| Biographies |
The Village of Lewiston, quite possibly the oldest non-military community on the Niagara Frontier, was settled because of its location to the lower end of the portage end Niagara Falls. This portage was, in early days, the most important route to the upper lakes, and the French, realizing its hadvantages, built on the site as early as 1719, when Joincare settled a log house near the river. When the British took control of the French in 1759, they improved the portage by contructing a rude counter-balance railway to raise freight to the escarpment and employed wagons from there, rather than the backs of the Seneca Indians, as the French had done.
After the area had served largely as a home for Senecas, a few settlers moved to Lewiston, the first known being the tavern keeper, Middaugh, in 1788. Others who came from 1802 to 1810 included such well remembered pioneers as Capt. Lemuel Cook, Benjamin Barton, Alexander Millar and the Hustlers, proprietors of the tavern at which James Finnimore Cooper is reputed to have writen his famous book, "The Spy."
Romeo Burns volunteered in 1862, at the age of 19, and served with distinction throughout the Civil War. Entering as a private, he became Sergeant, and finally 1st Lieutenant, in the 8th New York Heavy Artillery. In the fall of 1864, he was ill for two months in a New York hospital, but recovered and returned to active duty until the summer of 1865. Following the war, he went to Chicago, read law with Eldridge and Turtlelott, and passed the Illinois State Bar examinations. He practiced with considerable success until October 1871, when he lost most of possessions, including a valuable law library , in the Chicago fire. On the advice of friends, he became interested in the lumber business, and went first to the Straits of Mackinac, where he and his wife endured all the rigors of frontier life. A year later, travelling in a covered wagon, he and his wife moved to Canton, MO, where he spent several years as manager of a lumber mill. He later moved to Sylvania, OH where he continued as a lumberman in Toledo
Thomas E. Clark is a son of Henry Wells [Clark] and Elizabeth (Evans) Clark and was born on the 12th day of April, 1829, at Niagara Falls. At the age of eighteen years he went to Boston, where he learned the trade of machinist, serving an apprenticeship of three years, after which he accepted a position as locomotive engineer for one year, and then was in the employ of the New York Central railroad for twenty years as an assistant ticket agent at Niagara Falls, Upon the death of his father he became ticket and freight agent. He engaged in the coal business for one year, and since that time has lived a comparatively retired life, working at intervals as a machinist. In politics he is a democrat, and has served in the office of village superintendent, on the board of health, and also as a member of the board of trustees.
On October 5,1859, he married Mary P. Bairsto, a daughter of Moses and /Caroline (Latta) Bairsto. Moses Bairsto, a native of Connecticut, came to Lewiston, this county, in 1828, where he died in 1878. He was a successful merchant and prominent business man, a Whig, and served the town for sixteen years as supervisor.
As an educated machinist and skilled engineer Thomas E. Clark had
every
opportunity to see and know all the practical workings of railroading,
and the major part of his life has been devoted to the New York Central
railroad, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, railroad in the
world.
Mr. Clark may well feel proud of his ancestry, and it is glory enough
to
know that some of the branches of the tree participated in the great
American
revolution, and spilled blood in the cause of human rights and freedom.
Joshua Ely, emigrant ancestor of this Ely family, was born in
Mansfield, County Notts, England, about 1656, the son of George and
Sarah (Heath) Ely of Mansfield. He married, by Friends' ceremony,
October 29,1673, Mary Senior (see note). From Friends' Register of
marriages at Nottingham, the following record is taken: "Joshua Ely of
Mansfield, married Mary Senior, daughter of Alice Senior, at George
Cockaran's house at Skegby, 29-8-1673."
With his wife and family, he joined the West Jersey colony sometime
prior to 1685, at which date four hundred acres of the Ballifield
plantation of his brother-in-law was transferred to him. The deed
included, "all ye mines, minerals, woods, fishing, hawking, hunting,
and fowling." The land was situated with a frontage on the Delaware of
five-eights of a mile and extended back from the river one mile, the
consideration being, "seven and forty pounds and ten shillings."
In this deed, Joshua Ely is mentioned as late of Dunham,
Nottinghamshire, which is a few miles west of Mansfield, where he had
evidently removed some time before his departure for America.
There is on record from 1678 to 1700 a number of transfers of land
between Mahlon Stacy, Joshua Ely, and Thomas Revell, and the presence
of these men in this vicinity is doubtless responsible for the naming
of the early townships of Chesterfield and Mansfield, near Trenton,
after their old homes in England. The present village of Ely in
Monmouth County, New Jersey, and Ely in Bucks County, across the
Delaware, were named by branches of this family at a later period.
Joshua Ely apparently severed his connections with the Society of
Friends before his removal to New Jersey; for no record is found of a
certificate of transfer nor any evidence of his having association with
the society in this country; and, though some of his children and
grandchildren were members, they seem to have acquired their membership
by admission after arriving at the age of maturity, and not by
birthright.
In 1699, and again in 1700, Joshua Ely was commissioned a justice of
Burlington County. this office was one of highest importance in
colonial days and carried with it that of justice of the several courts
of Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions and Orphan's court.
He resided on the property acquired from Mahlon Stacy until his
death in 1702. His first wife, Mary Senior, died in 1698; and he
married (second) November 8, 1699, Rachel Lee, who survived him.
In his rise from a log cabin to wealth and the White House, Millard Fillmore demonstrated that through methodical industry and some competence an uninspiring man could make the American dream come true.
Born in the Finger Lakes country of New York in 1800, Fillmore as a youth endured the privations of frontier life. He worked on his father's farm, and at 15 was apprenticed to a cloth dresser. He attended one-room schools, and fell in love with the redheaded teacher, Abigail Powers, who later became his wife. In 1823 he was admitted to the bar; seven years later he moved his law practice to Buffalo. As an associate of the Whig politician Thurlow Weed, Fillmore held state office and for eight years was a member of the House of Representatives. In 1848, while Comptroller of New York, he was elected Vice President.
Fillmore presided over the Senate during the months of nerve-wracking debates over the Compromise of 1850. He made no public comment on the merits of the compromise proposals, but a few days before President Taylor's death, he intimated to him that if there should be a tie vote on Henry Clay's bill, he would vote in favor of it.
Thus the sudden accession of Fillmore to the Presidency in July 1850 brought an abrupt political shift in the administration. Taylor's Cabinet resigned and President Fillmore at once appointed Daniel Webster to be Secretary of State, thus proclaiming his alliance with the moderate Whigs who favored the Compromise.
A bill to admit California still aroused all the violent arguments for and against the extension of slavery, without any progress toward settling the major issues. Clay, exhausted, left Washington to recuperate, throwing leadership upon Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. At this critical juncture, President Fillmore announced in favor of the Compromise. On August 6, 1850, he sent a message to Congress recommending that Texas be paid to abandon her claims to part of New Mexico. This helped influence a critical number of northern Whigs in Congress away from their insistence upon the Wilmot Proviso--the stipulation that all land gained by the Mexican War must be closed to slavery. Douglas's effective strategy in Congress combined with Fillmore's pressure from the White House to give impetus to the Compromise movement. Breaking up Clay's single legislative package, Douglas presented five separate bills to the Senate:
1.Admit California as a free state.
2.Settle the Texas boundary and compensate her.
3.Grant territorial status to New Mexico.
4.Place Federal officers at the disposal of slaveholders seeking
fugitives.
5.Abolish the slave trade in the District of Columbia.
Each measure obtained a majority, and by September 20, President Fillmore had signed them into law. Webster wrote, "I can now sleep of nights." Some of the more militant northern Whigs remained irreconcilable, refusing to forgive Fillmore for having signed the Fugitive Slave Act. They helped deprive him of the Presidential nomination in 1852.
Within a few years it was apparent that although the Compromise had been intended to settle the slavery controversy, it served rather as an uneasy sectional truce. As the Whig Party disintegrated in the 1850's, Fillmore refused to join the Republican Party; but, instead, in 1856 accepted the nomination for President of the Know Nothing, or American, Party. Throughout the Civil War he opposed President Lincoln and during Reconstruction supported President Johnson. He died in 1874.
Venu en Alsace,Lautenbach,vers 1698, originaire de HOECHST(Autriche-Vorarlberg) sans doute dans le cadre du flux migratoire des possessions des Habsbourg pour repeupler l'Alsace suite à la Guerre de Trente Ans..Locataire d'une ferme du Chapitre de Lautenbach:15/12/1709, sise à Saint-Gangolf,bail pour 9 ans(100livres/an à payer aux chanoines). "Civis",admis à la bourgeoisie en 1729.Construit une nouvelle maison à St.Gangolphe
Rough English translation: Came to Lautenbach, Alsace, about 1698, originating in Hoechst, Vorarlberg, Austria, undoubtedly within the Hapsburg plan to repopulate their possessions in Alsace following the Thirty Years' War. His farm was located in the Chapter of Lautenbach December 15, 1709, located with Saint-Gangolf, and leased for 9 years (100 livres/year). Admitted to the middle-class in 1729. Constructed a new house in St.Gangolphe.
Voiturier. -Elu Maire de Lautenbach en 1792, mais sera traduit devant le tribunal révolutionnaire. Prisonnier-otage à Colmar1793 suite troubles contre-révolutionnaires. Acquiert en 1795 une partie des propriétés capitulaires de St.Gangolphe. 10 enfants de deux unions.
Rough English translation: Carrier -- Elected official Mayor of Lautenbach in 1792, but will be brought in front of the revolutionary tribunal. Prisoner-hostage in Colmar in 1793 due to a continuation of disturbances by counter-revolutionaries. In 1795, obtained a part of the capitular properties of St.Gangolphe. Had 10 children in two marriages.
Voiturier, Charron. Puis "industriel":à l'origine de la destinée économique de la lignée GERRER. En 1826 acquiert une ancienne scierie à Lautenbach-Zell et réédifie à partir de 1853 une usine (55 ouvriers) et s'agrandit sur Linthal où il construit une usine achevée 28/7/1865 après de multiples tracas. En 1875 achète l'ancien moulin à farine du Châpitre de Lautenbach: installe une filature au rez-de-chaussée et son habitation au 1er.étage. Aura 23 enfants de 4 mariages successifs.
Rough English translation: Carrier, Cartwright --
Michel
started an industrial tradition in the economic destiny of the Gerrer
family.
In 1826, he acquired and rebuilt an old sawmill at
Lautenbach-Zell.
Since 1853, he operated a factory with 55 workmen. He completed a
larger factory in Linthal on July 28, 1865, after solving multiple
problems.
In 1875, he bought the old flour mill in Châpitre de
Lautenbach,
installed a spinning mill on the ground floor, and dwelled on the
second floor. He will have 23 children in 4 successive marriages.
As a boy, Ramona native Joe Habeger was fascinated by anything mechanical, an interest which served him throughout his careers as military pilot and aeronautical engineer.
During World War II, Habeger piloted 37 missions from Italy to German-occupied parts of Europe. Born in 1920, at 24 he became the youngest lieutenant colonel in the Army Air Force. After a 25-year career, during which he earned his high school diploma and bachelors and masters degrees, he retired a full colonel.
Back in South Dakota, Habeger became a professor of mathematics and
physics at Dakota State University in Madison, where he also co-founded
Prairie Village, the upper Midwest’s granddaddy of restored pioneer
towns.
He continues to work for historical preservation at Prairie Village.
JACOBBERGER, E M: Retired; b Lenaunbach. Alsace-Lorraine Jan 18,
1876;
s of Michael Jacobberger-Theresa ___; ed Alsace-Lorraine; Creighton U,
1890; m Calista Donaldson Oct 1, 1900 Avoca Ia; d Cecilia Wisler, Melba
Hanlon; 1890-97 with Berkley Printing Co, Omaha, also printer &
professional
baseball player, St Louis; 1900-07 with Eggers-O'Flyng, Omaha; 1907-10
with World Herald & other newspapers, Omaha; 1910-14 owner &
publisher
Benson Times; 1914-15 with Douglas Printing Co; 1915-17 org & oprd
Eddy Printing Co, Omaha, 1929 consolidated with McCoy-Finlayson
Printing
Co & became Inland Press; 1930-38 Douglas Co commr; 1938- ret; C of
C; Concord Club, dir 3 years; past ofcr MWA; BPOE; FOE; AF&AM; Scot
Rite; Shrine; hobbies, hunting, fishing; res 2501 N 49th, Omaha.
Harry A. Jacobberger is an Omaha citizen who has made a great success by application to one line of work. Many years ago he entered the service of the old Kimball Laundry, and became so much a part of the organization that it eventually reflected his business direction and control, and for a number of years he has been president of the Kimball Laundry Company, owning and operating the largest and best equipped laundry plant in the state. The business is located at the corner of Fifteenth and Jones streets.
Mr. Jacobberger was born in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, July 14, 1879, and is of French and German ancestry. His parents were Michel and Theresa (Ritter) Jacobberger. His father, a resident of Omaha at the advanced age of eighty-five, was a merchant in Europe and in 1887 brought his family to the United States, settling in Omaha. His wife died there January 3, 1919. Their family consisted of five sons and two daughters, and Harry A. is next to the oldest. Michel Jacobberger was a soldier in the French troops sent to Mexico under Maximilian in the attempt to extend the power of Central Europe over that southern republic, an attempt which was foiled by the United States immediately following the close of the Civil war.
Harry A. Jacobberger was eight years of age when the family came to Omaha. He finished his education in public schools, and as a boy tried various occupations, spending five years of his early manhood as a cowboy in Wyoming. It was in 1903 that he returned to Omaha and became an employe of Frank Kimball, the founder of the Kimball Laundry. This employment he converted into the opportunity for a successful career. He began at the bottom, has handled practically every branch of the work, and today is sole proprietor and president of the company.
In 1910, when the business was incorporated, he secured his first share of stock. Mr. Kimball died in 1911. The Kimball Laundry was originally located in a small building at 1511 Jackson Street. In 1924 the company put up its present large building at Fifteenth and Jones streets. It is of reinforced concrete construction, four stories and basement, ground dimensions of 88 by 132 feet. The plant is of the modern factory type of construction and has about fifty-five thousand square feet of floor space. It is not only the largest laundry plant in Omaha and the state, but is probably the largest between Chicago and the Pacific Coast. Mr. Jacobberger has been president and executive head of the business since 1915. His position as a successful business man is also indicated by the honor he holds as serving as president of the Omaha Manufacturers Association.
Mr. Jacobberger on October 10, 1911, married Miss Georgia Edna Farnsworth, of Omaha. They are the parents of three children, Harry Frederick, Virginia Ann and Robert Louis.
He is a member of the executive committee of the Omaha Chamber of
Commerce,
is a member of the Omaha Athletic Club, Omaha Elks Club, is a Catholic
in religion, belongs to the Lakoma Country Club, and his recreations
are
golf, hunting and fishing. He is a Republican, but has never been a
candidate
for office. He took an active part in the various drives during the
World
war.
Prominent Portland, Oregon, architect in the first third of the 20th century with the firm of Jacobberger and Smiith. At least 11 of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the home that he designed and built for his his own family. His buildings included residences for some of Portland's wealthiest families, commercial buildings including hotels, and religious structures including St. Mary's Cathedral where his grandson is now the pastor. Photographs of his buildings are displayed at the Oregon State Archives website.
From, “History of Oregon, Vol. 2,” by Charles Henry Carey (Pioneer Historical Pub. Co., Chicago, 1922), pp. 452-453Since 1890 Joseph Jacobberger has been a resident of Portland and he is numbered among the leading architects of the city, many of whose most substantial and beautiful public edifices stand as monuments to his skill and ability in his chosen life work. He was born in Alsace-Lorraine in 1869, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Jacobberger. In 1871 his parents emigrated to America, becoming residents of Omaha, Nebraska, where the father engaged in business as a contractor and builder.
After completing his high school course Joseph Jacobberger entered Creighton University of Omaha, where he acquired his scientific training and following his graduation from that institution of learning he was employed for a number of years as draftsman in architects' offices. In 1890 he arrived in Portland and for five years worked as a draftsman for the firm of Whidden & Lewis, leading architects of this city. On the expiration of that period he engaged in business Independently and is now accorded a good patronage, maintaining offices in the Board of Trade building. Among the notable buildings which he has designed may be mentioned the Nortonia and Willard hotels, the Home of the Good Shepherd, the Church of the Madeleine, St. Philip's church, the Knights of Columbus buildings, the Mount Angel College buildings, the Rose City Park school building and also many fine residences in the city. He is always to be relied upon in the execution of contracts and in his architectural work he combines utility and convenience with beauty of design.
In 1893 Mr. Jacobberger was united in marriage to Miss Anna Lillis of this city and they have become the parents of five children: Hubert, who pursued a course in engineering at the University of Oregon and is now engaged in that line of work; Francis, who was also graduated from the State University and is an architect by profession; Vincent, who completed a general course in the State University; Bertram, who is employed as a clerk in the Hibernian Bank; and Margaret, a student in St. Mary's Academy. The family resides in a fine country home at Hillsdale.
Mr. Jacobberger is a democrat in his political views and in religious faith is a Catholic, attending the cathedral in this city. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and an active worker in its ranks, being a past grand knight of the order and he is also identified with the City Club. His life work is a most useful one and he is never content with the second best but is ever striving to attain a higher degree of perfection in his chosen profession, in which he has now attained a position of prominence. He is a man of many sterling characteristics and Portland counts him as a valued acquisition to her citizenship.
When Michael moved his family to the United States in 1887, his
brother
Hubert was already living in Omaha. Michael and Hubert were the sons of
Bernard Jacobberger, who was the son of Francoise Antoine. Michael came
to this country so that his sons would not face conscription into the
German
army (several years after France had ceded the Alsace to Germany, a
term
in the surrender agreement which ended the Franco-Prussian war. Michael
and the rest of the Jacobberger clan considered themselves French even
though the family's origins have been traced to the Rhine river in
Germany
as far back as the year 1000. I have a copy of an extensive interview
Michael
gave to the Omaha newspaper in 1910 (when he was almost 70 years old)
that
says that the Jacobberger's, who owned vineyards and also made their
living
as carpenters, had lived in the Alsace for over 400 years when he came
to this country in 1887. Michael had served in the French army, and had
fought for the French against Mexican revolutionaries (in Mexico) in
1860
and 1861 when France attempted install a pupet dictator (Maximillian)
as
the Mexican leader.
United States Government Storekeeper, Willow Springs Distillery, was
born in Alsace, Germany, July 17, 1843. Was engaged in railroading and
station agent in Germany. Came to United States July, 1870, locating in
Fort Calhoun, Washington Co., Neb., engaged in clerking in store with
his
brother, J. B. He was appointed to present position December 1880. He
was
married in Omaha July 27, 1881, to Miss Anna Mehring, of Cedar Creek,
Cass
Co., Neb. She was born in Germany, October 7, 1858.
General merchandise, is a native of Alsace, France. He came to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1851, thence to Lancaster, N. Y. There he taught school a short time; in 1851 he came to Milwaukee; in 1853 he removed to St. Louis;in 1854 to Council Bluffs, and the same year came to Omaha; was employed as cook at the old Douglas House, at the time of the first session of the State Legislature, which assembled in 1855. He was married in Omaha July 6, 1856; came to Fort Calhoun in the spring of 1857; went to Colorado in 1860; returned to Fort Calhoun, December, 1863; the following spring he opened a general merchandise store which he still continues at the latter place; is doing a business of about $10,000 a year, was postmaster from 1865 to 1878. He owns a block on the south-west corner of Fourteenth and Dodge streets, Omaha, valued at $20,000; also forty acres at Fort Calhoun, and other property, all of which he has acquired since coming to Nebraska.
Benjamin F. :Latta, attorney at law, was born in Lewiston, Niagara County, New York, a son of Benjamin and Deborah (Stevens) Latta, both of whom were natives of the Empire State. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to an early period in the colonization of the new world, for in the beginning of the seventeenth century Mr. Latta’s great-grandfather and his two brothers came from Wales to the United states and all of the representatives of the name in this country at the present time are their descendants.
When Benjamin F. Latta was eight months old, his parents removed to Rock County, Wisconsin, where he spent his youth and acquired his early education at Allen’s Grove Academy. In 1864, he went to Racine, Wisconsin, where he took on the study of law with the firm of Paine and Millet of that city as his preceptors. In 1866, he took a course in the law department of the University at Albany, New York, and was graduated from that institution, after which he was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of the Empire state in 1867. Returning to Wisconsin, he engaged in farming for two years and then entered the firm of Bennett and Norcross at Janesville, Wisconsin, for the practice of law. In 1871, he opened an office and began prcticing at Clinton Junction, Wisconsin, where he soon secured a liberal clientage, there remaining until 1875, when he removed to Dodge Center. In 1878, he was a candidate for the office of county attorney, running upon an independent ticket, and was elected by a handsome majority. He proved a capable officer, discharging his duties without fear or favor.
In 1888, he came to St. Paul and has since practiced law in this city. He has met with a goodly measure of success and is an earnest, industrious practitioner.
Mr. Latta was married in 1874 to Miss Frances Samson, a daughter of Norvin Samson, of Orleans County, New York. They had two children: Mamie, now the wife of C. J. Kelly, a merchant of Langdon, North Dakota, and Minnie E., at home. Mrs. Latta died July 8, 1905, and was buried at Clinton, Wisconsin. Mr. Latta and his family are well known in St. Paul, where they have gained the warm friendship of many with whom they have come in contact.
Benjamin Latta, who is engaged in farming on section 34, Bradford Township, was born in the town of Lewiston, N. Y., on the Niagara River, not far from the Falls. The days of his boyhood and youth were spent upon his father's farm, and his life has been passed in agricultural pursuits. In the year 1841 he formed a matrimonial alliance with Deborah C. Stevens, who was born July 15, 1816, in Clarence, Erie Co., N.Y., were their marriage was celebrated. Ten children graced the union of this worthy couple, as follows: Susan C., who is now the wife of William Stewart, of Sommerville; William J. was a soldier in the late war, having enlisted at Beloit, in Company B., 40th Wisconsin Infantry, in the 100-day service; Benjamin Franklin is a practicing attorney of Minnesota; Almetta E., now Mrs. T. B. Mason, is a resident of Clinton, Wis.; Albert W. is engaged in farming near Jamestown, Dakota; George W., is an attorney of Antigo, Wis,; Darius K. is living on the old homestead; Josephine E., is the wife of F. D. Cowles, a resident of Darien, Wis.; Ida May is the wife of Frank Little, whose home is in Allen Grove, Wis.; and Dr. U. Grant lives in Chicago, where he has a large practice. For four years he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons in that city, and then entered upon the prosecution of his profession.
In the year 1846 Mr. Latta left the East, and accompanied by his family, emigrated to Rock County, Wis., settling in the town of Bradford, where he purchased 230 acres of land. Subsequent to that time he became the owner of ninety-two acres adjoining the old homestead, and under his able management, the farm has become one of the best in the township. At the time of his arrival the country was in a wild and uncultivated state; not a single improvement had been made on his land, and the settlements were few and far between. Wild game of all kinds abounded, including, deer, which would often come up to the door, and bands of strolling Indians were frequently seen. In the great changes which have taken place he has cheerfully borne his part, has aided in the transformation of the broad prairies into beautiful farms, has witnessed the rapid growth of town and village, and has seen the great strides which civilization has made. He has now retired from the more active duties of life, the farm being under the management of his son, Darius K., who was born on the old homestead in 1854, and has there passed his entire life. On the 29th day of December, 1880, he was united in marriage with Miss Carrie A. Hartshorn, who was born in the town of Clinton in 1861, and is the daughter of Charles Loring and Sarah (Fay) Hartshorn. An interesting family of four children has been born to them - Warren H., Lola May, Lillian and Fay L.
In 1887 Mr. Latta was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who
died at Clinton on the 14th day of May. Knowing that the end of her
life
was near, she directed all the arrangements for her funeral, and when
the
final summons came her six sons acted as pall-bearers for the loved
mother,
whom they were never again to see on this earth. During his long
residence
in Rock County, Mr. Latta has formed an extensive acquaintance, and is
held in the highest respect by his many friends. Mrs. Latta was a
devoted
member of the Congregational Church, of which church Mr. Latta is also
a member. Politically he is a Republican, and was originally a Whig,
having
supported Wm. Henry Harrison in 1840. He is now an old man
seventy-three
years of age, and has spent most of the days of his pilgrimage right
where
he now resides. We are pleased to record his sketch in the
history
of Rock County.
Samuel E. (4) Isaac S. (3) Samuel (2) James (1). Born May 28, 1849 at Friendship, N.Y.; m. Lura Merriam Brown of Wilcox, Pa. August 27, 1879. She was born at Wilcox, Pa. April 1, 1857; died November 19, 1921 at Syracuse, N.Y. Daughter of Jefferson L. and Helen Amanda Brown. D.A.R. No. 30946. For her lineage see Genealogy of Rasselas W. Brown and Mary Potter Brown in Colorado State Library. In the history of the Brown family it says that Emmit Latta came from a line of distinguished soldiers in all the Colonial and Indian wars. Veteran Civil War. Enlisted in Battery A, 1st U.S. Art. re-enlisted in I Co. 19th N.Y. Cav. He also served in the regular army at the close of the Civil War in the 4th U.S. Infantry. Senior member of Latta Bros. bicycle mfg. Vice President Citizens National Bank of Friendship, N.Y. Vice President Reliance Shoe Co. of Friendship, N.Y. Vice President Brown Bankin Co. of Wilcox, Pa. Member of Brown, Latta & Condon, real estate, Wilcox, Pa. Vice President of Bale St. Paul Lumber Co. of St. Pauls Bay, P.Q. Canada. Was 1st Vice President of Board of Trustees when Friendship was incorporated. War President Board of Education for over ten years. Had 176 patents granted him in the U.S. Patent Office for mechanical inventions. In 1922 he lived at Syracuse, N.Y. He compiled a short history of the Latta family, "American Descendants of James Latta." This book can be found at the state Library in Albany N.Y.
{1996 update: Emmit, along with his father Samuel, mother Orpha and brother Adrian, were one of the first to build a home in the town now called Lily Dale, NY. This town was built on a new way of religious thinking, the founders called themselves " Free-Thinkers" a religious belief which helped form what is now known as "Spiritualism"}
from John S. Minard, Allegany County and its People. A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany County, New York, (W. A. Fergusson & Co., Alfred, N.Y., 1896) p. 725.
E. [Emmett] G. LATTA, son of S. E. and Orpha (GORTON) LATTA, was
born
in Friendship in 1849. He received a common school education, and in
1864,
when but 15, enlisted without his parent's consent. His father went to
President Lincoln and obtained a special order for his discharge. After
staying at home two months he re-enlisted and served until the close of
the war. He then enlisted for a third time, and served a full term in
the
regular army, finally leaving the N.Y. Dragoons, the third, Co. A, 4th
U. S. Infantry. He was with the engineers who located the first Pacific
railroad through the Rocky Mountains, and was one of the first
organized
party of white men who explored the Yellowstone Park, was in the Black
Hills before the discovery of gold there and was twice wounded by
Indians
in the country. In civil life he has become known to the mechanical
world
as the inventor of more improvements in bicycles than any two other
men.
Over 100 patents have been granted on his inventions, 80 of which apply
to bicycles, and there is not at present made a bicycle that does not
contain
some of his inventions. He has been a member of the Board of Education
since it was organized in 1887, and president of the board for several
years. He has been chief engineer of the fire Department, and is a
member
of Hatch Post, G. A. R., Allegany Lodge, F. & A. M., and Van Campen
Lodge, I. O. O. F. IN 1889 he married Lura M. BROWN of Wilcox, Pa.
Children,
Jefferson B., F. Raymond and Hubert I.
b. July 30, 1880 at Friendship, N.Y.; m. Elizabeth Francis Wilson at
Bellows Falls, Vt. April 28, 1899. Enlisted at Buffalo, N.Y. July 29,
1898
in 202d N.Y. Vols. in Cuba. Mustered out with company at Savanna, Ga.
April
15, 1899. Graduate Columbia College. Practiced medicine for twelve
years
in Syracuse, N.Y. Raised an Ambulance company and went to World War
with
rank of Caption U.S. Medical Corps. Promoted to Major for distinguished
services. Organized and commanded Ambulance Pool at Brent, France with
60 motor ambulances, 400 officers and men. Received commendation from
Gen.
Pershing; promoted to Lieut. Colonel. In 1923 Executive Officer U.S.
Veteran
Hospital, No. 76, Maywood, Ills.
James (2) James (1). Born at Wallkill, N.Y. April 14, 1776; d. at Charlotte (Rochester), N.Y. February 4, 1827; m. twice. Name of first wife, Mary ____, unknown, by whom he had one daughter, who died young. Second wife: Lydia Arnold (daughter of Daniel and Esther Fox Arnold) at Geneva, N.Y. May 12, 1806 and soon after settled at Charlotte (now Rochester), N.Y. She was born at East Haddam, Conn. January 19, 1786, and died at Charlotte November 26, 1866. (For the ancestry of Lydia Arnold, and her children, through two of the "Mayflower" pilgrims, and back of them through William the Conqueror, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, the Vikings, and the present Royal family of England, and her relationship to six presidents, Adams (father and son), Taylor, Grant, Taft and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, see Note of last page of this branch, No. 4. Related also to King Robert Bruce of Scotland. In the War of 1812, a British sentinel paced up and down the hall one night in the home of Samuel and Lydia Arnold Latta, and she was taken with a friend to the guard house by a British soldier. The story of Guernsey & Bushnell was seized, and a receipt was given George C. Latta, the clerk, who thought it was a one sided business deal. The day after their marriage they went to the village (now Rochester) at the mouth of the river, and erected a house the S.E. corner of Broadway, now Lake Ave. and Latta Road. A portion of the house in 1934 was standing there. They were grantors of land in 1811 and 1812 and Samuel was grantee of land in Monroe Co. in 1809. This land extended along the Latta Road from Samuel Latta's home to the Port of Rochester. At the foot of this street on the Genesee River was the boat landing known as Latta's Landing.
After the death of Samuel, Lydia married: John Beals, of Grace Tp.
History
of Monroe Co., N.Y. p. 204, pub. 1877: "The village of Charlotte is
located
near the mouth of Genesee River, in the town of Greece. The most
prominent
of the first settlers was Samuel Latta, who came from Geneva, N.Y. in
1796,
as agent for Phelps & Gorham in the sale of lands. He was appointed
the first Collector of the Port of Genesee by President Jefferson,
January
17, 1808. He was one of the master spirts for Charlotte Harbor." The
original
appointment as Collector is in the possession of Mrs. Kata Kinner,
daughter
of Esther Agnes Latta Deyo, daughter of Samuel Latta.
From source #262, 80 immigrants:
Our Merrill-Covell pedigree,
by Gladys Merrill Covell Parsons (privately published, Detroit, 1969)
(G10, note S5813)
Nathaniel Merrill, son of Nathaniel and Mary (Blacksoll) Merrill, was born in Whersted, Suffolk County, England 1 May 1601. He died at Newbury, Massachusetts 16 March 1654/5.
Nathaniel and his older brother John, together with their wives and at least one child each, came from England in 1633 and landed at Ipswich, Massachusetts. (It may be of interest to note that John’s only child was a daughter, Hannah, who married 24 May 1647 Stephen Sweet. Therefore, all colonials who bore the Merrill name were descendants of Nathaniel and Susanna.) Both families became first settlers of Newbury in 1638 where, on May 5 of that year, Nathaniel was granted land in Newbury on the Neck, south of the Parker River.
His will, dated 8 March 1654/6 and proved 27 March the same year,
mentions Nathaniel as the oldest son and executor, indicating that he
was probably of age at the time. Legacies were bequeathed to the other
sons to be paid to them when they should be of the “age of two and
twenty years.” His inventory, which listed land but no buildings,
showed him to be worth £81 60 00, less some £17 in debts.
John J. Pershing, General of the Armies, was born in Linn County, Missouri, September 13, 1860, a son of John F. and Ann E. (Thompson) Pershing. He received his B.A. degree from the Kirksville (Mo.) Normal School, 1880; graduated U. S. Military Academy, 1886. Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, U. S. Cavalry, 1886; during Spanish-American War he served in Cuba as a 1st Lieutenant with the 10th U. S. Cavalry. Later he was appointed Major of volunteers and served in the War Department, at Washington, as Chief of Ordnance Volunteers; appointed Captain and assigned to the 1st U. S. Cavalry in 1901. Appointed Brigadier General, U. S. Army, 1906; appointed Major General, 1916; General (temporary), 1917; General of the Armies of the United States, 1919.
Served in Apache Indian Campaign, New Mexico and Arizona, 1886, and the Sioux Campaign, in Dakota, in 1891. Commanded the Sioux Indian Scouts in 1891. Served as a military instructor, University of Nebraska, 1891-1895, and was instructor in tactics, United States Military Academy, 1897-98. Served with the 10th Cavalry, Santiago Campaign, Cuba, 1898. Organized Bureau of Insular Affairs and chief thereof, 1899. Adjutant General, Department of Mindanao, 1901; commanded military operations in Moro Campaign, 1902-3. Military Attache, Tokio, Japan, 1905-6. Military observer, Kuroki's Army in Manchuria, Russian-Japanese War, 1905. On duty with General Staff, 1906. On duty in Philippine Islands, as commander Department of Mindanao, and Governor Moro province; commanded successful military operations against the Moros, terminating with their defeat at the Battle of Bagsag, June 12, 1913. Commander 8th Brigade, Presidio, California. Temporarily commanded El Paso patrol district, American border, 1916. Commanded expedition sent in pursuit of the Mexican bandit, Villa, March, 1916. Commander-in-Chief of American Expeditionary Forces, World War, 1917-1919.
General Pershing received the LL.D. degree from the University of
Nebraska,
1917; University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 1919, and the University of
Cambridge, England, 1919; D.C.L., University of Oxford in 1919.
He is a 32ø Mason and a member of Lincoln Lodge, F. & A.
M., No. 19, Lincoln, Nebraska.
The General married Frances H. Warren, daughter of U. S. Senator
Frances
E. Warren, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, January 26, 1905.
Deacon William Samson from Cornwall, VT; not far from A.D. 1800,
settled
on the highland north-westerly from Mississquoi river, occupying the
ground
where his grandson, William Samson, and Gilman Pratt now live. His
brother,
Thomas Samson and Jonathan Samson, soon followed him and became his
neighbor
on either side. They were all industrious, thrifty farmers, and at the
same time men of devoted piety. William and Thomas died within a few
years
after their settlement in Berkshire, while they were in the vigor of
middle
life, and in the midst of their good influence and usefulness. Of the
many
sons left by the former, two (William and Titus) became physicians of
much
promise, but died young, when useful and successful careers were just
opening
to their view. Only the descendants of his late son, Darwin Samson,
remain
in town; but several other branches of the family reside in neighboring
towns. Thomas left a family of daughters, who, as wives and mothers,
have
illustrated the pure principles in which they were nurtured and brought
up. Jonathan, after years of earnest, and in good measure successful
efforts
to disseminate and establish principles of pure and undefiled religion,
exchanged his property in Berkshire, for a residence in the far
West,
where he is reported to have ended his earthly labors.
William Samson, from Londonderry; N. H., at a very early date pitched on the farm afterward known as the Benjamin Sherwood place, now occupied by H. E. Taylor, and built his first cabin near the site of the present dwelling. He had a large family, was an early deacon of the Congregational Church, and died in 1798, aged sixty-six years. L. J. Samson, Curtis H. Samson and Mrs. R. S. Foot are his great-grandchildren.
[William's son,] Deacon Daniel Samson came to Cornwall from Londonderry, N. H., in 1785, and settled on a small lot north of the Reeve farm, now owned by Edgar Sanford. He was a shoemaker, and was born in Newburyport, Mass., November 10, 1758. In 1832 he went to Barre, N. Y., where he died ten years later. He was a rare example of the Christian graces.
The Congregational Church of Cornwall, the first religious organization in Cornwall, was formed on the 1st of July, 1785, with the following members: Jared Abernathy, Stephen Tambling, James Marsh Douglass, Jeremiah Bingham, Roswell Post, Daniel Sampson, Mary Chipman, and Elizabeth Ives, and during the few weeks following August 21 Jesse Chipman, Mrs. Post, Mrs. Tambling, Nathaniel Cogswell and wife, Joel Linsley, Ethan Andrus, Isaac Kellogg, Hiland Hall, and Mrs. Ives were added to the number.
On the 20th of July, 1787, a call was extended to the Rev. Thomas
Tolman,
and accepted on the 30th of August. Being the first pastor, he received
as his right the lot of land set apart by the charter for the first
settled
minister, and in addition received from the town "a settlement." The
first
deacons were Jeremiah Bingham, Hiland Hall, and Father William
Samson.
The first meetings were held in Captain Benton's barn; afterward at his
house and the house of Joel Linsley. The first house of worship stood
west
of the highway on which the old red school-house formerly stood. It was
completed, probably in the spring of 1791, and first occupied in the
following
autumn. Mr. Tolman was dismissed at his own request on the 11th of
November,
1790.
Famous
People of Cayuga Co, NY
One of the most influential American officers of the nineteenth
century,
Emory Upton was too young during the Civil War to be fully recognized
for
his deeds on the battlefield. General Upton created the blitzkrieg
style
of assault at the Battle of Spotsylvania, in which the soldiers charged
in such a rush that they were not allowed to fire their weapons until
they
overran the enemy. His book Military Policy of the United States
became the basis for the organization of the armed forces.
Army History (link is no longer active)
When the Spanish-American War broke out, our modern Navy was already
in its adolescence. The Army, on the other hand, was just beginning to
think about reform. It was organized the way it had been in Lincoln's
time.
Its uniforms were little changed from the Civil War. Its arms and
equipment
were obsolete for the most part. For nearly half a century, the small
regular
Army had manned coast defenses and alternately pursued and interned
Native
Americans. The US Army numbered 2143 officers and 26,040 enlisted men
in
April, 1898. A month later, its authorized strength was five times
larger.
The Army would send troops to Cuba in July in wool uniforms. Many of
the
troops would not arrive in time for the fighting since there were too
few
supplies, too few transports, and an inadequate supply system. In 1898,
most of the land forces were National Guard troops, variously equipped
by the states or privately supplied. For the previous 30 years the
Guard
had been used primarily for parades and the suppression of labor
unrest.
The most vocal reformer in the Nineteenth Century Army, strained beyond
its limits in 1898, was Emory Upton, a brilliant Civil War brevet
general
and military scholar, who advocated a military policy that went beyond
what was politically acceptable. Upton, who suffered from a brain
tumor,
committed suicide in 1884. His final book was not published until 1904.