These biographies and family sketches are copied exactly as found. Undoubtedly there will be minor variations found in later research.
MAJOR GENERAL JACOB BROWN
Probably the most distinguished citizen of the town of Brownville, past or recent, was Major General Jacob Brown, a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1775. He was the fourth in descent from George Brown, an English emigrant, who had settled in the Province area two years before the arrival of Penn. General Brown's mother was a daughter of Joseph Wright, a celebrated Quaker preacher. She possessed a degree of intelligence and strength of mind seldom equaled--qualities that were developed in her son at an early period. Samuel Brown, his father, possessed a considerable estate, and gave his family the benefit of such instruction as the vicinity afforded, and for one or two seasons Jacob Brown attended an academy at Trenton, but his main education was at the winter's fireside, where he kept a small school for the instruction of the younger members of the family.
An unfortunate speculation had deprived his father the means of affording him a finished education. At the age of 16 he began to look out for himself, and conceived the idea of retrieving the fortune of his family. This he began assiduously to do. From 18 to 21 he was a school teacher in Crosswicks, N. J., and having qualified himself for the duties of a land-surveyor, he spent one year in Miami county, Ohio, to which section his father had thought of removing. But in 1798 Jacob returned, and again took charge of a Quaker school, this time in New York city. That being a time of great political excitement, he frequently took part in these discussions, and in one of them he formed the acquaintance of Gouverneur Morris, which subsequently ripened into a warm friendship, and may have had an important influence in shaping General Brown's future. About the same time he became acquainted with Rudolph Tillier, the agent of the Chassanis Company, who came to the senior Brown's house and concluded with him for the purchase of a large tract of land at $2 per acre. In February, 1799, having given up his school, he started for his future home in the Black River country, the exact location of which had not been definitely fixed. He came to the French Settlement, or Castorland, near the High Falls on Black river, between which place and Utica he made several journeys during the winter, and brought in a quantity of provisions preparatory to his final removal to a location he had decided upon, which was at the head of navigation of Black river. In March 1799, as soon as the river was clear of ice, he launched a boat upon its angry waters, and floated down to the Long Falls (Carthage).
Thence, in company with Chambers, Thomas Ward and a few hired men, he took the route of the French Road, then newly opened, and when he supposed they had gone far enough, struck off towards the river, which he happened to reach at the present village of Brownville. He was here so impressed with the unexpected advantages offered by the fall at the mouth of the Philomel creek, then swollen by spring floods, that he resolved to make his stand here, where the water-power appeared sufficient for every purpose required, and the river, with some improvements below, could be navigated by boats. On May 27, 1799, he was joined by his father's family, who came by the tedious navigation of the Mohawk, Oneida Lake, Oswego and Lake Ontario. He commenced at once clearing lands, and the next year erecting mills. In September and October, 1799, he, with his brother Samuel, surveyed the townships of Hague and Cambray, in St. Lawrence county, and, until the opening of a land office at LeRaysville, in 1807, he acted as the agent of Mr. LeRay, in the settlement of his lands in Brownville and adjacent towns. As the opening of roads is one of the first and most direct methods of promoting new settlements, the subject early engaged his attention, and he was mainly instrumental in procuring the construction of the State roads, one in 1801, from Redfield, by the way of Adams, and one from Utica by way of the Black River Valley. Of both of these he was appointed a commissioner for locating and opening, and he succeeded in getting them both to terminate at Brownville, where himself, his father and brothers had opened a store, built mills, commenced the manufacture of potash, which found a ready market in Kingston and Montreal, and made extensive clearings for raising grain. In 1804, the question of forming one or more new counties from Oneida became the absorbing theme, and a convention was held at Denmark, November 20, 1804, to decide upon the application, at which most delegates are said to have gone prepared to vote for one county, but from the influence of Mr. Brown, and Gen. Martin, of Martinsburgh, were induced to apply for the erection of two new counties. In locating the county seat, the most active efforts were made in each county, Martinsburgh and Lowville being the rivals in Lewis, and Watertown and Brownville in Jefferson. Mr. Brown was the principal advocate of the latter, but the mass of settlement was then in the southern towns, and the portion north of Black river was thought to be low, level and much of it swampy. The settlements that had been begun at that early day, at Perch River, Chaumont, and on the St. Lawrence, were visited by severe sickness, and the idea was entertained, or at least held forth to the commissioners who located the site, that it could never be inhabited. Mr. Brown next endeavored to procure on the north bank of the river near Watertown, and made liberal offers of land for the public use, but the perseverance and intrigues of Mr. Coffeen succeeded in fixing the site at Watertown.
After the opening of the land office at LeRaysville, Mr. Brown continued for two or three years devoted to his private affairs, meanwhile having received, unsolicited, commissions of captain and colonel of the 108th regiment of militia. His promotion up the line of military life is said to have risen from his avowed aversion to frequent and expensive military parades in time of peace, calling off the inhabitants from their labors in the fields, and encouraging habits of intemperance, which in those days were so frequently the accompaniment of such gatherings. His views on the subject of military organizations approached quite nearly to our present system; and in selecting him for office, the people were convinced that while he omitted nothing conducive to the public safety, he would cause them no needless expense of time or money for parades. In his public and private conduct and daily life, they say him in possession of sagacity and intelligence, that left them to place confidence in his resources, should emergency call for their exercise, and the integrity of his personal life convinced them that the public trusts with which he might be honored would be faithfully preserved.
On the declaration of war, General Brown was appointed, by Governor Tompkins, to the command of the militia on the frontier, from Oswego to St. Regis, and spent the summer in organizing and directing the military movements at Sackets Harbor, Cape Vincent, and various points along the St. Lawrence river; nor did this season pass without incident, to call into exercise those traits of decision, energy and tact, which were signally displayed at a later period in the war.
The plan which he proposed was, to take Prescott, and, by intercepting the communications of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, to deprive Upper Canada of aid, and capture it in detail. His scheme was not adopted, and the expenditure of vast sums and much blood on the Canadian frontier, effected comparatively nothing. On the 29th of May, 1813, General Brown was hastily summoned to defend Sackets Harbor from an attack which the enemy had planned against place, in retaliation for our descent upon Little York. The successful result of his plans in this engagement, led to his promotion as a Major General in the regular service, and opened the way to that career of victory which in this and the following year, distinguished the American armies under his command on the Niagara frontier. Among all the men who came to the front during the War of 1812, Gen. Brown achieved the most enduring record.
A series of resolutions was passed by Congress, November 3, 1814, the first of which was as follows:
"Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby presented to Major General Brown, and through him to the officers and men of the regular Army and of the militia under his command, for their gallantry and good conduct in the successive battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie, in Upper Canada, in which British veteran troops were beaten and repulsed by equal or inferior numbers; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, emblematic of these triumphs, to be presented to Major General Brown."
Similar testimonials were voted to Generals Scott, Ripley, Miller, Porter, Gaines and Macomb.
This medal bears his profile (after a painting by Sully) upon one side, and upon the reverse it commemorates the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie. The New York Legislature passed a series of resolutions in December, 1814, expressing their approbation, and presented a sword to General Brown and to the several commanding officers in those campaigns.
In the discharge of his official duties, Gen. Brown removed to Washington in 1821, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred February 24, 1828, from the effect of a disease contracted at Ft. Erie. For some time previous his physical powers had been impaired by a paralytic stroke. His death was announced to the army by an order of the Secretary of War, and the burial ceremonies were performed with all the formality and dignity that his exalted rank demanded.
A monument has been erected by Congress over his grave, in Washington, having for its device a broken column, and upon the east side of the base the following inscription:
Sacred
To the memory of Major General Brown,
By birth, by education, by principle,
Devoted to Peace.
In defense of his country
A warrior.
To her service he dedicated his life.
Wounds received in her cause abridged his days.
In reviewing the life of General Brown, we are struck with the evidences of integrity and talent, and with the ability which he evinced in the various stations of public life he was called to fill. He left a name unsullied by any money-making or selfish scheme, and after handling millions of public money, none of it was ever found adhering to his fingers.
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The following are some of the inscriptions upon tombstones in the Brownville Cemetery:
Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown.
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Pamela Williams
Wife of Maj. Gen. J. Brown
Born Dec. 13, 1785
Died April 14, 1878
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Col. Edmund Kirby
Born in Litchfield, Conn.
April 18, 1794
Died at Avon Springs, N. Y.,
Aug. 29, 1849
He served in the Black Hawk War in 1832, and
Mexican War, 1845-1848
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Eliza Brown
Wife of Col. E. Kirby
Born Aug. 18, 1808, died Jan. 1864
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Brig. Gen. Edmund Kirby, Jr.,
Died May 28, 1863, from
Wounds received at
Chancellorsville, May 3.
Aged 28 years
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William E. Everett,
Born at Watertown, April 17, 1826
Died at Saratoga Springs,
Sept. 19, 1881.
In 1851 he was appointed
Chief Engineer of U. S. Navy.
Invented the machinery
That laid the first cable across the Atlantic.
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Pamela W. Kirby,
Wife of W. E. Everett,
Born Jan. 9, 1831,
Died January 23, 1878
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COLONEL EDMUND KIRBY
Among the prominent citizens of Brownville at an early date was Edmund Kirby, afterwards Colonel Kirby.
He was a son of Ephraim Kirby, an officer of the Revolution, and afterwards a judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut. Colonel Kirby was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, April 18, 1794; entered the army as lieutenant in 1812; served during the war on the Northern frontier; joined General Brown as aid in 1820; from 1821 to 1823 discharged the duties of adjutant-general; in 1824 was appointed paymaster of the army, and returned to Brownville, where he married Eliza, a daughter of General Brown. From 1832 to 1840 he was engaged in the Florida wars with the Indians; was chief of the pay department during the Mexico War; volunteer aid to General Taylor at the storming of Monterey; aid to General Scott at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Chapultepec, and the Mexican capital, always distinguished for courage and bravery.
In 1848 he returned to his home in Brownville; was enthusiastically received by the citizens, a large cavalcade going out to meet and welcome him on his approach to the village. The seeds of disease were implanted in his system by the hardships of was in a tropical climate, which had so impaired his health that he sought relief from the medicinal waters of Avon Springs, where he died August 20, 1849, aged 55. His remains were brought to Brownville, and laid in the village cemetery with fitting military honors. A plain shaft of Quincy granite marks his resting place, and bears silent testimony to his heroic deeds. By his side in the village cemetery lie the remains of his gallant son, Brigadier-General E. Kirby.
COLONEL WILLIAM LORD
The undeveloped resources of this county, when new, offered at the beginning of this century, strong inducements to the industrious and enterprising New Englander. Among those attracted hither from that land of steady habits, none was more enterprising and industrious than Colonel William Lord, born in Woodstock, Vt., in June, 1792. In the strength of his young manhood, with habits of economy and thrift, and with a body hardened by toil upon a rugged farm among the highlands of Vermont, about 1816 he came into the Black River country. An uncle of his having settled upon a farm near the village of Brownville, he was led to make that place his headquarters. The first winter he taught a country school in what is now East Hounsfield, and such was his industry that after making due preparations for his school duties, he passed his evenings and holidays in making the wooden ploughs then used by farmers, as the iron or steel plough was not then invented. So skillful did he become that he have up teaching, and erecting a shop in the village of Brownville, and gave his whole time to makings plows. One of these primeval soil-disturbers is now preserved in the museum at Washington, D. C., alongside some of the best modern steel instruments, to show by contrast the wonderful progress in the construction of tools.
At this early day the only foundry for casting iron was at Watertown Centre, where Mr. Bingham, with the blast of a blacksmith bellows, melted small quantities of iron, and cast a few plow points. This slow process did not suit Mr. Lord's wants and ideas of business; so he erected a small foundry, the draught driven by a tube-bellows worked by horse-power. His business continuing to increase, he invited a skillful mechanic, Mr. Alanson Skinner, from New Hampshire, to join him; and they erected upon the bank of the river at Brownville, a large stone building for a foundry and machine shop; and here (the cast iron plow having been invented), they supplied, under the firm name of Lord & Skinner, all this region with the best iron plows, stoves, and all kinds of cast-iron and machine work.
Apropos of Mr. Skinner's name, an anecdote showing Irish wit, is told. A Hibernian, who had become vexed with some of the chief business men of the place for what he thought their picayune dealing, was met upon the outskirts of the village by a stranger, who inquired for the whereabouts of A. Skinner. Pat replied; "You go on over that bridge, and the first man you meet will be a skinner, and every other man you meet will be a skinner, bad luck to them."
The firm continued prosperous for several years. About 1837 the partners dissolved, and Mr. Lord took his oldest son, Gilderoy, as partner, and the business was continued with great energy and success. The manufacture of all kinds of stoves was carried on, and a store was opened for the sale of stoves and all kinds of hardware. About 1845 the building of a railroad from Rome to this county was much discussed, and Mr. Lord, seeing at once the advantage of such a highway, gave the subject such thought and study that he became one of its most enthusiastic supporters, and at a public meeting at the court house, March 21, 1848, he offered a series of resolutions pledging the meeting to use all proper means for the construction of the road from Rome through to Cape Vincent. These resolutions were enthusiastically adopted, and no doubt formed the turning point in this great project. Such was his enthusiasm that he became a most successful solicitor of stock, and with others secured sufficient to warrant the construction of the road. He was soon elected one of the directors, and surrendering his manufacturing business to his sons, he served the road faithfully in whatever way he could be useful. He continued to serve as director until advancing years rendered his labors burdensome, and he resigned. He was always ready to aid in promoting education or literary culture, and in his later years solaced his leisure moments in literary and poetical composition, taking an active interest in the great events of the day, especially all that related to the War of the Rebellion. His tastes were decidedly for military matters, and in his younger days he was colonel of the first rifle regiment raised in Jefferson county.
Soon after his settlement in this place, the War of 1812 was imminent, and from the proximity of the hostile Canadian dominions, some of the more timid settlers fled to their safer New England homes, or places farther inland and Mr. Lord was urged by some of his timid friends to leave also, but he replied that "the place for a man in times of danger was where he could best defend the country, and that he had come to stay, and the cowards might go."
He served some time in the militia called out to defend the border for which service he was in after years given a pension, and it was in that service he became a friend and associate with Gov. John A. Dix.
In politics he was at first an ardent Whig, and latterly a Republican. In religion he was in his later years an active member of the Episcopal Church, serving as senior warden in St. Paul's for many years. He was married in 1816 to Miss Charlotte Thomas, of Mather's Mills, near Belleville, and nine children were born to them: Gilderoy, William, Pamelia, Elisha, Newton B., Nathan, Hiram and Fazetta. Of these, only two survive, Mrs. P. B. Bosworth and Mrs. Morrison.
Mr. Lord died April 9, 1874, reaching nearly the ripe age of 88 years; to the last his mind was active and clear, thus closing a long life of industry and good works. He was a man well known and universally respected. His industry was great, and his abilities of a high order.
FAMILY SKETCHES
Samuel Knapp was born in Litchfield, Conn., March 5, 1782. His ancestors were among the early settlers of Massachusetts. They came to this country about 1630 or '35. The subject of our sketch, in company with two brothers, John and Silvanus, removed from their place of birth to Lewis county, New York, about the year 1800. While he resided there, he became acquainted with Miss Abia Thompson, to whom he was married April 28, 1808. About two years after his marriage, he, in company with his brother John, removed to Brownville, where he continued to live until his death, December 18, 1862. He was a successful, enterprising farmer, in which occupation he was engaged the greater part of his life. He was one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Society, and also a member of the first board of trustees.
John C. Knapp, the only son of Samuel, was born in Lewis county, September 9, 1809. He followed the occupation of his father until a few months before his death, which occurred April 22, 1886. He was highly esteemed by his neighbors for his sincere friendship and honest counsel in time of need. He was for years one of the principal members and supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Society of Brownville.
Roswell Bosworth, from Massachusetts, settled near Smithville, in the town of Adams, about 1811. He was a farmer and a deacon of the Congregational church. He had eight children. Reuben S., son of Roswell, was born in 1819, and was educated in the Black River Literary and Religious Institute. Mr. Bosworth has been a lecturer on natural science, was a teacher in the Farmers' College, near Cincinnati, 10 years; in the Normal School in Terre Haute, Ind., one year; in the Watertown High School and in the Adams Collegiate Institute 10 years. President Harrison was one of his pupils in Farmers' (Indiana) College. Professor Bosworth married Pamelia R., daughter of Col. Wm. Lord, of Brownville, and they now reside in the Lord mansion. The professor is now a manufacturer of telescopes, and has for several years been one of the most intelligent and respected citizens of Brownville. From his youth he took more pleasure in scientific pursuits than in the accumulation of money, being one of those brave souls who well understood the benefits of knowledge, and willing to pay the apparently high price demanded for its acquisition. The Professor is not very closely engaged in the business affairs of life; but his mind is very active, his judgment excellent, his general knowledge superior. His modesty has been his greatest drawback in life. Had there been more brass in his make-up he would have been as well and favorably known to the world at large as he is to the county of Jefferson. Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth reared one daughter, Miss Kittie, who was a great favorite, but died in her 20th year, greatly lamented.
John Keeler Adams was born in Onondaga Valley, N.Y., in 1803. He emigrated to Brownville about the year 1826, and was employed in a machine shop owned and operated by Lord & Skinner. At 30 years of age he married a daughter of Hon. Fleury Keith. He died in 1860, leaving a widow and daughter, who now reside in Cape Vincent. Mr. Adams was a man of more than ordinary education and ability for the times, having been educated at the celebrated academy in Onondaga Valley, and was, in consequence, kept almost continually in office. He was for many years postmaster, justice of the peace, commissioner of deeds, and was entrusted with the settling of many estates. Politically, he was a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and had he lived would have been a staunch war Democrat. He always wielded a strong political influence, and had he the inclination, might have aspired to many higher official positions.
Josiah Bonney was born in Cape Cod, Mass., and in 1808 settled on a farm in Brownville. He served at Sackets Harbor in the War of 1812, and died in Brownville in 1848, aged 61 years. He married Betsey Morse, of Vermont. Of their five children, George married Betsey, daughter of William and Henrietta (Gould) Knox, of Brownville, and they had children as follows: Brayton and Amelia G. (deceased), Emma S., and Madison. Their daughter, Emma S., married Oscar C. Wilson, and resides on the homestead farm. Madison Bonney, of Brownville, married Ella E., daughter of Benjamin S. and Annie E. (Irvine) Horr, of Stone Mills, and their children are: Florence M., Mabel I., George S., Raymond H., and Grace G. William Knox, father of Mrs. Betsey Bonney, served in the War of 1812. He was born in Tunbridge, Vt., and when 19 years of age removed to Sackets Harbor, and cut the first tree where that village now stands.
James Wood's daughter, Mrs. Abel Davis, a very intelligent lady, now in her 80th year, residing in Jewettsville, has given the writer many reminiscences of her father. She was the fourth child of James and Caroline Wood. They came into the Black River country about 1804, having kept a tavern in Watertown, near the site of the old Gilson hotel, now the Woodruff House. Mr. Wood was a soldier in the War of 1812, and his children tell of their mother baking bread for the soldiers at Brownville. But Mr. Wood is best remembered from his connection with the James Wood Falls, between Watertown and Brownville. He built one of the first saw mills on the site now occupied by the Farwell & Rhynes mill. He afterwards built a cloth dressing and wool carding establishment at Brownville, being the first to introduce into Northern New York weaving by water power. He was a progressive, stirring man, the contemporary of Adriel Ely, Ely Farwell, the Loomis family at Brownville, and those other prominent ones who were veritable "heroes of discovery."
One of his later attempts at erecting buildings and dams was at the Falls which still bears his name, where he had erected a saw mill and ran it several years, when he constructed a large woolen factory, 350 feet long and 80 feet wide. It was nearly completed, and he was awaiting the arrival of his machinery from the East, when a tremendous spring freshet came and swept away in one night the dam, the saw mill and the woolen factory so completely that not a sliver of the whole concern was left. So noiseless was the destruction that Mr. Wood was unaware of his loss until he went out at sunrise to go to his factory.
The stone house he had built for his family and the large stone barn near the house, yet stand, probably two of the oldest buildings on the Brownville road.
Discouraging as had been Mr. Wood's experience upon Black River, he sold the "Jim Wood" Falls property and followed down the stream to Dexter, where he built a dwelling and a saw mill. This last was consumed by a fire, which also destroyed $5,000 worth of fine lumber. After this disastrous fire he gave over the lumber business to his two sons. He afterwards built the propeller James Wood, the first vessel of that character upon Lake Ontario, and also built and ran boats on the Oswego and Erie canals.
His restless ambition at last led him to Michigan, where he was a commission merchant in lumber at Detroit. He died in that city in 1852, and his remains were brought to Brownville and interred in the village cemetery. No man excelled James Wood in enterprise and fearlessness. Had his financial capacity been equal to his progressive genius, he might have ranked among the ablest and most successful men in the county.
MICHAEL VAN SCHAICK came into Brownville in 1817, and was engaged in farming. He married Caroline Traux, and they reared a large family. His wife died at the extreme age of 104 years. She had a sister who also lived to be 104. They were all a wonderful long-lived family. Another sister, Annie V., married first, Levi Livermore, and after his death she married Thomas Warren. She is now his widow, residing in Dexter with her daughter, Mrs. James Gilmore, at the age of 95, and is as smart as if only 50.
Michael Van Schaick had a brother named Henry, residing in the town of Adams, whose son, Emery Van Schaick, was the man murdered by Duncan, who is now serving a life sentence at Auburn. The parents of this unfortunate victim are yet living near Adams Centre.
JOHN COLE, a native of Montgomery County, came to Brownville in 1802, among the early settlers, and located upon a farm near Perch River, now known as the Cole farm. In the early days the town meetings were held upon this farm. Mr. Cole died here at the age of 81 years. He married Polly Waters, and their children were: Walter, Samuel, John, Betsey, Abigail, Margaret, Clarissa and Polly. John married Elizabeth, daughter of Seth and Mary Cole, of Bennington, Vt., and they had children as follows: Mary, Elizabeth, Caroline, George, Jane, Edward and Byron. The latter, born in this town, where he now resides, married Annie, daughter of Clement and Betsey (Hamilton) Hawley, of Perch River, and they had four children, viz: Earl B., Josie M., Grace D., and John. Francis Cole, brother of John, the early settler here, served in the Revolutionary War, and was made prisoner by the Indians at Fort Stanwix, when 15 years of age, and was taken to an island in the St. Lawrence River, and sold or given to a merchant in Lower Canada, where he remained many years. He finally removed to this town, and later to Watertown, where he died.
WILLIAM PENN MASSEY, son of Solon and Mary Esther (Boult) Massey, and grandson of Hart Massey, was born in 1824 on his father's farm, two and a half miles from Watertown on the Sackets Harbor road. He died at Brownville in 1885, aged 60 years. He was educated at the select schools of Brownville, and at the Black River Institute, at Watertown. In 1846-47 he attended medical lectures at a university in New York city, where he graduated in the latter year, after which he practiced his profession in Brownville with remarkable success until his death. Politically he was a stanch Republican. He and his amiable wife were prominent members of the Presbyterian Church. He married, May 8, 1848, Adaline A., daughter of Charles and Addie (Macomber) Smith, of Utica, N. Y. She is now deceased.
CHARLES WELCH, a native of New Hampshire, came to Brownville in the early days, when there were but two log houses in Watertown. He died in Brownville, aged 88 years. He married Eunice Cole, and they reared a number of children. Nathan married, first, Susan Anderson, of Clayton, by whom he had seven children, viz: Lyman M., Eliza, James S., Olive, Anderson C., Owen E., and John H. His second marriage was with Jane DeLong, of DeKalb, St. Lawrence county, and their children were Susan, Ida, Charles and Lewis. John H. Welch married Nancy, daughter of John and Hannah Gunn, of Herkimer, N. Y., and their children are Stella, Maggie M., Arthur J., Clark N., and Mabel S. He served three years in the late war in Co. I, 10th New York Heavy Artillery, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war.
NATHANIEL PECK, who served at Sackets Harbor in the War of 1812, was born at Danbury, Conn., in 1782. His father, Eliphalet Peck, also a native of Danbury, served with three brothers in the Revolutionary war, and was taken prisoner in New York city by the British. Nathaniel married Abigail, daughter of Samuel Starr, of Brownville, and they had eight children. Spencer S. B. served in Co. B, 177th New York Vols., in the Port Hudson campaign. He owns the homestead farm of his great grandfather, Samuel Starr, and adjoining the farm once occupied by his grandfather, Nathaniel Peck.
EBENEZER ALLISON, a native of New Hampshire, came to Brownville while young and finally located on a farm on road 28, where he died at the advanced age of 83 years. He took part in the battle of Sackets Harbor. He married Phoebe Phillips, of Brownville and their children were Sally, Polly, Esther, Julia, Henry W., Jane, Hannah, Louisa, Simeon and Harlon. He resides in this town on the homestead farm where he has lived 18 years.
CONKEY MOFFATT was a native of North Adams, Mass., whence he removed to Otsego county, New York, and in 1818 to Brownville where he was one of the first settlers. He died in Brownville in 1841, aged about 70 years. He married Olive Hinman, who bore him nine children.
RICHARD BUCKMINSTER was born in Plattsburgh, N. Y., in 1800. In 1816 he located in Watertown and in 1819 removed to Brownville, where he remained until his death, in 1884, aged 84 years. He married Mary, daughter of Frederick Avery, and they had six children, viz: Charles, Nancy, Myron, Frederick, Bruce and Woodruff. The latter married Adelaide, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Vaughn) Buckminster, of Brownville, and they had one son, now deceased. Frederick Buckminster married Florence, daughter of John and Mary A. (Knox) Cole, of Brownville, and they had one son, Evan. Mr. Frederick Buckminster served in Co. I, 10th New York Heavy Artillery, in the late war, and died July 13, 1870, aged 29 years. His widow survives him.
WILLIAM T. SKINNER was born in Westmoreland, N. Y., in 1826, and died in 1878. When four years of age he came with his father, Alanson, to this town and here remained until his death. His occupation was that of a foundryman, and he continued in that business in the buildings erected by his father, until his decease. He married Lucy, daughter of Oliver and Mary (Ormsby) Horr, of Watertown, who survives him, and resides in California, with her son Frederick. They had born to them two children, Frederick W. and Albert A. Albert A. is dead.
WILLIAM P. SMITH, a native of Brownville, married, first, Clara Lounsbury, of Niagara County, New York, who bore him one son. She died in 1878, aged 42 years. In 1880 he was married to Mrs. Belle Kilborn, of Clayton. He is now a farmer at Perch River. He commenced his life as a poor boy, and for many years lived with John Prior. By industry and frugality he had become quite successful as a farmer. He served in Co. A, 35th N. Y. Vols., and in Co. G, 6th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, and received an honorable discharge.
HENRY FREDENBERG, a native of Ulster county, came to Brownville in 1837, where he died in 1872, aged 76 years. He served in Company M, 10th N. Y. Heavy Artillery one year. He married first, Annie Shower, of Ulster county, and their children were: Albert, Elias, John, Mary J., David, Sylvia, James C., Eliza, George and Lottie. His second marriage was with Annie Beckwith. James C. married Hattie, daughter of Alexander Hayes, of Chaumont, and they have two children. He served two enlistments in the late war, in Company M, 2d Regiment N. Y. Volunteer Infantry, and in Co. E, 186th Regt. N. Y. Vol. Infantry; being honorably discharged. He served in the battles of Bull Run and Antietam, and in front of Petersburg. He resides in Limerick.
JOSEPH UNDERWOOD, son of Joseph Underwood who served in the Revolutionary war, was born in Vermont, whence he emigrated to Rutland in 1800, and was one of the first settlers of that town, where he lived 35 years, when he removed to Brownville, dying in 1843, aged 72 years. He married Rebecca Hayes, who bore him seven children, viz: William, Elizabeth, Sarah, Clarissa, Joseph, Hulda and Warren. Joseph, a native of Rutland, came to Brownville in (page missing) COL. NEWTON B. LORD was the son of Colonel William Lord, whose biographical sketch [precedes this one.] His mother's maiden name was Miss Charlotte Thomas, and Newton was born January 1, 1832.
By nature he was of an adventurous, very independent and of somewhat erratic disposition; traits that were traceable, perhaps, to the fact that he was a rich man's son, and not dependent upon daily labor for his support, nor subject to discipline in his youth. He was once a partner with his father in the foundry business, and was always an unusually prompt and decided business man, backed by a distinctly original, if not a matured mind. His father had been a soldier in the War of 1812, and was a trusted friend of Gen. John A. Dix, who had then risen to be captain of a company, and was earning the fame he afterwards achieved -- a sincere patriot. 'Twas he who gave the order to "shoot upon the spot any man who attempted to haul down the United States flag."
Newton B. had heard much about the profession of arms from his father, and when the news came that Sumpter had been fired upon, he aided in raising a company, and it was mustered in at Elmira, becoming Company K, 35th N. Y. Volunteer Infantry. Captain Lord, when he first came to Elmira, saw that the colonel who was afterwards chosen to command the 35th, was a man unable to lead that grand body of men into action, or to subject them to the proper discipline that should mould them into efficient soldiers; and so he decided to try his best to gain the command, and become colonel. In this he was finally successful, but he was never safe from the same spirit of intrigue which he had helped to inaugurate, and was at last himself a victim to the spirit of discontent that always characterized the line and staff officers of that excellent body of men. After his regiment had participated under his leadership in all of its important battles, his resignation was accepted. This, however, was not done until several of his friends among the officers of the 35th (a two year regiment), had promised their support in organizing a cavalry command when the 35th should be mustered out and the men ready in all likelihood to return to the field as veterans, and with a large bounty as an inducement for further service. Accordingly the 20th N. Y. Volunteer Cavalry was formed; Colonel Lord was made its colonel; Colonel David M. Evans was made lieutenant colonel. This was a large and very able regiment, nearly every person in it having seen hard service at Fredericksburg, Antietam and at Second Bull Run. It was unfortunate for Colonel Lord that he always manifested an unwillingness to obey promptly the order of a superior. This brought him in contact with the good and amiable General Wadsworth before the 35th had ever been under fire, and was a decided detriment when he came in conflict with General B. F. Butler while the 20th Cavalry was doing duty on the coast, within that General's command. He was deprived of his commission by Butler, and Colonel Evans thenceforth led the 20th Cavalry to the end of its service, sharing in the final winding up of the Confederacy in Virginia.
Colonel Lord became afterwards a railroad contractor, operating in that capacity finally in Chili, S. A., where he had important and valuable concessions from the government. But he was not destined again to see his native land, dying July 14, 1890, in his 59th year. Thus terminated an eventful and stirring life. He married Miss Cornelia Stone, who died in 1882. They reared four children: Robert, Richard, Kate and Maggie.
He was a man of some excellent traits of character. He was bold and enterprising, but his impatience under restraint detracted from his ability as a soldier, where implicit and unquestioning obedience is demanded at all times. His lineage was first-class, his education fair, but it seems that his success was less than it might have been had he held a stricter and closer rein upon his own will. He had the bearing of a soldier, but his will was scarcely ever in accord with his superior in rank. Had he held a roving commission, like Marion in the Revolution, he might have achieved an enduring success.
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