ACHSBanner8

Town of Granger

Biographical Sketches

(taken from "THE HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, NEW YORK"; Beers & Company, 1879)

SURNAMES:

ATHERTON, ATTWOOD, ALBEE, BALDWIN, BENNETT, COLLISTER, COMSTOCK, COOPER, CROTTY, DOANE, FULLER, HOLADY, KINGSBURY, MOSES, PARKER, PHINNEY, PITT, REYNOLDS, SEEKINS, SMITH, SNYDER, STOCKWELL, TADDER, TUTTLE, VAN NOSTRAND, WEAVER, WOODRUFF & YAGER


             ATHERTON, Stephen; farmer, was born April 2nd, 1796, in Kingston, Pa.  He came to Granger in September, 1805, from Steuben county.  He married Anna Huff, of Caneadea, February 25th, 1829.  He served one term as commissioner of highways.

********

            ATTWOOD, Freeman; boot, shoe and leather merchant, was born November 7th, 1798, in Massachusetts, as we are informed by his son Freeman B. Atwood, and removed from Boston to Granger in 1833.  He was once justice of sessions, and also served as justice of the peace.  He died September 7th, 1869.

********

            ALBEE, D.W.C.; carriage maker, was born in Hume, May 30th, 1841, and came to Granger in 1867.  The previous year, January 22nd, his marriage with Miss Emma M. Barrows, of Rochester occurred.  He is overseer of the poor.

********

            BALDWIN, G.W.; farmer, son of Enos Baldwin, was born in Granger, October 14th, 1834.  His father, a native of Connecticut, came to the county about 1823, and settled at Short Tract.  He was one of the prominent men of the town, and is honorably mentioned in the history of Granger.  G. W. Baldwin married Miss Alice Gray, of Allen, November 22nd, 1857.  He owns one hundred and forty-six acres of land, and holds the position of excise commissioner.

********

            BENNETT, Daniel; a native of England, was born February 1st, 1823.  In 1831 he came to America.  He married Miss Sylvia Hatch, of Granger, November 8th, 1846.  Miss Hatch’s father, Isaac Hatch, is the subject of some interesting comments in the history of Granger.  Daniel Bennett is a farmer, and owns seventy acres of land.  He was at one time collector of the town.

********

            BENNETT, Mrs. Frances; a native of England, was born March 17th, 1809.  She came to the town of Granger in 1833.  She married James Bennett, also a native of England.  He died April 5th, 1876, aged sixty-nine.  Mrs. Bennett has five children.  She is living near her youngest son, Frederick A. Bennett, a blacksmith and wagon-maker, who was born in Granger, September 18, 1846.  He married Miss Mary Smith, of Granger, in 1864.  His brother, James H. Bennett, was a soldier in the 85th New York volunteers, and died August 9th, 1864, in Andersonville prison, after three years’ imprisonment.

********

            BENNETT, Jesse; merchant and postmaster at Short Tract, was born in Granger, December 14th, 1844.  His father, John Bennett, was a native of England and came to America in 1830.  Mr. Bennett has held the office of assessor in Allen, where he has a farm of eighty-two acres.  November 5th, 1865, he married Miss Carrie Snyder, of Granger.  During the war Mr. Bennett was in the 104th N.Y. volunteers.  He participated in twenty-one battles, and was an inmate of a rebel prison five months.

********

            COLLISTER, J. R.; a life-long resident of Granger, was born January 1st, 1834.  His wife was formerly Miss Elizabeth Bennett of Granger.  They were married May 1st, 1860.  His occupation is that of a merchant.  He is the present town clerk, and has held that office for twelve years.

********

            COMSTOCK, Abner; came to Allegany county in January, 1823, and bought forty acres of land in Granger.  He helped to make seven miles of road toward Nunda, built a log house, and helped to put up other buildings at an early date.  He has been assessor, collector and constable.  His native State is Massachusetts, and the date of his birth was August 2nd, 1797.  July 30th, 1816, he was married to Miss Nancy Royce of Connecticut.  Mr. Comstock is one of the oldest men in the town.

********

            COOPER, G. W.; a native of Yates county, was born November 7th, 1829.  He came to Granger in 1877, and is a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.  July 4th, 1854, he was married to Miss Mary E. Watson, of Gainesville.  They have two daughters.  He owns a farm of fifty acres in the town of Hume.

********

            CROTTY, John; farmer and owner of fifty acres of land, a native of Waterloo, Seneca county, was born June 15th, 1840.  He came to Granger in 1857.  He served in the late war in the 85th N.Y. volunteers, and participated in ten battles.  He was taken prisoner at Plymouth, N.C., and taken to Andersonville, where he remained nine months, after which he spent three months in a prison at Florence, S.C., and was finally paroled.  He was married October 23rd, 1867, to Miss Frances M. Price, of Genesee Falls.

********

            DOANE, Samuel; whose post-office address is Nunda, Livingston county, was born July 19th, 1820, in that part of Nunda which is now in the town of Granger.  His father, Harris Doane, came to Allegany county when it was new and helped to cut the State road between Nunda and Granger.  He died in 1866, aged seventy-six.  Samuel Doane married Miss Elizabeth Van Antwerp, in 1841.  She died December 24th, 1849.  He married, in 1850, Miss Catharine Mosher, who died March 20th, 1854.  September 23rd, 1855, he was married the third time, to Miss Esther Warren.  He is a farmer, owning fifty-eight acres.

********

            FULLER, Alonzo W.; was born in Burlington, VT., March 5th, 1818.  He came to the town of Granger in 1834.  January 13th, 1850, he married Miss Anna Van Nostrand, also a native of Vermont.  Mr. Fuller is a farmer and, in partnership with his son, Frederick Fuller, owns a farm of two hundred and twelve acres, the younger Mr. Fuller holding a deed for fifty acres.  Alonzo W. Fuller has held the offices of school inspector, collector and commissioner of highways.  His son, who is living with him, was married in June, 1873.

********

            HOLADY, Harlon; farmer and owner of one hundred and thirty-seven and a half acres of land, was born in Le Roy, N.Y., October 5th, 1818, and came to Granger from that place, with his parents, in 1826.  They took up fifty acres of land on Oak Hill, and built a log house and a frame barn, which was the first of the kind in that part of the county.  His father also helped to build the first log school-house.  January 4th, 1846, Mr. Harlon Holady was married to Mary J. Hatch.  In 1853, he went to California and engaged in mining, but his wife’s death in 1854 caused his return home.  Two years later he was married a second time, to Miss Mary A. Cole, whose father, Thomas Cole, was also an early settler in the county.

********

            KINGSBURY, S. G.; was born in England, November 24th, 1824.  He came to Granger in 1836.  September 8th, 1874, he married Miss Mary Bullock, whose father, Ephraim Bullock, was born in 1792 in Orange county.  He is mentioned in the history of the town.

********

            MOSES, Aziza; a life-long resident of Granger, was born March 12th, 1836.  He was married November 29th, 1860, to Miss Emeline A. Reynolds, of Granger.  His occupation is farming.  Mr. Moses is serving his third term as deputy sheriff.  He has a family of four children, two boys and two girls.

********

            MOSES, Washington; son of Daniel Moses, was born in Granger, January 9th, 1834.  His father came to the county in April, 1823, and located on a farm on the old Church road, having previously lived in Lima, Livingston county.  He married Miss Ellen Parker, of Granger, January 8th, 1863.  He has served as collector and supervisor, and held the office of justice of the peace sixteen years.  At present Mr. Moses is associate judge, and clerk of the board of supervisors.  He is a farmer, owning one hundred and ten acres of land.

********

            PARKER, Jasper N.; born in Granger, July 31st, 1845.  He married Miss Laura J. Aldridge, of Granger, December 10th, 1866.  She died May 24th, 1873, and February 21st, 1877, he married Miss Louisa A. Suter, of Granger.  Mr. Parker is a farmer, and owns one hundred and thirty-eight acres of land.  His post-office address is Nunda, Livingston county.

********

            PHINNEY, Mrs. Elizabeth; formerly, Miss Elizabeth Baldwin, was born in Mount Morris, Livingston county, August 27th, 1822.  She came with her parents the following year to Granger.  Her father, Enos Baldwin, was for many years one of the leading men of the town.  She married Squire P. Jones, October 26th, 1844.  He died in December, 1852, and March 7th, 1855, she married Rev. S. Phinney.  He has since died, and Mrs. Phinney manages a farm of one hundred and nineteen acres.

********

            PITT, William; a native of England, was born January 31st, 1795.  He married Miss Elizabeth Vincent, also a native of England, October 4th, 1820, and came to Allegany county in 1830 and took up a farm of one hundred and forty acres.  He was the first assessor of the town (holding the office nine years), and has held the offices of town clerk and highway commissioner.  His wife died January 3rd, 1873, leaving a family of ten children.  Two of their sons were in the army.  One of them, Lieutenant George W. Pitt, of the 85th N.Y. volunteers, was taken prisoner at Plymouth.  John S. Pitt was in the 104th N.Y. volunteers.

********

            REYNOLDS, Mrs. Oril; wife of R. W. Reynolds, was born December 23rd, 1821, in Genoa, Cayuga county.  She came to Granger in 1829.  Her marriage with R. W. Reynolds took place July 25th, 1841.  Mr. Reynolds was born November 23rd, 1819.  He is a farmer, and owns one hundred and thirty-seven acres of land.  His father, Aziza Reynolds, came to the county in 1833, and died December 18th, 1877, at the age of seventy-eight.  His mother died in 1863, aged sixty-three.

********

            SEEKINS, J. B.;  a native of Geneseo, Livingston county, was born August 12th, 1829.  December 3rd, 1856, he was married to Miss Sarah A. Smith, of Granger.  In 1859, he came to Short Tract, from Le Roy, N.Y.  He is a farmer, and owner of about fifty-seven acres of land.  They have a daughter, Ida V. Seekins, who was born in 1862.

********

            SMITH, Andrew W., M.D.;  was born July 10th, 1838, in Granger.  Dr. Smith first read law, and was admitted to the bar May 6th, 1863.  He afterward commenced the study of medicine with Dr. W. M. Smith, of Angelica, and graduated at the Buffalo Medical College, February 20th, 1871.  His father, Dr. Reuben H. Smith, came to the county about 1828.  Dr. A. W. Smith was in the 85th regiment N.Y. volunteers during the late war.  He was promoted to first lieutenant October 9th, 1861.  He is at present serving as physician of the county alms-house.

********

            SNYDER, Edward G.; son of Benjamin Snyder, was born May 21st, 1819, in Rushville, and came to this county with his parents in 1826 and settled at Centreville.  After living there twelve years, they came to Granger.  February 14th, 1841, Edward Snyder married Miss Mary A. Curtis.  She died April 25th, 1847, leaving a family of three children, and December 31st, 1850, he married Miss Harriet Bennett.  She lived until October 5th, 1851, and he afterwards married Mrs. Maria Price, widow of Joseph Price, his present wife.

********

            SMITH, Aaron; one of the farmers of Granger, has been a life-long resident of the town, having been born here March 7th, 1822.  His father, Darling Smith, came to Allegany county in 1818, and died in June, 1846.

********

            STOCKWELL, Moses; son of Henry Stockwell, was born in Bainbridge, Chenango county, December 15th, 1833.  His father came to Allegany county in 1827, settling in Caneadea.  Moses Stockwell married Miss Mary I. Chaffee, October 13th, 1857.  She died September 25th, 1865, and December 20th, 1866, he married Miss Abigail Cooper of Guilford, Chenango county.  In March, 1864, he removed to Granger, and has been supervisor and assessor, holding the last named office for six years.

********

            TADDER, David E.; was born March 1st, 1837, in Portage, Livingston county.  He married Miss Charlotte M. Aldrich, of Grove, February 28th, 1863.  They came to Granger in 1866, from West Union, Steuben county.  Mr. Tadder was in Company A, 104th N.Y. volunteers, and was wounded in the battle of Fredericksburg.  He is a farmer and owns one hundred and twelve acres of land.

********

TELLER(S), Henry M.

See Biographies section of website: Biographies T-V

            TUTTLE, George W.; was born in Bethany, Genesee county, July 2nd, 1826.  In 1849 he came to Granger, from Middlebury, Wyoming county.  His marriage with Miss Olive C. Hurd, of Hume, occurred April 3rd, 1854.  Mr. Tuttle is a farmer and the owner of eighty-two and a half acres of land.  He has filled the several offices of inspector of election, justice of the peace and assessor.  He has one son, who was born September 17th, 1857.

********

            TUTTLE, William N.; a native of Bethany, Genesee county was born June 11th, 1832.  He came to Granger with his parents in 1849 from Wyoming county.  He married Miss Mary Wilcox of Granger, August 26th, 1855.  He is a farmer and owns one hundred and forty-five and a half acres of land.  Mr. Tuttle has held the offices of commissioner of highways and assessor.

********

            VAN NOSTRAND, William; was born at Rock City Falls, Saratoga county, N. Y., in 1814, came with his parents to Short Tract in 1819, and located on the east side of the road, opposite where he now lives.  He was married in 1840, to Miss Emily C. Baldwin, of Short Tract.  She was born in Livingston county, N. Y., in 1819.  Their children are: Grace, born in 1846; Helen, born in 1849; Millie A. born in 1851; and Ethel M. born in 1862.  Mr. Van Nostrand is one of the most enterprising farmers in this town.  His father, Isaac Van Nostrand, was born in Connecticut in 1780, and died at Short Tract in 1859.  Mr. Van Nostrand’s mother’s maiden name was Grace Hatch.  She was born in Connecticut, in 1788, and died at Short Tract in 1835.  Mrs. Van Nostrand’s father, Enos Baldwin, was born in Connecticut, in 1797, and died at Short Tract in 1876.  Her mother, Almira Conkey, was born in Vermont in 1801, and died at Short Tract in 1853.  Mr. Van Nostrand owns the first frame barn built in this town, which is as good as new.  He has served his town as supervisor, besides filling minor offices.  His father built a saw-mill here in 1819.

********

            WEAVER, William; was born in Vermont, January 27th, 1828.  He came to Granger in 1830 with his father, William L. Weaver, who is living, at an advanced age.  William Weaver married Miss Esther Parker, of Granger, April 2nd, 1848.  He has a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres.  During the years 1870-71 and 1877-8, Mr. Weaver served as supervisor.  His son, Ira E. Weaver, was born June 25th, 1870.

********

            WOODRUFF, Floyd; was born March 6th, 1854, in Ashford, Cattaraugus county.  His father, Calvin Woodruff, was a native of the same town.  His mother, formerly Miss Harriett Van Ness, was born in England, and came to America when seven years old.  The family came to Granger from Pike, Wyoming county, in 1871.  Mr. Woodruff is a teacher.  He, with his father and brother, Mr. M. C. Woodruff, is engaged in farming and the manufacture of cheese.  Their farm consists of two hundred and thirteen acres.

********

            YAGER, Mrs. Jane A.; a life-long resident of Granger, was born September 4th, 1827.  She was a daughter of Enos Baldwin.  Her husband, William Yager, a native of Allen, died January 8th, 1877, aged fifty-eight years.