Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- book:willet8 [2010/05/02 18:40] – jims
+++ book:willet8 [2014/11/01 14:36] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-====== Willet(8) Seymour ======
+====== Willet Seymour ======
 //Note: This information was supplied by Paul Carleton Seymour.//
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 //[[038.samuel|Samuel]]//<sup>5</sup>, //[[015.samuel|Samuel]]//<sup>4</sup>,
 //[[006.Matthew|Matthew]]//<sup>3</sup>, //[[002.Thomas|Thomas]]//<sup>2</sup>,
-//[[001.Richard|Richard]]//<sup>1</sup>), born 1805 in Thompkins, Delaware, NY,
+//[[001.Richard|Richard]]//<sup>1</sup>), born 1805 in Tompkins, Delaware, NY,
-died 1897 in Thompkins, Delaware, NY.  Married Mary Goodrich (b. 1814 in Sidney,
+died 1897 in Tompkins, Delaware, NY.  Married Mary Goodrich (b. 1814 in Sidney,
 Delaware, NY; grandaughter of [[http://www.hopefarm.com/cashgen.htm|Zenas Goodrich]],
 a Revolutionary soldier((Rev War Pension File R1780, CT Line)) and founder of Sidney,
 New York).
-^ Children (born in Thompkins, Delaware, NY): ^^
+^ Children (born in Tompkins, Delaware, NY): ^^
 | Lewis | died infancy |
 | Amanda | |
 | Alonzo | 1836 |
-| [[gilbert9|Gilbert]] | 1839 |
+| [[gilbert9|Gilbert]] | 1839-1896 |
 | George Washington | |
 | Charles | |
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 | Florence | |
 | Rector | |
+[[http://www.dcnyhistory.org/seymour]] Also from the Delaware County NY
+historical website, more information about William's descendents, and our
+ancestors.
+"**Willet Seymour** (1805-1897) was born on the old farm in the Town of
+Tompkins on May 6, 1805, and lived his long life of 92 years on that farm,
+never having any other home. On William Jr's death, Willet became possessor
+of the old homestead and continued the occupations of his father, lumbering
+and farming. Later on, he started, and for several years ran a grocery store
+in Cannonsville. In 1830, he married his first cousin, Mary Goodrich,
+daughter of Allen and Elizabeth (Lord) Goodrich, born in Sidney in 1814.
+They had 10 children: Lewis, who died in infancy, Amanda, Alonzo,
+**Gilbert** //(my GG Grandfather),// George Washington, Charles, Erastus,
+Willet, Jr., Florence and Rector. Mary Goodrich's grandfather, Zenas
+Goodrich was a Revolutionary soldier and a pioneer of Sidney."
+//I did some research into Zenas Goodrich, but it's sufficient to say that
+he's another member of our family who fought in the Revolutionary War (Proof
+document--Rev War Pension File R1780, CT Line).,  and another founder of yet
+another American town, this time the one where both my sister and I, and
+both of our parents were born.  Also where my Great Grandparents, Henry
+Clinton Seymour, and Carrie Cuyle Seymour are buried, after my Grandfather,
+Westley C. Seymour moved them both there just prior to the destruction and
+flooding of Cannonsville.  Westley C. Seymour, and my Grandmother Leone Dann
+Seymour, are also buried there, at Prospect Hill.//
+A postcard of Uptown Sidney in the 1950's:
+{{willet001.jpg|A postcard of Uptown Sidney in the 1950's}}
+//The last time I was there in 1999, it looked remarkably the same aside
+from the cars, of course.  There was a disastrous flood in 2006 and as of
+, it looks like the town is dying somewhat, since the factories that
+fuelled the local economy have mostly closed down.  My grandmother, Leone
+Dann Seymour, worked at the Hotel Decumber (the black sign in the picture on the right hand side) in the late 1930's as a young
+divorcee raising my Uncle Richard Curtis before meeting my grandfather.  In 1999, it was still there.//
+**Another article on Willet Seymour**, a son of William and Dorothy Seymour,
+and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born on the old farm in
+Tompkins, May 6, 1805, and was reared to agricultural and lumbering
+pursuits, in which he was employed throughout his life. On the death of his
+father he became the possessor of the old homestead; and here he still
+resides in his ninetieth year, retaining to a remarkable degree all his
+faculties. His wife was Mary Goodrich, to whom he was married July 28, 1830.
+She was born in Sidney, N.Y., September 1, 1814. Her grandfather, Zenas
+Goodrich, who was a Revolutionary soldier and a pioneer of Sidney, married
+Mercy Lawrence. Allen Goodrich, the father of Mrs. Willet Seymour, married
+Miss Elizabeth Lord, a daughter of Eliphalet and Mary (Green) Lord.  Willet
+and Mary died on the same day, March 30, 1897.
+Nine of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Willet Seymour lived to reach
+maturity namely Amanda, Alonzo, **Gilbert**, Charles, Erastus E., Willet.
+Florence, and Rector, Lewis dying in infancy, and Washington dying at the
+age of forty-eight years. Mrs. Seymour was a thrifty housewife, and before
+her marriage had learned, besides the necessary household accomplishments,
+the art of weaving, carding, and spinning, so that in her early, married
+life she dressed her children in the homespun which she made entirely with
+her own hands.
+//I had to look up carding, as I'd never heard of it before//:
+[[wp>Carding]]  "Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and
+unorganized clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that
+they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the
+Latin carduus meaning teasle, as dried vegetable teasles were first use to
+comb the raw wool. These ordered fibres can then be passed on to other
+processes that are specific to the desired end use of the fibre: batting,
+felt, woollen or worsted yarn, etc. Carding can also be used to create
+blends of different fibres or different colors. When blending, the carding
+process combines the different fibres into a homogeneous mix. Commercial
+cards also have rollers and systems designed to remove some vegetable matter
+contaminants from the wool."
+//Following are three different stories on Alonzo Seymour, who was Willet's
+oldest son, and who became a big rough lumber dealer in Philadelphia.
+There's some overlap, but each story has some unique facts, so I included
+them all.  Our Gilbert, his younger brother, seemed to do more farming than
+lumbering, but was also involved at least part time in lumbering with
+Alonzo.//
+//Continuing with Don's story//-"**Alonzo Seymour**, //(Gilbert's older
+brother, Don's great grandfather and my great-great uncle)//, was born at
+the old homestead in 1836 where he lived with his parents until he was 24
+years old, working for and with his father at the business of lumbering and
+farming, lumbering being the main business. He became very expert in every
+part of the business - from cutting and getting out the timber and
+manufacturing it into lumber, to rafting it down the Delaware River to
+Philadelphia and selling it. In later life he became one of the best
+salesmen and was one of the largest rough-lumber dealers in the city of
+Philadelphia. In about 1859, he went into partnership with his father,
+Willet, and bought 200 acres of land on Sands Creek on which there was a one
+and a half story log house with a small shed on the backside used for a
+woodshed and storeroom. There was also a good frame barn and a water-power
+sawmill, and another small board house called the millhouse. In 1860, he
+married Josephine Bradbury who was born in Sparta, NJ in 1838.  Her father
+was John Bradbury, a minister, and Olive O. Terwilliger of Newburgh.
+Immediately after their marriage, Alonzo and Josephine moved into the log
+house on Sands Creek and proceeded to build a new house and raise a family.
+They had six childlren: Oakley Arlington, Irvin Winfield, Ziba Angle (Don's
+grandfather), June, John, Willet, and Kate. In addition, they adopted a
+daughter, Belle (Shackleton). "
+ALONZO SEYMOUR,  is //(an old story as he's speaking of Alonzo in the
+present tense) //a native resident of the town of Tompkins, which he
+represents as a member of the County Board of Supervisors. His great-
+grandfather, William Seymour, who, it is supposed, was of English birth
+(//which we now know is inaccurate, but I wonder why they ever thought that?
+Maybe William Jr. had no contact with him, and maybe why stories weren't
+passed down very well from generation to generation//), for many years was a
+prominent business man at Newburg, N.Y. He also built two Liverpool packets
+(//according to the history of the town of Newburgh, he built 3//), the
+"William Penn" and the "Ontario," the latter being a vessel of five hundred
+tons burthen, the largest packet at that time in the Liverpool trade. He was
+an extensive dealer in real estate, and did much for the improvement of the
+village, where he was a resident to the time of his death.
+His wife (//this must refer to Rhoda Chidsey, but there doesn't seem to be
+any record of their marriage, and Jr. was born while Sr. was married to
+Esther Sands. I suppose it would have been impolite in the 19th century to
+imply that a founding citizen, and respected businessman had been born to
+his fathers' girlfriend//), accompanied by his son William, Jr., who was
+born in New Haven, Conn. (//listed as Greenwich Ct. On other sites, but
+actually East Haven would make more sense, since it's Rhoda's hometown, and
+she was quite young//), moved then to Delaware County, where they were among
+the first settlers. This son purchased a tract of heavily timbered land on
+the south side of the west branch of the Delaware River, which included the
+land now owned by the subject of this sketch. In these early days no
+railroads or canals shortened the distances between towns and villages, and
+the isolated pioneers subsisted chiefly on the products of their own land
+and the deer and fish which were then abundant in the surrounding country.
+William Seymour, Jr., (//then about 16 years old//) commenced at once on his
+removal to his new home to clear his land and take his lumber by-means of
+rafts down the river to Philadelphia, returning over the long route on foot.
+December 16, 1803, he married Dorothy Lord, daughter of Eliphalet and Mary
+(Green) Lord. She was born August, 28, 1788, and died January 28, 1866, the
+mother of ten children, having lived to see the wilderness about her home
+transformed into the seat of a prosperous, wealthy community.
+"**Alonzo Seymour** was brought up to the lumber business, assisting his
+father in buying the standing lumber and rafting it down the river to
+Philadelphia. Upon reaching his majority he purchased a tract of land in the
+town of Tompkins, on which there was an improved water-power and saw-mill,
+and has been since that time continuously engaged in the manufacture and
+sale of lumber. He has also been greatly interested in farming, and in 1888
+purchased the old homestead which he now occupies. In 1860 he married Miss
+Josephine Bradbury, who became the mother of six children: Oakley A.; Irvin
+W.; Ziba A.; John W.; June; and Kate, who died at the age of five years. And
+they have also an adopted child, Belle.
+Politically, Mr. Seymour is a Republican, being a staunch supporter and
+active worker of that party, and has held many offices of trust and
+responsibility, among them being that of Supervisor, to which he was elected
+in 1893 and re-elected in 1894. He has also held positions on various
+committees, his long experience and natural business ability and well-known
+integrity making his co-operation doubly valuable. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour are
+both earnest, active members of the Baptist church, where they are
+universally esteemed."
+//The following are also from the Delaware County Historical website, but
+were written much earlier, evidently in the late 1800's or early 1900's
+based on the use of the present tense while discussing George who was born
+in 1848//.  [[http://www.dcnyhistory.org/books/brevie12.html]]
+**"**GEORGE S. SEYMOUR (//another gg uncle of mine as another grandson of
+William, Jr//.) is a successful farmer in the town of Tompkins, N.Y., where
+he was born October 7, 1848. His grandfather was William Seymour, who is
+further mentioned in the biography of Alonzo Seymour elsewhere in this
+volume. Charles D. Seymour, the father of George, was born in Tompkins,
+April 26, 1823, and was brought up a farmer. He married Phoebe Walker,
+daughter of John and Betsey Walker, residents of that part of Tompkins now
+known as Deposit. George S. Seymour in his childhood was educated at the
+district school, and worked on his father's farm, a part of which he
+purchased from his father in 1880. On January 19, 1881, he married M. Eliza
+McDonald, daughter of D. G. and Jane (Chambers) McDonald, of Walton. Mrs.
+Seymour's paternal grandfather, Archibald McDonald, came to America from
+Scotland, and settled in North Carolina, where he remained for thirteen
+years, and then came-to; Delaware County, New York. He married Jennette
+Smith, daughter of John Smith, of Walton. Their son, D. G. McDonald, was
+born in North Carolina, and, when thirteen years of age, removed with his
+parents to New York, where he was engaged in the lumber business and
+agricultural pursuits. D.G. McDonald married Jane Chambers, who became the
+mother of eight children, namely: Maria; Eliza, the wife of the subject of
+this sketch; John; Archibald; Jennette; Jane and David, who were twins; and
+Sloane. The family are Reformed Presbyterians, and still reside on the old
+homestead. Mr. McDonald is a Republican in politics.
+Mrs. Seymour resided with her parents in Walton, teaching school in various
+towns of Delaware County for five years. She is the mother of two children -
+- David N. and Ethel N.; and both she and her husband are members of the
+Presbyterian church. Politically, Mr. Seymour is a Republican, being a firm
+supporter of the platform of that party; and his position as a man of
+unquestionable integrity is manifested by the respect with which he is
+regarded by all who know him.
+//I find it interesting that both the religious and political affiliations
+are stressed in the biographies.  Also note that both were described as
+being of the highest integrity, which is a trait that the Seymours have been
+well known for, for many generations before and afterward, up to and
+including, I hope, yours truly. Although my ex-wife would probably disagree,
+I believe that others who know me would be in agreement. //
+//The following article was written by my GG Uncle Oakley Arlington Seymour
+ca. 1934.  Note the rather high quality English for a guy in the Depression
+in the middle of nowhere upstate NY.  Also imagine yourself floating down
+the river through the wilderness, and arriving in the big city several days
+later.  It must have been a nice break from the chopping and sawing and
+loading, and I can only imagine what kind of time these guys had in Philly
+with their pockets full of cash.....//:
+RAFTING IN THE CANNONSVILLE SECTION
+"I think that the first rafting that was done on this branch of the Delaware
+was not later than the year 1810, as my great-grandfather, William Seymour,
+had been here since the year 1800, and was one of the pioneer lumbermen of
+the (west) branch. I do not know, nor do I know of any way to find out, who
+ran the first raft (presumably of pine or hemlock logs) out of the branch.
+William Seymour's son, Willet, was a lumberman all his life, having a water
+power sawmill here at Cannonsville, and having one-half interest in another
+one with Alonzo Seymour on Sands Creek. Willet did his rafting here at
+Cannonsville but he and Alonzo rafted the product of the Sands Creek mill at
+Hancock, but on this same branch of the Delaware. Between the two of them
+they probably rafted several million feet of sawed lumber from these two
+places, the most of it being hemlock.
+There were several other quite extensive lumbermen in the vicinity of
+Cannonsville, among them Wilson Owens and his sons, Lewis and James; Nathan
+Boyd and Sherman, Jerry and John Gregory, who operated at what was called in
+those days, Carpenter's Eddy, but is now known as Granton. There was also a
+family of Grants who lived at that place who were quite extensive lumbermen.
+Also a father, brother and son by the names of Francis, Aarad and Clark
+Frazier, who lumbered practically all their lives. They were also known as
+"branch steersmen," as they used to steer down this branch as far as
+Hancock, but no farther. In fact, there were very few men in these parts but
+what did more or less lumbering, as it was generally a means of procuring a
+little ready cash at least once a year.
+On Sands Creek, where I was born and raised, there were nine sawmills, run
+by waterpower. All of them were up-and-down mills except one that was
+originally of that class and later built over with a circular saw. These
+mills all shipped their products, mostly Hemlock, by way of the West Branch,
+to the Philadelphia market.
+**Sands Creek, a tributary of the West Branch, was named for Samuel Sands,
+the owner of the largest mill on the creek, and one of the largest lumber
+dealers in that whole territory, rafting his lumber at Hancock**, but I do
+not know whether he confined his rafting operations to the West Branch or
+whether he used both. The Crary Bros. also were quite big lumber dealers,
+and they, also, had a mill at this place. Alonzo Seymour was one of the
+largest lumbermen on the creek. I once heard him say that he figured that
+over a million feet of lumber had been manufactured in his one small mill on
+Sands Creek, and it was all rafted on the West Branch of the Delaware at
+Hancock, just below the suspension bridge which goes over the river into
+Pennsylvania. On the opposite side of the river from where he rafted I saw
+in one spring what they claimed was a million feet of hemlock logs which
+were rafted that spring.
+I am not posted at all on lumbermen anywhere above Rock Rift, although I
+think that rafts have been run from as far up as Hamden, and possibly as far
+as Delhi. But if they were they would have to have been very small,
+especially in length. As near as I can remember, they used to be about 16 to
+feet wide by 150 to 160 feet long. If a man had two of them, he would run
+them out of the branch single, and lash the two together when they reached
+the main river. It used to be quite an event for the boys here in the
+village to go down the branch to Hancock and then walk back 11 miles by way
+of Sands Creek.
+Another creek which contributed considerable traffic to the West Branch was
+'Roods Creek,' several miles below Deposit, also another creek, whose name I
+do not recall, which came into the West Branch from the Pennsylvania side at
+Hales Eddy. I call to mind Begeal, Travis and Gardinier as quite prominent
+lumbermen in that territory.
+The main timber rafted from this section was hemlock, mostly sawed into
+scantling or joists, 3 inches thick, from 4 to 12 inches wide, and from 12
+to 24 feet long. However, there was very little of the latter length. In the
+later years of rafting considerable maple was cut and rafted to the
+Philadelphia market. Raftsmen would put in a hemlock bottom and load the
+maple on it. The maple was usually sawed into 2 inch planks. If there were
+more than 60 or 70 thousand feet, it was usually made into two rafts. I have
+heard of two hemlock rafts that counted out 180 thousand feet in
+Philadelphia. Rafts from here were built from 16 to 20 feet wide; from 160
+to 180 feet long, and had from two to five oars, according to the size of
+the raft and the amount of water they would draw. I have heard of their
+drawing a high as 33 inches of water. They used from 2 to 5 hands, according
+to the size of the raft and whether it was double or single. I have heard of
+one man running a light raft, which they called a "colt," clear through to
+Trenton alone. I went down once, there being four of us on the raft, and we
+had a very pleasant trip, reaching Trenton in four days.
+Some other names involved with rafting on the Delaware are: Daniel Skinner,
+"Admiral of the Delaware," said to be the first man to raft logs down the
+Delaware; Josiah Parks; Peter Swartwood Barnes; Oliver Tyler; George C.
+Abraham; John B. Conklin; Elias Mitchell; Nathan Calkin; Benjamin; Daniel
+and Stiles Chamberlain; Lyman Palmer; Daniel Alverson; A.J. Andrews; John
+and Martin Love; George Grant; Jeremiah and Sherman Gregory; Huntington;
+James Ostrom; James Lovelace; John Sprague; Sherman Sutton; Israel Gillette;
+Henry and Steve Durfee; "Shep" Smith; James Hunt; Johannas Frazier; John B.
+Kelsey; Caleb Kelsey; Alfred Beers; Jacob and Samuel A. Hathaway; Nathan
+Dean; George L. Rood; Benaih G. Jayne; D.W., S.F. and J.O. Whitaker; David
+Lord; J. Harrington Smith; Milton Whitaker; Stiles; Bridges; Barmer Hadley;
+Henry Evans; George Peters; John M. Briggs, Sr.; George W. Briggs; Fletcher
+Palmer; Palmer Boroughs; G. Halsey Bielby; Benjamin S. Boroughs; G. Mott
+Briggs; Albert Boroughs; Edgar Webb; Moses Cole; George Huyck; Alexander;
+David Lord; Bonnefond; Joshua Pine; MacLean; Weed; Ogden; Abraham and Judge
+Isaac; Thomas and Jared Marvin; Isaac and William Townsend; Beers; Stockton;
+Bennett Beardsley; Jeter Gardner; A.N. Wheeler; M. Case; Sylvester Brisack;
+Joseph Combs; N.C. Thomas; George Marvin; John Launt; Ira Peake; Joseph and
+J.B. Yentes; Eli and Alfred Gould; Hull and George Bradley; Nichols;
+Wakeman; Graham; Cables; Buckbee; William Boucher; Elias Mitchell; Leander
+S. Conklin; Boney Quillen."