NORTHERN NEW YORK
Genealogical and family history of northern New York: a record of the achievements of her people
in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation.
New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co. 1910.
BOSHART
Transcribed by Coralynn Brown
Between the years 1740 and 1750 there came from Mertizsuth, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, two brothers and a sister, Jacob, Henry and Susanna Boshart. They first located in New Jersey within the present limits of Jersey City. From what has been handed down from generation to generation, it is learned that they were poor and young, and when they started for the new world , one of the brothers, possibly Henry, was bound out, or "sold himself" for a term of years to pay his passage. The occupation of the brothers in New Jersey was soap making. In 1756 all three came to Tryon county, New York.
During the revolution Jacob belonged to a company of Tryon County Associated Exempts, under Captain Jellis Fonda. John Boshart, son of one of the brothers, was a soldier in the revolution in the Third Regiment of Tryon county militia under Colonel Frederick Fisher, and in 1790, according to the federal census, was living at Rensselaerwyck, Albany county, having in his family two males over sixteen years and six females. Jerome Boshart was living in the same place and had one female, doubtless a wife, and no children. Petrus or Peter had two males over sixteen, four under that age, and three females. Peter must have been a son of one of the pioneers, while Jerome was doubtless a grandson. In 1790 no other families of the name were reported in the census, excepting a widow Margaret living in Caughnowago, Montgomery county, formerly Tryon county, she having two males over sixteen and two females in her family. She was probably widow of a son of one of the first settlers.
The pioneers lived first in what was afterward the county of Fulton, near Johnstown, N.Y., and the farms of the brothers adjoined. After a time Henry became alarmed at the scarcity of firewood, we are told, and for this reason moved to what is known as Eclipse, now Keck Center, and sold his original farm to his brother. The two farms are still (1910) occupied by descendants. Margaret may have ben the mother of Henry.
(II) Garrett Boshart, son or grandson of Henry Boshart, was born near Johnstown, N.Y., July 15, 1771. He was brought up on the homestead and followed farming. In 1799 he came to what is now Lowville, making his way through the wilderness by a blazed trail. When he located, but three log cabins comprised the settlement where now is located the beautiful village of Lowville. He settled upon a hundred-acre tract on the hillside just north of the present village, cleared his land in the forest, and developed one of the finest farms in northern New York. He lived there the remainder of his days and died there in 1840. He was a useful and honored citizen, industriuos, and prosperous, considering his surroundings and opportunities.
He was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church. He married (first) Elizabeth Ebblie. He married (second) in 1806, Dolly Coutremont, born July 4, 1788, in Saxony, Germany.
Children of first wife:
1. Betsey, born Sept. 7, 1799; married Peter Burts; she died in 1823.
2. John, 1805; died in 1823.
Children of second wife:
3. Garrett, July 17, 1808, died April 7, 1872; married Mary Shull.
4. Catherine, June 20, 1810, died March 14, 1876; married Philip Weiting.
5. Nancy, Jan. 13, 1812, died Dec. 16, 1898.
6. Dolly Ann, April 13, 1815, died Sept. 22, 1903.
7. Nicholas, mentioned below.
8. William, April 6, 1820, died July 26, 1899.
9. Eliza, Aug. 17, 1822, died Dec. 28, 1891; married K. C. Kellogg.
10. John, March 4, 1825, died May 4, 1843.
11. James Henry, Aug. 13, 1827, died Aug. 2, 1905; married Prudence Pelton, born Feb. 2, 1822; married (second) Clara A. Andrews.
12. Charles Dayan, Nov. 2, 1829; died March 16, 1909.
(III) Nicholas, son of Garrett Boshart, was born on the old homestead at Lowville, Nov. 23, 1818. He was brought up on the farm and attended the district school and Lowville Academy. After his marriage he settled on a farm on the east road in the town of Lowville and followed farming for many years. He was also in the commission business, buying butter, cheese and hops, and he was accounted an expert in these lines. He was also in the hardware business in partnership with his son, W. L. Boshart, under the firm name of W. L. Boshart & Company.
He was active in promoting the annual town fair at Lowville and was frequently chosen marshal. In politics he was a Republican. For several years he was president of the village. He was a prominent member and trustee of the Presbyterian church. He was a useful citizen, a man of enterprise and public spirit, upright, honorable and conscientious. He made many friends and enjoyed the confidence of the entire community.
He married, Dec. 29, 1841, Onoria, born Aug. 15, 1823, at Lowville, daughter of Elias Wood. She died Oct. 13, 1858, and he married (second) April 29, 1863, Sarah A. Sigourney, who died Nov. 4, 1909. He died July 14, 1890.
Children:
1. Ann Eliza Maria, born July 26, 1843.
2. Charles Elias, Dec. 1, 1844.
3. Huldah Elizabeth, Aug.2 2, 1846.
4. George Garrett, Nov. 3, 1847.
5. Mary Louisa, July 10, 1850.
6. Sarah Cornelia, Jan. 26, 1853; married, Oct. 25, 1877, Henry Curtis Abell (see Abell IX).
7. William Lockwood, Aug. 11, 1858.
SECOND ENTRY:
Henry Boshart, immigrant ancestor, was born about 1730 at Mertizsuth, Canton Zurich, Switzerland. He came with his brother, Jacob, and sister, Susanna, to this county, 1740-50, and located in New Jersey somewhere within the present limits of Jersey City. Family tradition tells us that they were all very young and without means. One of them, believed to be Herny, was sold for his passage. It was no unusual for pioneers who had no money to serve several years to pay the passage money that was advanced by some thrifty planter or mechanic.
The brothers were employed in New Jersey in making hard soap. During the year 1756 the brothers and sister moved to Tryon county, New York, and located in that part subsequently forming the county of Fulton. It was then a wilderness. They cleared adjoining farms near the present village of Johnstown and these farms are still (1910) in the possession of their direct descendants. Henry became alarmed, it is said, at the scarity of firewood and sold his farm to his brother. At any rate he removed to what was known as Eclipse, now Keck's Center.
(II) Jacob, son of Henry Boshart, was born about 1770-75 near Johnstown, New York. In 1902 he settled in the wilderness near the present village of Lowville. He was a farmer.
Children, born at Lowville:
Nancy, Catherine, Jacob (mentioned below), James, Henry, Betsey and Garrett.
(III) Jacob (2), son of Jacob (1) Boshart, was born in the town of Lowville, Lewis county, N.Y. 1803, died 1876. He was brought up on his father's farm on the frontier. After he came of age he continued to follow farming in various places in this section and finally settled in Harrisburg, Lewis county. He was industrious, cautiour and honest to a degree. He followed farming all his active life, and accumulated a competence.
In politics he was a Democrat.
He married Hannah Goutermont, who died in1885, aged seventy-six years, daughter of John, who came from Germany, and was among the earliest settlers of Lewis county.
Children:
Charles, William, Jacob, Elida, John, James (mentioned below), Lawrence, Dolly and Amanda.
In 1910 John, James and Amanda are the only survivors of this family.
(IV) James, son of Jacob (2) Boshart, was born in the town of Watson, Lewis county, N.Y., June 9, 1841. He grew up on his father's farm, accustomed to the industry and application of agricultural life. He received his education in the public schools. Most of his early life was devoted to farming in Harrisburg. He lived for ten years in Pinckney, N.Y., and since 1906, when he retired from farming, has lived in the village of Lowville and occupied himself in the care of his real estate and other property. He is interested in public affairs and has held various offices of trust and responsibility.
In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and in religion an Adventist.
He married, March 18, 1868, Esther A. Bickford, born at Lowville, Aug. 6, 1841, daughter of Levi and Esther Bickford. Levi Bickford was born in New Hampshire in 1774, and migrated to Lowville, Lewis county, N.Y. in 1801; he was a farmer by occupation and a Whig in politics. He married about 1803, Esther ____, a natie of Rhode Island, who bore him eight children, all of whom grew to maturity. Levi Bickford died Dec. 1, 1830 and his wife died at the age of seventy-eight years. Abel, fourth child of Levi and Esther Bickford, was born at Lowville, Lewis county, N.Y. Sept. 30, 1811. He was reared to habits of industry and economy. At the age of sixteen he commenced working out by the month, which line of work he followed for about ten years. In May, 1871, he settled in Henderson, where he accumulated a large fortune, taking rank among the foremost capitalists of northern New York. He served as highway commissioner for twenty-one years. He was a Republican in politics. He married, June 6, 1838, Betsey Lewis, of Harrisburg, Lewis county, N.Y., born March 26, 1817; she was a worthy member of the Baptist church, a faithful wife, and an affectionate mother. Their children were: 1. Jane A., born May 19, 1839, died Dec. 31, 1906. 2. Esther A., aforementioned as the wife of James Boshart. 3. Franklin Lewis, born Oct. 3, 1844. 4. Frances E., born Nov. 2, 1855, died Dec. 31, 1855. 5. Frederick A., born July 29, 1859, died May 8, 1860. 6. Chauncey E., born Aug. 23, 1861. Abel Bickford died in Henderson in 1897; his wife Sept. 10, 1875.
Children of Mr. & Mrs. James Bohart:
1. Gertie M., born Feb. 24, 1870; married, Oct. 9, 1895, Ernest F. Noble; children: Bessie, deceased, Carl E., Lewis B., Floyd C., James F., E. Foster and Esther G. Noble.
2. Frederick, May 11, 1874; married Florence M. Stiles, Feb. 9, 1898; children: Francis S. and Chauncey B.
3. Flora A., Aug. 15, 1876; married Aug. 1, 1900, Otto G. Sliter; child, Donald James Sliter.
4. Lewis H., Oct. 9, 1878, mentioned below.
5. Abel B., June 20, 1883; married, Feb. 27, 1906, Alta Bradt.
(V) Lewis H., son of James and Esther A. (Bickford) Boshart, was born in Pinckney, N.Y. Oct. 9, 1878. He was educated in the common schools and the Belleville Academy, at Belleville, Jefferson county, N.Y. During his boyhood he assisted in the work of the farm, and remained at home until after he came of age. In 1903 he purchased a highly productive and well cultivated farm near Lowville village, known as Hill Side Farm. It is pleasantly situated on high ground, commanding a magnificent view of the surrounding country.
Mr. Boshart is progressive, industrious and thrifty, and has been eminently successful. While his principal business is his dairy he has neglected none of the other opportunities afforded by his farm. He has a gravity system of water works on his farm and model barns and buildings. His stock is largely Holstein.
In politics he is a Prohibitionist.
He is a member of Lowville Grange, No. 71, Patrons of Husbandry, and of Lewis County Pomona Grange. He and his family are member of the Lowville Methodist Episcopal church. He is a substantial, popular and influential citizen of high ideals and attainments.
He married, Sept. 17, 1902, Mae E. Graves, born July 17, 1881, daughter of Herbert L. and Ellen B. (Brown) Graves, granddaughter of Philander and Harriet (Miner) Graves. Philander Graves (7), son of Chester Graves, was born at Hatfield, July 30, 1805. He married, Nov. 22, 1829, Harriet M. Miner, born July 3, 1807, daughter of Samuel Miner, granddaughter of Samuel Miner, and of General Lemuel Pike, son of Major Merrill Pike, who was a "Mayflower" descendant. Children of Philander and Harariet M. Graves: Philander H., born May 29, 1833; David R., Sept. 28, 1835; William, May 4, 1837; Harriet, Jan. 24, 1839; Francis C., Jan. 26, 1841; May I., July 11, 1843; Albert R. July 12, 1844; Adelbert E., May 28, 1847; Herbert L., June 22, 1851, died May 16, 1894, married Ellen B. Brown, Nov. 6, 1873. Ellen B. was a daughter of Charles and Elmina (Shepherd) Brown. She was born March 25, 1855, and her father, Charles Brown, born in 1821, died at Martinsburg, June 5, 1909.
Children of Lewis H. Boshart:
Flossie Mae, born Sept. 8, 1903.
Vera Esther, March 14, 1905.
Ruth Ellen, July 25, 1908.
[transcriber's note: this material was published in 1910, so there is always the possibility this couple may have had more children that obviously didn't make the list].
Mrs. Mae E. (Graves) Boshart was a graduate of Lowville Academy in the class of 1901.
THIRD ENTRY:
Between the years 1740 and 1750 there came from Mitenburg, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, two brothers and a sister, Jacob, Henry and Susanna Boshart. They first located in New Jersey, within the present limits of Jersey City. From what has been handed down from generation to generation it is learned that they were young and poor when they arrived for the new world, and one of the brothers, probably Henry, was bound out, or "sold himself," for a term of years to pay his passage. The occupation of the brothers in New Jersey was hard soap making. In 1756 all three moved to Tryon county, New York. They lived at first in what was afterward the county of Fulton, near Johnstown, N.Y., and the farms of the brothers adjoined. After a time Henry became alarmed at the probable scarcity of firewood, and for this reason moved to what was known as Eclipse, now Keck Center.
(II) Garrett Boshart, son or grandson of Henry Boshart, was born near Johnstown, N.Y., July 15, 1771. He moved to northern New York in 1799, when that part of the state was a vast wilderness, and a blazed trail of marked trees the only guide through the almost impenetrable forest, and located at Lowville, when but three log cabins comprised the settlement where now is situated that beautiful village. He selected and settled upon a hundred-acre tract of land on the hillside just north of the present village, cleared his land in the forest and developed one of the finest farms in northern New York. "His smooth, ample and neatly fenced fields were long the model for whoever might be emulous of success in farming." He was a useful and honored citizen, a priminent member of the Presbyterian church, industrious and propsperous, and died on the homestead May 26, 1845.
He married (second) in 1806, Dolly Goutremout. She was born Jan. 4, 1788, in Saxony, Germany, and crossed the ocean at two years of age.
Children of first marriage:
1. Betsey, born Sept. 7, 1799.
2. John, born Oct. 27, 1805, died in 1823.
3. Garrett, born Aug. 17, 1808, died April 7, 1872; married Mary Shull.
4. Catherine, born June 20, 1810, died March 14, 1876; married Philip Weiting.
5. Nancy, born Jan. 13, 1812, died Dec. 16, 1898; unmarried.
6. Dolly Ann, born April 13, 1815, died Sept. 22, 1903; unmarried.
7. Nicholas, born Nov. 22, 1817, died July 14, 1890; married (first) Maria Wood; (second) Sarah A. Signourney.
8. William, born April 6, 1820, died July 22, 1899; unmarried.
9. Eliza, born Aug. 17, 1822, died Dec. 28, 1891; married K. Collins Kellogg.
10. John, born March 4, 1825, died May 4, 1843; unmarried.
11. James Henry, born Aug. 13, 1827, died Aug. 2, 1905; married (first) Prudence Pelton; (second) Clara A. Andrews.
12. Charles Dayan, mentioned below.
(III) Charles Dayan, son of Garrett Boshart, was born on the homestead near Lowville, N.Y., Nov. 2, 1829, the youngest of twelve children. He died March 16, 1906. He spent his boyhood on the farm, and attended the district schools and Lowville Academy. He remained on the homestead and followed farming all his active life. At the time of his death he was the owner of a large number of improved farms in the county of Lewis. About 1863 Mr. Boshart began the cultivation of hops, and for more than thirty years was the largest grower of hops in Lewis county. During his last years he devoted his attention almost entirely to the supervision of his extensive farms. He was one of the most prominent men for many years in this section. For eighteen years he represented his town on the Lewis county board of supervisors. He was a member of the first board of equalization appointed in this county. For more than thirty-five years he was a director of the First National Bank of Lowville, and was its president from July, 1873 to January, 1903, when he resigned, but continued as vice-president to the time of his death.
He was one of the trustees of the First Presbyterian church of Lowville, trustee of the Lowville Academy, president of the Lowville Rural Cemetery Association and vice-president of the Lowville & Beaver River Railroad. Of sterling character and integrity, an able business man, energetic, far-sighted and square-dealing, he commanded the respect and confidence of the entire community.
In public life he displayed the same high qualities and rendered inestimable service in the town and county in administering the offices of trust that he held so long. Few men had a wider acquaintance and more loyal friends. His influence for good will be felt in the community for years to come.
In religion he was a Presbyterian, and in politics a Republican.
He married, Feb. 11, 1858, Margaret Quackenbush.
Children, born at Lowville:
1. Julia C. E., born Feb. 22, 1859, died Dec. 7, 1859.
2. C. Fred, mentioned below.
3. Nellie M. E., married Gilbert A. Blackmon, of Lowville.
4. Edward James, mentioned below.
5. Grace Eliza, married L. Charles Davenport, of Lowville.
(IV) Charles Fred, son of Charles Dayan Boshart, was born at Lowville, N.Y., Sept. 17, 1860, on the homestead where he now (1910) resides, and where his ancestors settled. His education was obtained in the public schools of his native town, Lowville Academy and Cornell University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1884, receiving the degree of B. Agr. Upon leaving college he became associated with his father in farming enterprises, paying special attention to the growing of hops. At one time they had a hundred acres devoted to this product, but owing to low prices, in 1909 Mr. Boshart abandoned hop-raising for the present. He succeeded his father as vice-president and director of the First National Bank of Lowville.
He was elected supervisor of Lowville in 1903, and in 1905 member of the New York state assembly from the county of Lewis, and each year since then has been re-elected to that office. He was active in the interests of the agricultural classes, and since 1907 has been chairman of the committee on agriculture. He has done very efficient work as a legislator and has made a reputation througout the state for able, aggressive and fearless work in the legislature.
He is a prominent and influential Republican.
He is a member of Lowville Lodge, No. 134, Free and Accepted Masons; Lowville Chapter, No. 223, Royal Arch Masons; Watertown Commandery, No. 11, Knights Templar; Media Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Watertown; Lowville Lodge, No. 759, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Lowville Grange, No. 71, Patrons of Husbandry, and of the higher degrees in this order.
He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Lowville.
He married, Oct. 20, 1887, Clara Amelia Smiley, born in Lowville, Jan. 6, 1868, daughter of Amos and Amelia (Rea) Smiley. Her father was formerly editor and publisher of the Lowville Journal and Republican.
Children of Mr. & Mrs. Boshart:
1. Margaret Amelia, born at Lowville, April 18, 1889.
2. Charles Ralph, born July 7, 1892.
3. William Smiley, born June 7, 1896, died aged five months.
(IV) Edward J., son of Charles D. and Margaret Boshart, was born at Lowville, Lewis county, N.Y., Aug. 25, 1864. He attended the common schools, and Lowville Academy, from which he graduated in the class of 1884. In 1885 he commenced the study of law in the office of T. Miller Reed, entering Columbia College Law School in New York in 1886, and was a member of the graduating class of 1888, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
In September, 1888, he was admitted to the bar at Binghamton, N.Y., and thereupon commenced the practice of law at Lowville, N.Y., where he has since resided and followed his profession.
He was elected and re-elected district attorney of the county of Lewis, holding the office from Jan. 1, 1897 to Jan. 1, 1903.
He is a member of the board of trustees of Lowville Academy, and of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Lowville; also a member of the board of directors of the Lowville and Beaver River Railroad Company, and a director of the Westminster Park Association of the Thousand Islands.
He is a member of Lowville Lodge, F. and A.M., of which he is a past master. His time is devoted to the practice of law and the management of his farming and business interests.
Oct. 10, 1888, he was united in marriage with Helen Suits, of, and at, Davenport, Iowa.
Children:
Katharine Cushing Boshart.
Winifred Suits Boshart.
Eleanor Antoinette Boshart.
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