Abram W., son of Smith and Christine (Helmer) Ellis, was born in Wyoming county, New York, and died in Pike, September 7, 1907. His life occupation was that of farming. In 1863 he enlisted in the Eighteenth New York Light Artillery, was transferred to the Twentyfifth Regiment Light Artillery, and served in the Department of the Gulf until the close of the war. He married. January 1, 1866, Marion A. Phelps, and had one child. Willis C., mentioned elsewhere.
Willis C., only child of Abram W. and Marion A. (Phelps) Ellis, was born in Pike, Wyoming county, New York. January 12, 1868. His preparatory education was acquired in the Pike Seminary, from which he was graduated in June, 1888. He then became a student at Cornell University, from which he was graduated June 16. 1892. with the degree of Bachelor of Letters. He continued the study of law in the offices of Day & Romer, Buffalo. New York, and was admitted to the bar, June 12, 1893. In June of the following year he came to Shortsville, New York, … Read more
Richard Borden, born in the county of Kent, England, in 1601, arrived at Boston in the ship “Elizabeth and Ann” in 1635, and in 1638 became one of the founders of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where he died in 1671. He was a Quaker and a man of unsullied integrity, who held various public offices, including that of deputy to the general court. His wife Joan died in Portsmouth in 1688. Children : Thomas, Francis, Matthew, John, mentioned elsewhere, Joseph, Sarah, Samuel Benjamin and Anne.
John, son of Richard Borden, the immigrant. was born in Portsmouth in 1640; died there in 1716. He married Mary Earl, who died in 1734. Children: Richard, John, Annie, Joseph, Thomas, mentioned elsewhere, Hope, William, Benjamin and Mary.
Thomas, son of John and Mary (Earl) Borden, was born in Portsmouth, December 13, 1682, and was still residing there after 1721. He married (first) Catherine Hull; married (second) Mary Briggs. A complete record of his children is not at hand, but it is quite certain that he had sons: Thomas, mentioned elsewhere, Isaac and Samuel, all of whom settled in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) Borden, was probably born in Portsmouth. He was residing in Attleboro in 1756, and appears in the records as Thomas Barden. He participated in the revolutionary war and in the “Massachusetts Rolls” is credited with service as follows: On an alarm in Rhole Island he enlisted from Attleboro, Massachusetts, September 1. 1779, as a private in Captain Joseph Franklin’s company, Colonel Nathan Tyler’s regiment; served four months and was discharged December 31, of that year. Re-enlisted July 28, 1780, in Captain Caleb Richardson’s company, Colonel Abiel Mitchell’s regiment, raised for the continental army, and … Read more
Thomas (3), son of Thomas (2) and Susanna (Riggs) Barden, was born in Attleboro, February 24, 1765. In 1788-89 he disappeared permanently from his hone in Attleboro, and never returned, nor was he ever heard from. It was thought at the time that he might have gone to the then district of Maine, where many young men from Massachusetts were settling as pioneers at that time, but this supposition was never verified. The Thomas Barden previously referred to as the ancestor of the Ontario county family, was, according to information at hand, born near Boston and settled in the town … Read more
Levi Barden, son of Thomas, was born in Seneca in 1798. Upon attaining his majority he acquired possession of the homestead and became a very prosperous farmer. The present residence was erected by him in 1839, and he otherwise improved the property, making it a valuable agricultural estate. He died in 1876. He married, July 17, 1828, Maria Bush; she died at the age of sixty-six years. They attended the Presbyterian church. Children: 1. Ruby Ann, born September 7, 1829; died in 1862; married Dudley McConnell and had Floyd, Emma and Jennie, who reside in Jackson, Michigan. 2. Luther Calvin, … Read more
Henry Vincent, son of Levi and Maria (Bush) Barden, was born in Seneca, September 18, 1837. After concluding his studies in the district school and at Canandaigua Academy, he assisted his father in carrying on the farm, and has devoted the active period of his life almost exclusively to that occupation, having inherited the homestead property at his father’s death in 1876. He owns two hundred acres of fertile land. constituting the original estate of his grandfather, and has carried on general farming with profitable results. Politically he acts with the Republican party. In his religious belief he is a … Read more
J. Jay Barden, who has for many years been connected with the agricultural department of the state of New York, in positions of trust and responsibility, is, in addition to these duties, recognized as one of the most progressive farmers in his section of the country. His business occupations have been varied and extensive. Sylvanus Barden, father of the above-mentioned, was born in Benton township, Yates county, New York, in 1816, and died May 15, 1905. He followed farming all his life, and was of a quiet and retiring disposition, finding his greatest pleasures in his own home. He married … Read more
Edward Cook, born in England in the latter part of the eighteenth century, was a prosperous yeoman, owning a large dairy farm in Somersetshire. He was married at Kingston, April 5, 1807, to Ann Jones, who was born in England in 1772. She became the mother of fifteen children, twelve of whom lived to maturity. In their old age Edward and Ann Cook came to America. Edward died in Texas and was buried there, and the remains of his wife were interred in Greenwood cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Henry, son of Edward and Ann (Jones) Cook, was born in Somersetshire, England, June 5, 1818, died in Geneva, New York, January 26, 1904. Emigrating to the United States in 1855, he was employed by his brother for a short time at the Quaker settlement near Waterloo, New York, whence he went to Sennett, near Auburn, New York, and obtained employment as a farm assistant. In 1857 he returned to the Quaker settlement, where he was engaged in farm work until 1863, where he purchased a farm of twenty-five acres located four miles north of Geneva, and was thenceforward occupied … Read more
Benjamin Franklin, third son and sixth child of Henry and Sarah (Hillman) Cook, was born in Bristol, England, October 18, 1852. At the age of four years he left his native land and arrived in this country, November 20, 1856, after a voyage of six weeks. His boyhood and youth were spent in attending the public schools and acquiring proficiency in farming and gardening. In 1880 he engaged in market gardening on North street, Geneva, as a member of the firm of Munson & Cook, and upon the retirement of his partner in 1888, on account of failing health, he … Read more
John W. Overacre, for many years postmaster of Manchester village, Ontario county, New York, is one of the veterans of the civil war, whose record in that struggle must make every right thinking person proud of the bravery and patriotism displayed by the citizens of the Union during that memorable time. He is descended from a family whose interests were those of the state of New York for a number of generations, and who in the earlier days were mainly engaged in agriculture. John Overacre, his father, was born in Herkimer county, New York, and was by occupation a millwright, … Read more
Vigorous and active at the time of life when the majority of men are compelled by physical disabilities to surrender the cares and responsibilities of their respective callings to their successors of a younger generation, Reynolds Hill, chief engineer of the pumping station at Geneva, is still attending to his daily duties with a regularity and watchfulness which few veterans of the civil war can equal. Mr. Hill comes from an old Yates county family, his grandfather, Reynolds Hill, for whom he was named, having been an early settler in Reading, that county, and his father. Seth Hill, was an … Read more
Godfrey Rockefeller, son of William and Christina Rockefeller, settled upon a farm in Barrington, Columbia county, New York. He married a daughter of Miles Avery, who served as an officer in the revolutionary war. Godfrey Rockefeller had a family of nine children, two of whom, William and Norman, were well-to-do farmers and became nonogenarians. William was the father of John D. Rockefeller, whose munificent contributions in behalf of religious education, scientific investigation and moral improvement, amounting to more than one hundred and thirty-three million dollars, are almost without parallel in the world’s history.
Norman Rockefeller, son of Godfrey, was born in Barrington, Columbia county, New York, October 17, 1812. Taking kindly to the independent life of a farmer, and acquiring proficiency in that calling, he settled upon a farm in Richford, Tioga county, in 1840, and resided there some eight years. In 1848 he removed to Phelps, Ontario county, and resided in that town for the remainder of his life. He was an able and successful farmer, energetic, ambitious and possessed sound judgment in business affairs. He was at one time quite active in public affairs, serving with ability and credit in various … Read more
Ira P., son of Norman and Christina (Blakeman) Rockefeller, was born in Richford, January 22, 1843. He accompanied his parents to Phelps, at the age of six years, and acquired his education in the district schools of that town. His opportunities for study, although limited, were used to good advantage, and for superior scholarship when sixteen years old, he was presented by Deacon George Beckwith with a Bible, which he still regards as one of his most valued possessions. Since attaining his majority he has taken a conspicuous part in the agricultural and business development of Phelps, and has entered … Read more
Juriaen Westvall, the immigrant ancestor, was among the earliest settlers of Ulster county, New York, at what is now (1910) Esopus, near Kingston. He and twelve others petitioned, August 17, 1659, for a church at Esopus and the petition was granted. He owned lot 25 of the original division of land in 1662 and another grant May 29, 1667. He was a steady, persevering, upright and influential citizen. He married Marretje Hansen. Their three sons Johannes, Symon and Niclaes removed to Orange county and were grantees of land at the town of Deerpark in 1696. Between 1737 and 1800 there … Read more
Cornelius Westfall, descendant of Juriaen Westvall, was born October 7, 1753, died May 13, 1826. He came from Orange county to Phelps, Ontario county, New York, among the early settlers and took up a very large tract of land. He brought negro slaves with him to clear the land and work the plantation. In the census of 1790 he was reported in Montgomery county, New York, with two sons under sixteen and one female in his family. In that census there were in Orange county and elsewhere, the following heads of family: Abraham, Benjamin, Frederick, Jacobus, Johannes, Peter, Petrus. Simon … Read more