department of the new
aqueduct for New York city, where he remained several years. He returned to Utica
in 1892 and since then has practiced his profession as a general mechanical
engineer. For a number of years between 1870 and 1880 he followed the profession
of an artist, and among his principal works is a large painting for the Union
Ferry Company of Brooklyn, representing New York city in 1790 and now in the
possession of the Brooklyn Historical Society. February 23, 1886, Mr. Bartow
married Mrs. Emma C. (Smith) Sweet, whose ancestors were among the first settlers
of Oneida county and engaged in the war of the Revolution. Timothy Smith enlisted
and served as a private in Taunton, Mass., before coming to Oneida county in
1798, when he settled on Smith Hill. His wife was a Pratt, of another
Revolutionary family of Taunton. Mrs. Bartow's grandmother was a Damuth, a family
among the earliest settlers of Oneida county, and conspicuous for their bravery
in the war of the Revolution. Captain Mark Damuth was a trusty friend of General
Herkimer, and his brother George, of Deerfield, was a lieutenant, and John,
another brother, a lieutenant in the battle of Oriskany. Frederick, Richard, and
other Damuths were also in the struggle. George Damuth, a nephew of Captain Mark,
was captured by the Indians when an infant and ever afterwards bore the marks of
his captivity in his cut-ears and nose-ring, which his grandson and the late
David Gray, as boys, well remember. His wife Caty was a Christman, another family
who fought in the struggle against Great Britain for American independence. Mr.
Bartow has two sons, William Edgar and Francis Pierrepont. (p. 200-201)*
BAXTER, FRANK K., was born in Utica, October 13, 1854, has
followed civil engineering since 1871, and has been in charge of a very great
variety of important work. He began with his brother as assistant city engineer
and for seven years experienced municipal engineering in Utica in its various
branches-paving, sewerage, grading, etc. In 1878 he was appointed to a position
in the New York State Canal Engineering Department, Middle Division, of Syracuse,
where he remained until the winter of 1879, when he was promoted and changed to
the Western Division with headquarters in Rochester. Here he was assistant
engineer under Thomas Evershed, the designer of the Niagara Falls Water Power
scheme and an old canal engineer of wide reputation. Mr. Baxter's schooling here
was varied and of the best. Returning to Utica in 1882, owing to change of State
politics, he was immediately employed by the villages of Little Falls, Herkimer,
and Clinton and the city of Utica until 1889. During these years Mr. Baxter
designed and erected the Clinton water works, the Herkimer water works, stone
arch bridges for the town of Herkimer, and railroad work for private and public
corporations from preliminary work to final construction. In fact he had
considerable experience in railroad construction. Beside the above, much
important professional work was performed by him in surveying large and valuable
tracts of land in the central part of this State; estimates, plans, etc., for
various corporations, including Richfield Springs, Waterville, Little Falls,
Herkimer, Hamilton, Ilion, Mohawk, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. In 1889 he
served with great credit as city engineer of Utica. In 1889 and 1890 he made many
very important surveys for towns and counties, surveys of the Masonic Home
property, etc. During these years important canal surveys, railroad work, and
much of the land outlying Utica was also laid out by Mr. Baxter. Railroad surveys
in Syracuse were also made. In 1891 he served again as city engineer of Utica.
The excellent separate system of sewers in Herkimer, N.Y., were designed at this
time by Mr. Baxter and completed by him in 1893 and 1894. In 1892 much of his
time was taken up in consultations with various corporations in water and
sewerage work. Mr. Baxter has been retained in many important law suits as expert
engineer in railroad, water, sewer and municipal work. He was employed by the
sewer commissioners of Ilion as consulting engineer in the construction of its
system of sewers. In 1892 he was appointed inspector of the State Board of
Railroad Commissioners and which office he now holds. All of the railroads in
this State are under his supervision as regards the proper maintenance of
permanent way and safety to the traveling public. Mr. Baxter has always been a
close student; he graduated from the public schools of Utica, Williams's Private
school and the Utica Business College, and it is no doubt true, as he puts it,
that civil engineering necessitates constant daily study, and close application
if success is desired. His knowledge of modern railroad construction and
maintenance is considered most excellent in all its various phases. Seldom one
meets a civil engineer who has successfully practiced in so many branches of this
grand profession. Mr. Baxter is a self-made man and certainly merits the success
which his useful life has attained. (p. 197-198)*
BELLINGER, DANIEL H., is of German descent, although his father,
Daniel P., was born in Herkimer county, N.Y., in 1820. Daniel P. Bellinger came
to Knoxboro in 1856 and purchased the farm upon which he now resides. He married
Phoebe Hunt, who was born in Warren, Herkimer county, in 1822 and died in
January, 1895. Daniel H. was educated at Knoxboro and the Augusta Academy, after
which he was engaged as a clerk in a clothing store for three years. He was then
called here on account of sickness and has since continued on the farm, being
quite as prosperous and successful as his father, and though but thirty-eight
years of age is one of the foremost farmers in Augusta. He married Sarah A.
Williams, who was born in Knoxboro, January, 1863. (p. 286-287)*
BELLINGER, HENRY H., was born in Forestport, N.Y., August 29,
1855, son of John, who was a native of the Mohawk country, and Elizabeth
(Merville) Bellinger, a native of German Flats, N.Y. The village of Enoch was
originally called Bellingertown, taking its name from the grandfather of Henry M.
He was a pioneer there, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. John Bellinger was
engaged in farming at Forestport, where he lived and died, and was also a noted
trapper and hunter, and cleared a farm at Forestport. Henry M. was engaged as a
farm hand at Lowville nine years. He then came to Ava, and after working for H.
J. Lewis one year, rented the farm for seven years, and in 1891, bought the farm
in Ava, where he now resides. He kept a dairy of ten cows, and made choice
butter. In 1875, he married Jennie Congdon of Forestport, by whom he has three
children: Bertha, Hattie and Leon. Mr. Bellinger is a member of the Boonville
Grange. (p. 67)*
BENTON, GEORGE, was born at Frankfort, Herkimer county, N.Y., in
1836, son of the late James Benton. He came to Utica in 1839, where he was
educated in Williams's Private School, and began his agricultural pursuits at his
present location, a 200 acre dairy farm overlooking Utica, it being the old
homestead where his father resided for twenty-five years. The latter was a man of
rare ability and a prominent builder of Utica, who died at ninety years of age.
He was born at Warwickshire, England, in 1805, and his parents being poor, and he
the oldest of the family, he was early thrown on his own resources. After
acquiring his trade as a builder, he came to America and settled in Utica, where
he was a man of great discrimination and tact, an essential requisite of an
employer of many men of whose welfare he was ever mindful. He upheld the
principles of the Democratic party, but was elected mayor of Utica in 1878 by the
Workingman's party. He married Susan Bradley, of English birth, who died in 1889,
leaving five children. In 1867 George Benton married Rhoda, daughter of Thomas
Wheatley, of New Hartford, by whom he had twelve children, of whom eight are now
living. Mr. Benton was elected supervisor in 1890, by the largest majority ever
received by a Democrat in New Hartford. (p. 279-280)*
BIGGAR, REV. DAVID I., is a native of Quebec, Canada, but has
spent the greater part of his life in the United States. His father, James
Biggar, came from Roxboroshire, Scotland, where he was born in 1790. He engaged
in teaching until 1819, when he came into possession of a land grant of several
hundred acres from the British government, and settled upon it at Huntington,
where David I. was born. After settling in Canada he married Janette Murray, also
a native of Scotland, but a resident of the province of Quebec, who was born in
1800, and died in 1855. Mr. Biggar died in 1851. David I. was one of a family of
eleven children, all of whom were born at the original homestead. He attended the
Huntington Academy, and prepared for college at the Burr Seminary, at Manchester,
Vt. He then entered Amherst College, from which he was graduated in 1862. After
spending three years at Auburn Theological Seminary, he preached a year and a
half at Norwich Corners, near Utica, and then acted as pastor for the
Presbyterian church at Vernon for ten years. From that place he went to Camillus,
where he remained for seven and a half years, and from there he was called to the
Owasco church, where he preached for five years. In 1890 the Vernon Center
Presbyterian Society called him to the church there, and he is now engaged in
building up and strengthening the church society. He married Mary E. Wood, who
was born in Litchfield, N.Y., June 27, 1843, by whom he has had four children,
three of whom are now living. (p. 273)*
BRAYTON, MRS. FRANCES A.--The late Stephen H. Brayton was born
at Newport, Herkimer county, January 12, 1845, son of Stephen and Sarah Brayton.
Stephen Brayton was engaged in farming in Herkimer county. Stephen H. was
educated at Utica and Poughkeepsie, and then engaged in farming, at which he has
always continued. He conducted a farm in Deerfield, and was a man highly
respected as one of the representative agriculturists of that place. He married
Frances A., daughter of George F. Weaver of Deerfield, N.Y., by whom he has two
children: Helen A. and Stephen H. Mr. Brayton died in Deerfield, March 29, 1892.
Mrs. Brayton and her children are members of the Presbyterian Church at
Whitesboro. (p. 77)*
BRAYTON, M. JESSE, son of Almond and Caroline (Schermerhorn)
Brayton, was born on a farm near the Herkimer-Oneida county line July 20, 1852,
attended Fairfield Seminary, and was graduated from the Clinton Liberal
Institute. His ancestors were Rhode Islanders. His grandfather, Jesse Brayton,
came with several brothers to Newport, Herkimer county, and Deerfield, Oneida
county, very early in the present century. In 1860 his parents settled in
Deerfield, where his father died in January, 1886. His mother survives. Mr.
Brayton read law in Utica with J. Thomas Spriggs and later with D.C. Pomeroy, and
was admitted to the bar in Syracuse in 1876. He began the practice of law in
Utica with D. E. Pomeroy, with whom he was associated for about five years. He
then practiced alone until January, 1883, when he was appointed deputy county
clerk, which position he held until he was elected county clerk in 1885. He
served in this capacity from January 1, 1886, to December, 31, 1888. He had
become interested in the Utica Electric Light Company and since the close of his
term as county clerk has served as its secretary and treasurer, and has also
acted in the same capacity for the Utica Manufacturing and Supply Company. Mr.
Brayton is a member of Oriental Lodge, F. & A. M., Oneida Chapter, R. A. M.,
Utica Commandery No. 3, K.T., the Royal Arcanum, and the I.O.O.F. In January,
1885, he married Cora B., of Ilion, daughter of Joseph A. Johnson. (p. 366-367)*
BUELL, WALES, M. D., was born in Walesville, Oneida county,
March 31, 1837, son of Alton and Julia Ann (Wales) Buell. Alton Buell was the son
of Benjamin Buell of Westmoreland, and Julia Ann Buell was the daughter of
Jonathan Wales, who came from Windham, Conn., in 1797, settled in Whitestown and
built up the village of Walesville, and in addition to residences, he built the
paper mill, hotel and other buildings. The larger portion of the village of
Walesville was built by Jonathan Wales and Alton Buell. Mr. Wales died in 1838.
Alton Buell built up the village of Walesville from the point where Jonathan
Wales left off, and also the stove foundry, which was run as A. Buell & Co. They
manufactured the Walesville cook stove, in which wood was used, and it was the
greatest stove of its day, known and sold in every section of the country. Dr.
Wales Buell was educated at Whitestown and Fairfield Seminaries, and at the
Bellevue Medical College in New York. He practiced in Utica six years, and
removed to Walesville, where he has since practiced. Dr. Buell's family is the
oldest in the county, and have done almost the entire work of building up one of
the oldest villages. (p. 258)*
BURGESS, WILLIAM A., M. D., was born on a farm in West Winfield,
Herkimer county, June 26, 1864, and is a son of Isaac T. and Marion (McKown)
Burgess. He was graduated from West Winfield Academy in 1882, read medicine with
Dr. E. S. B. Spencer, of West Winfield, and was graduated from the medical
department of the University of the City of New York in 1888. After a few months'
practice in Clayville, Oneida county, he came to Utica in 1889, and has since
built up a large general and surgical business. In 1889 he was appointed visiting
physician to St. Elizabeth's Hospital and in 1892 the visiting surgeon, which
post he still holds. He has been a member of the medical and surgical staffs of
the Masonic Home since the organization of the Board in 1893 and is attending
physician to the Infants' Hospital (opened in 1895). He is also a member of the
Utica Medical Library Association and the Oneida County Medical Society, and a
permanent member of the New York State Medical Society. He was a charter member,
and one of the organizers, the first president of the Utica Medical Club, is
assistant surgeon of the 28th Separate Co., N. G. S. N. Y., a member of Faxton
Lodge No. 697, F. & A. M., and a charter member of the Masonic Club. February 25,
1885, Dr. Burgess married Leila I. Chapman, daughter of P. A. Chapman, of
Unadilla Forks, Otsego county, and they have two children: Isaac Thayer and
Evangeline. (p. 239-240)*
CADY, A. B., was born in Sangerfield in 1836, son of A. B. and
Harriet (Terry) Cady, natives of Herkimer county and Sangerfield, respectively.
He was a mechanic, and became a prominent builder in Waterville, nearly all of
whose fine buildings he erected, including the Candee block, Buell's shoe
factory, the National Bank, the school buildings, etc. He has been trustee of the
village, water commissioner, and chief engineer of the Fire Department. (p. 68)*
CARPENTER, HORACE M., was born in Herkimer, Herkimer county,
N.Y., February 16, 1838. He was educated in the district schools, and came to
this county in 1860. He is a general and dairy farmer. November 14, 1878, he
married Eliza Rener, of this town, by whom he had two children: Florence and
Harry. Mr. Carpenter's father, Samuel Carpenter, was born in Herkimer, in 1810.
He was educated in the schools of the day, and was also a farmer. He married
Caroline Stevens of that county, by whom he had three children: Horace M., as
above, Stephen, and Almira. He died January 7, 1888, and his wife, April 7, 1892.
His grandfather, Stephen Carpenter, was born in Rhode Island. He married, and in
1788 came to Herkimer county with an ox team, and drove two cows and some sheep.
Mrs. Carpenter's father, Frederick Rener, was born in Switzerland July 6, 1830,
and came to the United States when a young man, locating in this county. He
married Susanna Bechthept, of this county, formerly of Germany, by whom he had
ten children: Eliza, as above, Philip, Susie, George, Theresa, Louisa, Kate,
Minnie, who died in infancy, Frederick, and Charles. Mr. Carpenter's
great-grandfather, Frederick Stevens, was killed in the battle of Oriskany. The
ancestry of the family is English, Swiss and German. (p. 329)*
CHAPMAN, O.B., was born August 3, 1873, son of C.L. and Mercy S.
(Tompkins) Chapman. He was educated in Winfield Academy and the New York School
of Pharmacy, from which he was graduated in April, 1894. He then purchased the
drug business in Clayville, which he has conducted under the name of C.L. Chapman
& Son, the senior member being his father. His grandfather was Willard Chapman
and his great-grandfather was John Chapman. His maternal grandfather was Joshua
Tompkins, and maternal great-grandfather was Nathaniel Tompkins. (p. 114)*
CHASSELL, GEORGE G., was born in Newport, N.Y., August 30, 1840,
son of Rev. David Chassell, D.D., and Eliza A. (Griswold) Chassell. David was a
native of Scotland, where he was born in 1778, and came to Vermont when eight
years of age. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and ordained by the
Presbyterian church. He was principal of Fairfield Academy many years and was a
man who was respected by all who knew him. George G. married Sarah E., a daughter
of John and Eliza Hutchinson, and they have one child, Frances, who attends
Emerson College of Boston. Mr. Chassell engaged in dairy farming in 1861, and at
which he still continues. He is president and director of the Bank of Holland
Patent, and has been since its organization. From 1876 to 1881, he was interested
in cheese manufacturing. He is president of Black River Fish and Game
Association, and a member of the State Association. (p. 6)*
COOLEY, GARY W., was born at Newport, Herkimer county, N.Y.,
March 18, 1841. He was educated in the district schools of Newport and advanced
school of Utica. He came to this country with his parents when seventeen years of
age, locating in the town of Verona, where he is engaged in farming, also for the
last twenty years has been an auctioneer. December 31, 1863, he married Frances
D. Wolfe, of this town, by whom he had four children: Wilford B., Arthur S., Cora
A., deceased, and Benjamin L. Arthur S. is a bookkeeper for a firm in San
Francisco Cal.; Wilford B. keeps the King House in Clockville, Madison county,
N.Y. He married Emma Sassenbery, of Vernon, by whom he has three children: Cora
B., Lawrence M., and G. Wesley. Mr. Cooley's father, Lyman Cooley, was born in
Paris, Oneida county, in 1807. He was a tailor by occupation, and he married
Joanna Jilson, of Martinsburg, Lewis county, N. Y., by whom he had six children,
two of whom died in infancy: Francis J., Cornelia A., L. Stuart, and Gary W., as
above. Mr. Cooley died November 13, 1858, and his wife November 13, 1872. Mr.
Cooley's father, John Wolfe, was born in Otsego county, N. Y., in 1812, and came
to this county in 1836, following the blacksmith's trade in Verona village. He
married Alvira Marshall, by whom he had four children: Harriet E., Frances D., as
above, J. Birney and Julia A. He died in 1876, and his wife in 1883. Mr. Cooley's
grandfather, Justin Cooley, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Mr. Cooley is a
member of New London Lodge, No. 420, F. & A. M. The family is of New England
stock. (p. 159)*
COUPE, JAMES, was born in the town of Frankfort, Herkimer
county, about four miles southeast of Utica, and is a son of James Coupe. When he
was six years old his father and family removed to the homestead about two miles
from Utica, on the Minden turnpike, in the town of New Hartford, where he
remained till about twenty-two years of age. His father died when he was
thirteen, leaving his mother with five sons and five daughters. He entered the
law office of John F. Seymour, of Utica, and there completed his law studies.
Having been admitted to the bar, he, with his brother, Henry F., formed the law
firm of Henry F. & James Coupe, with offices at 166 Genesee street, where they
have since continued. The firm has been engaged in the practice of law in all its
branches, except that in the marine courts, both civil and criminal. They have
tried many important criminal cases as well as causes of civil action; several
cases were for capital crimes. Perhaps the most noted one was the defense of
Michael Cafaldo, who was charged with having in the night shot a co-workman in
the village of Remsen, Oneida county, and resulted in acquittal of defendant.
Another case was that of the People vs. Laaze, a Frenchman, who murdered his wife
with an axe some distance west of Rome. The defense was successful in that the
defendant, instead of being found guilty in the first degree, was found guilty in
the second degree and sentenced to Auburn for life. Still another case was the
defense in the People vs. McElwaine, which rose out of the escape of O'Brien in
1895. This was the first of the defendants tried, who were acquitted. During the
trial great public interest was taken and much excitement prevailed, and at the
time it was said to have been one of the greatest trials ever held in the court
house in Utica. They also engaged in the trial of many other important criminal
cases and a very large number of civil actions in various courts of this county
and other counties in the State, in all of which success has followed. Henry F.
Coupe, senior member of the firm, was special city judge of Utica and has also
served as one of the city school commissioners. During his term the school system
of Utica was revised and many changes and improvements made. The old system was
entirely abandoned and a course of studies laid out which conformed to the most
improved method of education and has since prevailed. James Coupe was corporation
counsel one term and is now acting as a member of the police and fire commission
of the city. Both are Democrats and have been very active in politics, and have
always taken much interest in the public welfare of the city. James Coupe was
urged to accept the nomination for mayor on several occasions, but has eschewed
public office. Henry F. married Miss Mary Sweeney, of New Hartford, and they have
three children. (p. 353)*
COX, TRUMAN, was born in the town of Deerfield, N.Y., December
14, 1829, son of John and Mary (Smith) Cox, natives of Oneida county. The parents
of John Cox were Joseph and Catherine (Sterling) Cox, who were natives of
Herkimer county and pioneers of Deerfield. The parents of Joseph Cox were John F.
and Katrina (Petre) Cox. The father of Mrs. Katrina Cox, Daniel Petre, came from
Holland to Little Falls prior to the Revolutionary war, where he built a grist
mill. He was killed in the mill during the war by Indians and his mill burned.
His daughter and husband, J. F. Cox, were in the mill when the attack was made.
Mr. Cox went for help and while he was gone the mill was fired, Mr. Petre killed
and Mrs. Cox taken prisoner with her two children, one being Joseph Cox, the
above mentioned; and they were to be carried to Canada, but Mrs. Cox bought her
freedom. Joseph Cox was a farmer and miller, and John Cox, father of our subject,
born March 21, 1799, was also a farmer and miller. He died in 1857, and Mrs. Cox
died in 1871. Mr. Truman Cox has been engaged in farming and milling in the town
where he has always resided. In 1849 he married Eliza R., daughter of Dr. Thomas
(born November 15, 1809, died November 1, 1847) and Maria (Coppernall) Pell (born
April 15, 1806, died November 1, 1869), who was born in Herkimer county, June 9,
1831. Dr. Thomas Pell was a native of Lee, and son of Thomas and Mary (Cook) Pell
of Long Island. Thomas was born March 1, 1775, and came to Lee at an early day;
and he was a son of Thomas Philip Pell, who was born in England December 5, 1731,
and emigrated to Long Island. His father, Thomas H. W. Pell, Duke of York, was
born August 13, 1701, and died in England. Mrs. Cox's maternal grandfather was
George Coppernall, an early settler at Little Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Cox have three
children: Truman H., born November 16, 1853, a graduate of Cincinnati Medical
College, and a physician at Lee Center; John T., who was born August 20, 1857,
and educated at Whitestown Seminary and Poughkeepsie Business Institute. He died
April 3, 1893; and Frances E., who died in infancy. (p. 8) *
CRANDALL, DR. CHARLES S., was born in Leonardsville, Madison
county, September 24, 1858, and is the youngest son of Dr. Hiram S. Crandall,
whose father, Oliver C. was one of the first settlers in that locality. Oliver C.
came from Rhode Island, and died in Leonardsville in 1864 aged nearly ninety-two.
The family are lineal descendants of Lord John Crandall of England. Dr. Hiram S.,
at the age of seventy-eight, is still practicing medicine in Leonardsville,
making a specialty, as he has for many years, of diseases of women. He married
Frances A. Sisson, of Plainfield, Otsego county, who died in 1889, aged seventy.
They had five children: Stephen H., of Leonardsville; Mary D. (Mrs. Ellis J.
Dunn), of New Market, N.J.; Lucius A., of Frankfort, N.Y.; L. Adelle, widow of
Silas K. Hawkins, of Burlington Flats, N.Y.; and Dr. Charles S., of Utica. Dr.
Charles S. Crandall was educated in the public schools of Leonardsville and at
New Berlin Academy, read medicine with his father, and was graduated from the
medical department of the University of New York city in 1882. He took special
courses in physical diagnosis in the wards of Bellevue Hospital under the late
Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, the celebrated consumptive specialist; a special course in
operative surgery and bandaging under Prof. J.W. Wright, M.D.; a special course
in physiological laboratory work and microscopy under Prof. J.W.S. Arnold,
A.M.M.D.; and a special course in Chemistry under Prof. John Draper, M.D., LL.D.,
and after graduating he practiced in Leonardsville, and in the spring of 1884
went to Sherburne, Chenango county, where he remained five years. In the spring
of 1889 he came to Utica, where he has since successfully practiced his
profession, making a specialty of diseases of women. December 30, 1886, he
married Ada M., daughter of Leander Harwood, of Sherburne, N.Y. They have two
children, Lee S. and Frances R. (p. 341)*
CRUIKSHANK, J. ROBERT.--George C. Cruikshank was born in
Deerfield, February 21, 1850, son of Robert M. and Elizabeth (Pearce) Cruikshank.
The grandparents, David and Mary (Stephenson) Cruikshank, were natives of
Scotland, and emigrated to Ireland: and thence to Salem, Washington county, N.Y.,
in 1807, after which they came to North Gage, Oneida county. They both died at
Deerfield, he in 1847, and she in 1855. Robert Cruikshank was a native of North
Gage, Deerfield, and was a manufacturer of edge tools. In 1844 he bought 250
acres of land and engaged in farming. He is a Republican, and was assessor and
road commissioner. He died in 1886. Mrs. Cruikshank was a native of Newport,
Herkimer county, and she died in 1855. George C. was educated at Whitestown
Seminary, and taught for a few terms. For three years he run an express route
from Poland to Utica, but his principal occupation has been farming. He has the
homestead farm. In 1875 he married Rachel, daughter of John and Christina Herpy
of Ohio, Herkimer county, by whom he has three children: J. Robert. May, and
Milton. Mr. Cruikshank has been assessor for two terms. (p. 84)*
CRUIKSHANK, JAMES M., was born in the town of Deerfield, N.Y.,
November 29, 1840, being the eldest son of James and Malintha (Reed) Cruikshank.
His father, James, sr., was of Scotch-Irish descent, and in 1807, when seven
years of age, emigrated from Ireland with the family, and came to the town of
Deerfield where the family located and purchased a farm of seventy-five acres. In
1837 James, sr., was married to Malintha Reed, a native of Deerfield. He
purchased his father's farm and engaged in farming, and subsequently increased
his farm to 250 acres on which he resided until his death April 24, 1877. His
wife died March 16, 1884. On March 31, 1863, James M. was married to Mary A.,
daughter of David and Elizabeth Evans, natives of Wales, who came to America and
located in Deerfield, where she was born May 8, 1841. Afterward they removed to
Newport, Herkimer county, where he purchased a farm, on which they resided until
their death. He in February, 1879, aged seventy-eight years. His wife September
18, 1890, aged eighty-seven years. In 1863 James M. settled on the farm where he
now resides. They have four children: Fred J., born May 19, 1864, and was married
to Cora E., only daughter of William and Eliza Kane of Newport, N.Y., March 10,
1886, and is at present engaged in farming at Newport, N.Y.; Edgar C., born
October 9, 1865, was married to May, only daughter of Dr. Seavy of Poland, N.Y.,
September 17, 1890. He has been in the mercantile business for ten years and is
now general agent for "The Poland Union," at Poland, N.Y.; Millard S., born
August 1, 1867, graduate of Fairfield Academy, and for seventeen terms has been a
teacher in the schools of the county, and is at present in possession of the same
farm bought by his grandfather's father ninety years ago; Avis E., born October
10, 1870, wife of Benjamin L. Ford, who is engaged in the mercantile business at
Newport, N.Y. In politics Mr. Cruikshank is a Republican. He has occupied various
positions of public trust in his town. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cruikshank have been for
many years members of the Presbyterian church of North Gage. (p. 97)*
We thank you in advance for directing ALL requests for information about persons listed to the local historical societies and
libraries, not to the site coordinators.
Continue on to Part 2
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