Unadilla Forks Citizens

From  

Mildred Whitcombe’s Notes

 

(Please visit my web site at:  http://home.roadrunner.com/~Unadillaforks  if you are interested in the history of Unadilla Forks, NY.)

 

 

First Baptist Church Parsonage

 

W. J. Shorey lived in this house for a time after it ceased to be the First Baptist parsonage, then Frank Maine’s family moved there.

 

I believe that Rev. Peck was the last Pastor of the First Baptist Church before the 2 denominations, the First Baptist and the Free Baptist Churches united.  The First Baptist Church was part of the northern Baptist Convention and the Free Will Baptist Church a part of the New England Denomination of that name.  Close together in all creeds but two:  the First Baptist had closed communion, open only to members of their own congregation and insisted on immersion as the only form of baptism.  The Free Will Baptist Church had communion open to any Christian of whatever denomination.  A Roman Catholic friend of mine once took communion with us in the memory, she said, of my mother, Alice Clarke Edwards.  My grandmother was much moved by this expression of love for her daughter.  In addition to this the Free Will Baptist accepted members by letter from any New England Church.  The First Baptist (regular) gave up closed communion but Free Will Baptist gave up accepting immersed members by letter.  Since immersion had always been our form of baptism this presented a problem.

 

Jay Brown   

 

Jay Brown came to Unadilla Forks to work for the Bassett’s and stayed on after the factory at Willow Glen was moved to work for the Babcock Manufacturing Co. at Leonardsville.  His father’s name was Loderick Brown.  His wife was Fannie Abrams from Brookfield and our information (to be confirmed) is that a nephew of Fannie’s, Clyde Abrams, bought the Sarah Brown’s house (next door to Jay and Fannie).

 

Mrs. Brightman

 

Mrs. Brightman celebrated her 89th birthday in 1911.  She had conducted a girl’s school in Unadilla Forks in her early years but we never knew anyone who attended.  A former resident who did attend was Mrs. Edgar Clarke who was married in 1858.  Apparently the school was conducted in the mid 1800’s.  Mrs. Brightman lived where Ester Jane and Bea Davies now live.

 

Holdridge

 

One of the first families to settle in the valley was the Holdridge’s who with the Palmer’, the Wilcox’s and the Moor’s chose home sites on the east branch of the Unadilla River between the present village of Unadilla Forks and Wood’s Corners.  Here just over the Otsego County line into Herkimer County Jacob Moor gave land for the first Free Will Baptist Church.  The church was established there 10/28/1802 and a single grave stone now marks the location.  The Holdridge family owned the farm where Carlton Wilcox now lives.

 

 

 

King

 

Paolis King was born in Rhode Island March 24, 1791 and married Polly Mathews who was born in Kellingly, Conn. Dec. 7th, 1793, the daughter of Joseph Mathews who was born at Rehoboth, Mass October 26, 1752 and his wife was Rebecca Fuller.  It is probable that he did not come to Unadilla Forks to settle because his son Erastus King was born on 12/29/1811 at Kellingly, Conn., but settled in Unadilla Forks as a young man.  He practiced medicine there for many years and died 7/11/1878.  His son, Pitt, married Adella and they had two sons, Floyd and Homer.  Scarlet fever in their boyhood days had caused serious deafness in both boys, more pronounced in Floyd than in Homer.  Homer married Nellie Davis and they had a son, Theodore.

 

Ladies Aid Society of the Free Will Baptist Church

 

First recorded meeting of this society was March 21, 1901.  Mrs. William R. Wood was apparently President though the minutes do not specifically mention her until a later date.  Mrs. A. W. Brown was Secretary.

 

Matteson

 

Herman Matteson married Mary Jones, Nellie’s sister and these are the first people I remember living in the house they always occupied.  They had no children. But they often took in some of the teachers as boarders and Nellie Roberts lived with them for many years, later marrying Arthur Jones and lived in what was called “the Studio”, there the artist Mr. Hutchens formerly lived.

 

First Baptist Parsonage

 

The Rev. Frederick Peck family consisted of Rev. Peck, his wife and two children, Frederica and Veeder.  He followed Rev. Huntington as pastor of the First Baptist Church or Upper church as it was usually called.  Rev. Huntington’s daughter was Sadie Frost (Mrs. Dewey), one of the first teachers in the new Union Free School and Academy.  They left the Forks when the two churches united and I know of no one who kept in touch with them in any way.  I saw Mrs. Peck in Oneonta after I went there to live in 1922 when she was visiting relatives there.  She seemed not to remember me, even though the parsonage at the Forks was only 2 doors from my home.

 

Adams

 

William H. Adams was next to the youngest son of Rev. John A. Adams and was a member of the Adams Bros. Carpenters.  He built a new home for himself on Hackley Street which he and his wife, the former Katherine Davis, lived in until Herbert Rogers came to the Forks to run the grist mill with Charles Ellsworth and he bought the place.  The Adam’s then moved to a small farm just over the line to the Town of Brookfield (Slosek place).

 

Mrs. Adams was a well known cateress and served many of the social affairs about town.  They had no children but a younger brother of Mrs. Adams lived with them for many years and her two sisters, Nellie and Elizabeth, also made their home with them.  Nellie later married Homer King and moved to the King Homestead in Unadilla forks.  Elizabeth was Postmistress at Unadilla Forks for several years and a well known seamstress, when most of the ladies clothes were made at home.

 

Mrs. Adelaide Smith

 

Mrs. Smith died in 1902 but her son, Paul, was still living at the Forks in 1904.

 

Herbert Rogers

 

One of the oldest living former residents of Unadilla Forks is in a nursing home in Richfield Springs.  After his father’s death he ran the home farm for some time, but came to Unadilla Forks to go into partnership with Charles Ellsworth in the grist mill, which had been operated by William H. Chase.  Herbert married Bessie Humphrey and they purchased the home which Will H. Adams had built on Hackely Street.  He was Supervisor for some years in the Town of Plainfield.  He later worked in the Court House at Cooperstown until his retirement.

 

Trenham

 

Mrs. Trenham was Mary Armstrong’s mother and her husband had been a prominent builder in West Winfield.  Upon his death, Mrs. Trenham came to Unadilla Forks to be near her daughter, Mary.  She lived in the front apartment in the Fuller house (on the corner of Penny Street) and her daughter Gertrude Trenham, joined her at the Forks during her vacation until she married Ambrose Eldred in 1908 and went to New Hartford to live.  After the death of Mrs. Solomon Armstrong in 1905, Mrs. Trenham went to live with her daughter Mary Armstrong and family and lived there until her death.

 

Kate and Lina Saunders

 

The Saunders family was among the earliest settlers in the Town of Plainfield and their descendants are among the few families who have remained on or near the original locations of their ancestors.  Kate and Lina were two sisters who had careers in the outside world and had come to Unadilla Forks to spend their declining years.  I believe they built the house on Mountain Road, where they lived until their death.  Nothing that happened in the Village escaped their notice and comment which was often caustic.  They steadfastly opposed anything that might ruin their taxes, such as upgrading of the school system, though they were both well educated.  But if a friendly hand was ever needed they were ready to assist.  Kate sold insurance for some years and with her red hair and forceful nature she made a very good saleslady.

 

Franklyn Wilcox

 

Frank (always called) Wilcox was a life long resident of Unadilla Forks.  He was the oldest son of Henry and Eliza Holdridge Wilcox.  He married Mary Hall and they had one daughter, Genella (always called Nellie) who married George St. John (known as “Doc” St. John) and Genella and George had 3 children, Proctor, Theodore and Lucille.  Frank was long associated with his father in the manufacture of wagons, had a store next to his father’s house in Unadilla Forks, which sold harnesses, whips, and all sorts of equipment needed in those days when horse drawn vehicles were the mode of transportation.  Mr. Wilcox was born 9/25/1835.  His daughter, Nellie, was one of my own mother’s closest friends.  They went to W. W. High School and lived together there, graduating in the year 1892.  Frank lived in the Lew and Eleanor Davis house.

 

 

Solomon Armstrong

 

He was born in the Town of Plainfield Nov. 16, 1819.  His parents, Azariah and Avis were among the early settlers of the town having settled upon this farm now owned by M. W. and D. M. Armstrong in 1812.  The farm originally consisted of 270 acres and by his thrift, energy and economy he added 230 acres to his original purchase.  The elder Armstrong was a valuable citizen and aided materially in developing the town and his death deplored.  He was an anit-slavery and did the cause good service.  Solomon lived under the paternal roof until 1853 working the old farm with his brothers when he purchased 180 acres where he now resides.  He now owns a farm of 266 acres.  In 1876 he was elected Supervisor and in 1877 re-elected.  In 1848 he married Louisa M., daughter of Epaphro and Caroline Morse Taylor, of Plainfield, where she was born in 1828.  Two children were born to them, Eugene and Clara B.

 

 

Eugene Armstrong

 

Solomon Armstrong who had settled on Plainfield Hill, with his father Azariah, in the early 1800s purchased the Nathaniel Crumb farm in Unadilla Forks about 1895.  I believe that Dr. Spencer had either built the present house or had lived in it.  He later moved to West Winfield where his father had settled many years before.  He was one of the first doctors to vaccinate for small pox and the story was told that his son got into his father’s office one day and successfully vaccinated himself “on the nose”.

 

Eugene Armstrong moved to this farm in Unadilla Forks after his second marriage to Mary Trenham.  He and my grandfather and their mutual cousin, Floyd Armstrong had been boyhood chums and this relationship between Eugene and my “dad” (Henry P. Clarke) continued throughout their life time.

 

Eugene and Mary had one daughter, Gertrude, who married Frank Gilson, architect, and spent her entire life in Unadilla Forks, until she went to a retirement home in Vermont the last few years of her life.

 

Mr. Armstrong was one of the largest landowners in the Town Of Plainfield and a man who stood solidly back of all that was best for the area.  His daughter carried on his many benefactions, the last of which was the deeding of Mt. Markham to the UF Fire Company since the village was not incorporated.  But this gift assured that the mountain will remain in the present state.

 

Willard Gorton

 

In 1906 I find Mrs. Willard Gorton’s name on one of the Ladies Aid Society committees for serving supper.  Willard Gorton and Paul Smith were well known entertainers who had traveled all over the United States on Lyceum Bureaus and Vaudeville Circuits but apparently when it became necessary for Paul Smith to return to Unadilla Forks to care for his mother, Mrs. Alexander Smith, Willard accompanied him there and bought William Dye’s store which he ran for a few years.  No one remembers whether he was married when he cane to Unadilla Forks.  Charles A. Rogers bought the Smith residence about 1910 and lived there until his death.  The Smith residence is where Mert Lamb use to live.

 

 

Mrs. Leah Gates and “Aunt Mary”

 

Flowers were sent to her by the ladies Aid Society in 1909.  She was the second wife of Hinckley Gates who died in 1902.  Her maiden name was Hutchinson and a sister, Mary Hutchinson, lived with her at least after her husband’s death.  “Aunt Mary” as everyone called her had been a victim of the Johnstown flood of 1888.  She had suffered brain damage which left her with impaired mental faculties.  She was a sweet person, immaculate in the care of herself, able to help about the house and could and would relate the horrors of the Johnstown Flood with very little prompting, the story never varied.  Mrs. Gates lived for some years in the Forks but we have not record of when she and her husband moved into the house where both of them died, which was later purchased by Homer Griffith and his mother.  She was active in the Free Baptist Church and a member of the Book and Study Club.

 

Charles Hoxie

 

The Hoxie family was among the first settlers in the Unadilla Valley and a volume could be written about them.  Charles Hoxie was the son of John and Elizabeth (always called Libbie) Bevins Hoxie and married Edith Armstrong, daughter of Eugene and his first wife Minnie Goodier.  Soon after their marriage, they settled in Unadilla Forks and I believe Charles worked for a time as a mild tester using the new “Babcock Test”.  He was a capable farmer and could turn his hand to almost any task and finish it well.  My dad regarded him with as much affection as if he had been his son.  Charles lived in Morris Mariotti’s house.

 

Dr. Charles C. Chesebro

 

Dr. Chesebro married as his second wife Adella Jones, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Jones and apparently came to Unadilla Forks soon after or possibly before their marriage.  At least they were there in 1899.  Dr. Chesebro had one daughter, Harriett, by his first wife.  She married Dr. Leon Platner and lived in Utica for many years.  One son, Charles, was born to Dr. Chesebro and his second wife.  He also became a doctor and practiced in Utica until illness forced his retirement.  Becoming tired of a country practice, Dr. Chesebro left the Forks about 1910 and went to Utica where many of his former patients still consulted him.  He and his wife are buried in the Jones plot in the Unadilla Forks cemetery.  He was an example of the old time country doctor, beloved and respected by all who knew him.

 

Dr. Louis D. Hen

 

Dr. Hen followed Dr. Chesebro and practiced here for several years.  He had one child, a son, Howard.  I do not know whether he rebuilt his house after the disastrous fire of Easter week in 1918.  The village never had a resident after he left, being served by Dr. Evans of Leonardsville and later by Dr. Emma Paterson of West Winfield, also as along as he practiced by Dr. Brown of Brookfield.  At a later date Dr. Claire Granger came here from John Hopkins and set up his first practice in the store where William Dye had lived and kept store.

 

Mrs. Dekay Davis

 

Mrs. Davis lived in the house across the street from us during my growing up years and was my special “pal”.  I spent house there and she always welcomed me though sometimes she must have been bored by my chatter.  I knew every nook and cranny of her house, which was built at ground level.  No other house I knew of was like it and I was greatly intrigued by it.  Mrs. Davis made boiled icing for all her cakes, using a hand beater which was my privilege and joy to lick.  I have a lovely dish which she brought from Wales with her when she and Mr. Davis came to this country, soon after their marriage, also a brass tea kettle which was hers.  After her death Mrs. Lewis Pugh bought the house and lived there until her death after I was married.  Her daughter became Walter Brown’s second wife.

 

Mrs. Adelia Fuller & Elias Gates

 

Died 1908, mother of Mary Fuller who married Elias Gates and had three children, Harold, Edith and Mildred.  Mr. Gates died in 1901.  After his father’s death in 1902 the farm on Penny Street was rented for a while and one occupant was Henry Clark Jr., son of Henry Clark family of Brookfield.  Harold Gates married and lived on Hackley Street where one of his sons lives on an adjoining farm.  Another son moved to Unadilla Forks but owned and managed a restaurant in Bridgewater for some years; he is now living in Florida.  Another son is in the insurance business in West Winfield with other offices in adjoining towns.  Another son owns and manages the former farm.  Mildred Gates married Oct. 15th, 1915 Harry F. Noyes of New Berlin who purchased a pharmacy in Bainbridge and lived there until his death in 1964.  They had one son, James, who married and has one daughter.  James Noyes followed in his father’s footsteps and maintained his business in partnership with a friend until this year.

 

William Henry Clark

 

A Civil War veteran, he lived in the last house in the Town of Plainfield, on the north side of Main Street in the village of Unadilla Forks.  He had 3 sons, Loren, Lynn and Henry Jr., and a daughter Rosa.  One source says that he ran a livery stable at one time.  He was a member of Co. G 146th Regiment NY State Volunteers 1861-1865.  His wife’s maiden name was Harriett Harvey.  He was always known as “Hank”.  It was surprising to find his name in the Civil War records as William Henry Clark.  The house was located in Otsego County just before entering Madison County.  It was more recently owned by Fred Mumbulo and was razed in perhaps the 60s or 70s. 

 

William L. Brown 

 

In 1795 Eleazer Brown, grandfather of William L. emigrated from Conn. And settled in the Town of Brookfield.  He settled upon 80 acres of land which had been previously purchased by a colony of which he was a member.  His family consisted of wife and 7 children.  Prentis Brown, father of William L, was born in Stonington, Conn.  In 1793 and at 2 years, moved with his family to the wilds of Madison Co.  He learned the blacksmith trade and opened a shop at Bridgewater where he married Lucinda Oliver in 1811.  It was in this town that William L. was born 3/14/1817.  He purchased a farm in the town of Plainfield now owned by William L.  It had 120 acres to which 310 have been added.  This farm is considered to be a premium farm in the town.  He established the first cheese factory in the county, introduced and used the first reaper and mower and has taken great pride in the interest of the town.  In 1875 he received the nomination for member of assembly in opposition to Hon. J. S. Davenport, but the district being largely democratic he was defeated.  In 1840 he married Angeline Wood, daughter of David and Mary Wood of New Hartford, Oneida County.  Mrs. Brown was born in the Town of Winfield 10/15/1820.  They had 3 children, William Henry, born 12/10/1842, Alonzo W. born 8/20/1844, and Mary born 5/3/1851.  This farm is now (2005) owned by Jim Gates on Hackely Street and was previously owned by Claude and Russell Brown.

 

Whitacre

 

This family was relatively new to the village of Unadilla Forks, having bought P. A. Chapman’s house after his death.  Mr. Whitacre delivered coal for my father after he took over the business in 1918. 

 

Whitford

 

The Whitford’s were pioneers in the Town of Plainfield.  Ernest Whitford was a wonderful organist, pianist and a good singer.  He played the organ in the Free Will Baptist Church for many years.  He married Lela Humphrey, who was the daughter of John Humphrey, who owned and ran the grocery store for many years.  Ern (as he was called) worked in the store for Mr. Humphrey and later he bought and ran the store in his own name.  He had 2 children, Myron and Eugene.  Ern and family later moved to Plainfield, New Jersey.

 

George Clark

 

He was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers in Unadilla Forks.  A son of Frances Oscar Clark and a grandson of Jared Clark who was born in the Town of Plainfield 12/01/1807.  His grandfather and father became well know manufacturers of furniture and agriculture instruments.  George Clark was born at Unadilla Forks 01/01/1860.  His wife was Anna E. Griffith and they were married 11/11/1880.  They had no children.  George was the first station agent when the Unadilla Valley Railroad began operation in 1895.  The station was called the River Forks Station.  He formerly worked at the DL&W station in Bridgewater and learned telegraphy there.  He remained at River Forks until about 1908 when he was promoted to the Leonardsville station, where he lived until 1918.

 

Herbert Babcock – Mrs. Jane Babcock – Laura Babcock

 

Herbert Babcock married Lizzie Holdridge in 1910.  Mrs. Jane Babcock who was Amiel Penny’s daughter, next to the youngest of his children, had married Henry Babcock 01/22/1867.  She was many years his junior and his 4th or 5th wife, the last of whom had been Herb’s mother Laura (last name not shown).  When Aunt Jane’s only daughter was born she allowed Herb to pick a name for the new baby and he chose his mother’s name, Laura and she married Jay Rider and they lived in Erie, Pa. for many years, but came to the home in Unadilla Forks summers.  Herb himself did not marry until past middle age.  His step mother died in 1917.  I (Jerry Jones) remember taking Laura Rider and a female friend for motor boat rides several summers in a row when they would visit the Forks.  The boat was a wooden boat and had to sit in the water in order that the wood would swell and stop the leaks.  The time period here is in the 50s.  The Babcock home was recently owned by Jerry and Carmen Davis.

 

Mrs. Janette Fitch    

 

This lady’s name appears prominently in early Free Baptist Ladies Aid Church records, but she is remembered as a “spry” little “old” lady.  She was famous for her “Angle Cake” and for the quilts which she pieced constantly.  She presented these to the ladies Aid Society, who in turn gave them to people who needed them.  Sometime in 1913 she went to live with a relative in Syracuse and the date of her death is not known by us at this time.

 

Mrs. Libbie Stillman

 

Mrs. Stillman was a sister of Dr. Charles Chesebro and when she was left a widow with a young son, Paul, Dr. Chesebro established her in a house next to his.  Hers was one of the 4 homes that burned in the 1918 fire.