Lewis County New York Biographies - Surnames A-B

Transcribed by Jeffrey Tooley

Lewis County New York Biographies extracted from the History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.

ADAMS, WILLIAM ROOT ADAMS, A. M., Biography

William Root Adams was born in the town of Lowville October 25, 1823. His father. Dr. Ira Adams, was the son of Timothy Adams, of Cavendish, Windsor county, Vermont. Doctor Adams came from Cavendish to this State when about twenty -twoyears of age. After graduating at the medical school in Albany, N. Y., he enlisted in the army, and was stationed during the War of 1812 as military surgeon at Port Erie. After his discharge from the army. Dr. Adams began the practice of medicine in the town of Denmark, and in 1821 married Arzelin A. Root, of the same town. A short time after his marriage he took up his residence at Stow's Square, in the town of Lowville, where he continued the practice of medicine until the time of his death in 1857.

William Root Adams, the subject of this sketch, passed his boyhood upon his father's farm, attending the district schools during the winter, and working on the farm during the summer, until the autumn of 1 841 , when he entered the Lowville Academy as a student. He attended the Academy during the fall and winter terms, spending the summer upon the farm, until the winter of 1845 '46, when he taught his first district school in the town of Harrisburgh. During the two succeeding winters he taught district schools in Lowville.

In September, 1848, Mr. Adams entered the Junior class in Union College, at Schenectady, and after remaining in college one year he taught three terms in a boarding school in the town of Nassau, Rensselaer county, in this State. Returning to college, he graduated with the class of 185 1, ranking in scholarship among the first of his class. After teaching two terms as assistant principal in Rome Academy, he returned to Lowville and engaged as assistant in the Lowville Academy. In June, 1852, Prof. David P. Mayhew, who had held the position of principal of Lowville Academy for thirteen years, resigned his position, and Mr. Adams was called by the trustees to take his place, and entered upon his duties during the summer term of 1852.

On the 17th of August, 1852, he was married to Melissa Mills, daughter of Timothy Mills, of Lowville. Mr. Adams held his position as principal of the academy until November, i860, when failing health compelled him to resign.

During the winters of i860 and 1861, he attended a course of medical lectures in the city of New York. His health being restored, in December, 1861, he again assumed charge of the academy as principal, and retained his position until the close of the academic year, in 1866, when he resigned for the purpose of engaging in mercantile pursuits.

He engaged in the book and stationery trade, in which he continued until the beginning of the academic year in September, 1874, when he was for the third time elected principal of the academy. He conducted the school in connection with his trade until May, 1878, when he disposed of his store and subsequently gave his entire attention to his duties at the academy.

Mr. Adams still remains in charge of the institution with which he has been connected during nearly the whole of the last forty-one years, as student, principal, or trustee. In March, 1866, he was elected one of the trustees of the academy, and continues to hold that position. At a subsequent meeting of the Board, held on the i8th of the same month, he was elected secretary of the Board of Trustees of the academy, which office he still retains. In December, 1861, Mr. and Mrs. Adams lost their second son, Edward, when in his fifth year. Their third son, Everett, died in February, 1865, in his second year. In November, 1 87 1, their oldest and only remaining son, George Tyler Adams, died when nearly nineteen years of age. This son, by his noble quahties of heart and mind, had endeared himself to a very large circle of friends. Possessing superior mental abiHties, and exhibiting an unusual aptitude for business, his parents were fondly hoping for him a successful and honorable future. His death came upon them with sudden and crushing force.

Two daughters still survive of their family of five children. The pride of Professor Adams' fife has been the success and prosperity of Lowville Academy. During the entire time that the school has been under his charge, he has taken the responsibility of employing his assistant teachers, and paying the current expenses of the school from year to year. The academy has been successful financially, and, when considered from a literary standpoint, it ranks among the first institutions of the State. The attendance during the last few years has been larger than ever before since its organization in 1808, and it bids fair to continue for years in its career of usefulness. [Source: History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.]

AGER, Joel W., Biography

Joel W. Ager, was born in Warner, New Hampshire, August 20, 1820. His father, Eliphaz Ager, was of Scottish descent, and was a native of ArUngton, Vermont, born March 7, 1800. The family is descended from two brothers who came to America at an early date, and who originally spelled the name Eager.

Eliphaz Ager married Esther Wheeler, of English origin, who was born in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, August I5> 1800, and died August 28, 1821. He died in Lyonsdale, Lewis County, November 19, 1870.

Joel W. Ager resided in Warner until about ten years of age, when his parents removed to Franklin Falls, N. H., where the elder Ager engaged in the trade of paper manufacturing, in the firm of Peabody, Daniels & Co. With this firm Joel learned the art of paper making, receiving the education of the common schools and the academy at Franklin, and remaining with his parents until he had attained his majority. At the age of twenty-one he went to Springfield, Mass., where he had for one year the charge of the paper manufactory known as the Springfield Paper Manufacturing Company. From there he went to Fitchburgh, Mass., where he engaged in setting up paper machinery and in starting new mills for Rice, Goddard & Co., of Worcester. Here he remained some three years, and then went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he built a paper mill for Kellogg, Weisenger & Co., remaining in their employ and in charge of the mill two years. In 1848, in company with a gentleman from Louisville, Ky., David Lane, he took an extensive journey through theWestern States prospecting for a site for paper manufacturing. Mr. Lane, who had in boyhood lived in Lewis County, and had remembered its streams and excellent water privileges, suggested a visit to this locality. Their visit resulted in the purchase of thirty acres of land with its water privileges, of A. G. Dayan, which comprised a portion of the Lyon estate.

He could not have chosen a better location for his enterprise, or one possessing more of the beautiful in nature. Utility and picturesqueness are here combined. The stream which never fails in its volume, flows through the valley between hills crowned with evergreens, expands itself in the broad ponds above the mills, and rushes with a roar, and whitened, as in anger, through the narrow gorge and over the falls to the quieter level below, and in its course is caught by the hand of man, and compelled to do duty for the benefit of the world. Here in a region which was then in its primitive state of wildness, Mr. Ager determined to locate and build for himself a business and a home. His friends endeavored to dissuade him from settling in a region so uninviting and inaccessible, and prophesied that his stay would be brief. But he had inherited too much of the vigor of the New Hampshire hills to fear the labor that laid before him, and was possessed of that indomitable perseverance which enters into the characters of all successful men. He began soon to cut roads and clear the land preparatory to building his mill. Remote from neighbors and villages, cut off as it were from the outside world, he felt oftentimes lonesome, but never discouraged. He knew that in that rushing stream, whose waters were never still, was a power that would turn the wheel of his fortune if he but remained and trained its forces to his use. Time has shown the wisdom of his determination. The old adage, " They laugh best who laugh last," is pertinently applicable in his case, for those who would have deterred him from his enterprise have seen him make a success where they supposed failure was certain. His success was merely another instance of the triumph of pluck and perseverance. He converted that region of wild country into a region of usefulness, and founded a business and a home in one of the most picturesque localities in the county. Even now it retains some of the wildness of its primitive days. The approach to it is over roads which wind through woods and boulders, and past fields of blackened stumps, where the hand of man has robbed nature of some of her beauty to enrich himself. As one passes over these roads where the stillness is almost as unbroken as in early days, it would require no great stretch of imagination to believe that behind those stumps and boulders, and in the tangled underbrush, lurk some of the dusky aborigines who once peopled this section. But the hum of the busy wheels on the river remind us that they have gone, and that a race more useful to mankind has taken their place. Villages have sprung up where once stood their wigwams, and the railroad has taken the place of their trails and the draft roads of their successors, the early pioneers. Foreseeing these possibilities of inhabitation and railroad facilities, Mr. Agerin that year, 1848, built his present paper-mill, which was the first machine mill of the kind in the county of Lewis. Mr. Lane engaged with him as partner, and was with him in the business eleven years. In those days there were no railroads, and their paper was carted from forty to eighty miles to market. The first paper of their manufacture was sold to Cyrus W. Field & Co., of New York. From small beginnings the manufacture of paper was increased to a steady and uniform business, and his purchase of land was extended to seven hundred acres. About 1871 , he engaged in lumbering, and built in that year the present saw-mill with a capacity of 6,000 feet per day. Mr. Ager set up the first Fourdrinier paper machine west of the Alleghany mountains. For twenty-one years he has filled the office of postmaster of Lyonsdale, which position he now occupies. Religiously, he is a Unitarian of comprehensive and liberal views, and socially is esteemed for his honest and genial nature. In December, 1845, he married at Fitchburgh, Mass., Celia A. Johnson, of Bellows Falls, Vt. One child was born to this marriage in Louisville, Ky., October 31, 1846, and died in infancy. On the 25th of October, 1864, he married for his second wife, Julia F. Williams, of Martinsburgh, who was born in Ogdensburgh, N. Y., August 22, 1839. Their children are : Josephine E. W., born May 27, 1866 ; C. Leonard J., born August 29, 1869; A. Florence, born July 28, 1871 ; F. Pet, born July 16, 1874. [Source: History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.]

ALLEN, Charles M. and Capt. Henry Willard, Biography

Willard Allen, grandfather to Charles M. and Henry W. Allen, was one of those enterprising young men who first commenced a settlement in Lewis county. He came to West Turin in 1797 and selected a spot in the wilderness, which he converted into a fertile farm, on which he lived more than half a century. His father was Ebenezer Allen, a resident of Connecticut. He added to his farm labors the occupation of surveyor, which he followed many years. His life was characterized in an unusual degree by integrity, honesty and uprightness. He died September 18, 1850, aged ^^ years. The grandfather of the subjects of this sketch, on the mother's side, was Rev. James Miller, a Methodist minister, who was born in Worcester Mass., and who came to this part of the country about 1800. The mother of Charles M., and Henry W., was the second oldest child in his family. He died March 31, 1843, aged 67 years.

Zenas Allen, son to Willard, was born in West Turin, Mar. 9, 1804. He was a farmer and surveyor, and was at one time Judge of Sessions, and creditably held numerous town offices. He married Betsey Miller, daughter of Rev. James Miller, Jan. 26, 1831, and died Nov. 25, 1869. The children of this marriage were as follows.-

Henry Willard ; James, born March 14, 1837; Mary E., born September 29, 1839; Susan E., born November 25, 1841; Charles M. Charles M. Allen was born in West Turin, July 24, 1845, in which town his early life was passed. He received his education at Whitestown and at Lowville Academy, and in March, 1863, at the age of eighteen, entered as clerk in the store of S. Miller & Son, in which capacity he served four years. He then began business in Constableville, with Stephen T. Miller, under the firm name of Stephen Miller & Company. Under this name the firm transacted business three years, when it was changed to Miller & Allen, and in August, 1881, Mr. Allen became sole proprietor. He has evinced marked ability as a merchant, and through his honesty and genial nature, has won the confidence and esteem of the citizens of his town. In 1881, Mr. Allen was elected Supervisor, and held that office two terms, being chairman of that body in 1882. He married, September 30, 1867, Miss N. M. Pease, daughter of A. B. Pease, of Lowville. The children of this marriage are: — Flora, born in November, 1868, died in infancy ; and Alice A., born August 31, 1870. Henry Willard Allen was born November 3, 1834. At the early age of seventeen, he began teaching school in his native town, an occupation for which he possessed pronounced abilities. At the age of twenty-one he went to Cook county, 111., where he engaged in teaching. He afterwards went to Springfield, in that State, where he entered mercantile business and was there at the breaking out of the Rebellion. He was one of the first to answer to the call to arms.

Entering the service as a private, he was promptly elected Orderly Sergeant of Co. G, 7th Illinois Infantry, the duties of which office he faithfully discharged until the expiration of his term of enlistment. Believing that his services were needed by his country, he re-enlisted and was appointed to the Captaincy of the same company to which he originally belonged. As a soldier, he nobly fulfilled his mission, being actuated by a pure and lofty patriotism. He participated in the engagements at Fort Donelson and Pittsburgh Landing, and in the latter was severely wounded in the shoulder. Of the principles underlying that eventful struggle, he had a remarkably clear insight and sound judgment. His letters written during that period evince a descriptive talent of a high order, and in some he expressed views which time has demonstrated to have been just and correct. In one of them he said : —

"We are fighting for a principle on which has been reared the whole fabric of our government, and all the institutions which have been fostered and matured by it. That principle is popular sovereignty. The will of the people is the Supreme law — not of the whole people, but of a majority properly and constitutionally expressed. No factious minority have a right to interfere with that decision. If so, farewell to the theory of self-government. Sacrifice every other interest to the permanent establishment of this principle. * * * * * * Forgetful of private interest or party prejudices, I claim that every man is called upon to peril all, if need be, in perpetuating the institutions under which we have so long and prosperously lived. I shall support the proclamation." The last sentence bears the true ring, and portrays the kind of a nature of which heroes are made. This faithful soldier and brave and honored officer was doomed to a sad death. Under his command, at Corinth, Miss., one of the soldiers of his regiment had been confined in the guard-house for striking and severely injuring a negro belonging to the camp. There was a feeling among some ot the men against punishing a soldier for abusing a negro, and one of the malcontents, named John Meyers, encouraged this feeling, and talked of attempting to rescue the man from the guard-house. Captain Allen promptly opposed such a breach of discipline, and Meyers, under the influence of passion and liquor, deliberately shot him with his musket. He died Decembers, 1862, and added another name to the long list of our country's preservers who demand our remembrance and our praise. [Source: History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.]

ALLEN, Emory, Biography

Samuel Allen, from Braintree, Essex county, England, came to this country and settled first at Cambridge, Mass., removed thence to Windsor, Conn., about 1635, where he died April, 1648, leaving his wife Ann, and six children. She removed to Northampton, and married again. Their children were: (i) Samuel, who married Hannah Woodford, in 1659; (2) Nehemiah, married Sarah Woodford; (3) John, married Mary Hannum; (4) Abigail; (5) Obadiah; (6) name not found.

(5) Obadiah Allen, son of Samuel, of Windsor, married October 28, 1669, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Sandford, of Milford. He settled in Middletown, and became deacon of the church. He died April 7, 1712. Their children were: (7) Obadiah, born September 27, 1670; (8) Thomas, born September 20, 1672; (9) Thomas, born September 27, 1673; (10) Mary, born September 15, 1675; (11) Anna, born September 12, 1677; (12) Thankful, born September 8, 1679; (13) Samuel, born March 15, 1685; (14) John, born September 27, 1786.

(7) Obadiah Allen, son of Deacon Obadiah Allen, married November 23, 1699, Dorcas, daughter.of James Wright. Their children were: — (15) Obadiah, and (16) Dorcas.

(15) Obadiah Allen, son of (7) Obadiah married June 1, 1727, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Lydia Cotton. He lived in Middletown. Children: — (17) Obadiah; (18) Ebenezer, born April 1, 1730; (19) Daniel, born August 28, 1732; (20) Ebenezer, born February 5, 1738; (21) Lydia, born August 26, 1742.

(19) Daniel Allen, son of (15) Obadiah came to Southington Conn., when a young man, and married March 31, 1765, Huldah Clark, daughter of David and Hannah Woodruff. He was a merchant, and also kept a hotel. He died February 15, 1793. Children:— (22) Joel, born September 21, 1755; (23) Elizabeth, born December 18, 1757; (24) Philothea, born July 5, 1761; (25) Philothea, born March 5, 1764; (26) Huldah, born October 30, 1766; (27) Sabrina, born July 29, 1769; (28) Phebe, born April 16, 1773; (29) Nancy, born April 12, 1776; (30) Daniel born April 12, 1776; (31) Lydia, died when an infant; (32) Lydia, born May 9, 1779.

(20) Ebenezer Allen, son of (15) Obadiah, married Elizabeth Powsley, in 1766. Children: — (33) Ebenezer, born February 15, 1769; (34) Elizabeth, born July 8, 1770; (35) Willard, born May 10, 1773; (36)' Samuel, born January 24, 1775; (37) Lydia, born November 24, 1777: (38) Sarah, born January 29, 1780; (39) Jonathan, born January 10, 1782; (40) Ichabod, born August 1, 1783.

(34) Elizabeth Allen, married Caleb Merriman, June 1, 1801. She died January 1, 1814, aged 44 years, and her sister (38) Sarah Allen, married Caleb Merriman, October 10, 18 14. She died April 10, 1849.

(22) Joel Allen, son of (19) Daniel born September 21, 1755, married Lucy Newell, who died May 2, 1783. He then married Diadamia Newell. Children: — (50) Octavia, born October 31, 1779; (51) James, born August 4, 1781; (52) Augustus, born October 14, 1787; (53) Joel, born January 15, 1795; (54) Lucy, born August 4, 1799.

(51) James Allen, son of (22) Joel married Lucena Bradley, daughter of Hemingway Bradley. He was a merchant in Southington, Conn., and died September 15, 1825. Children: — (55) Adeliza, born in 1809, died May 18, 1826; (56) Harriet, born in 1811, died February 23, 1812; (57) Amon, born in 1813, died October 5, 1827.

Emory Allen was born February 2, 1810, in the town of West Turin. He is the sixth in descent from Samuel Allen, the English immigrant from Braintree, Essex county, England. His father, Ebenezer, born February 15, 1769, in Middletown, Conn., removed from there, with one ox team and cart in company with James Miller, to West Turin, in the spring of 1796. General Ethan Allen, of Ticonderoga fame, was a branch of this original stock.

Emory Allen married Sally, the third daughter of James Miller, above mentioned. His early life was passed in the town of his birth, where he received the education of the common schools of that day. He afterward adopted the occupation of farmer, which he has followed with success, and his genial nature and kindness have won for him numerous friends.

His children are: Richard, Kate S., Nancy G., and James M. [Source: History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.]

ARTHUR, Bradford, Obituary

Of the earher ancestry of this family nothing definite is known, save that they were residents of England. The name was originally known as McArthur, which would indicate that the family was of Irish origin.

The prefix was dropped from the name at some remote period in the history of the family. Bartholomew McArthur, the grandfather, came to this country from England, but at what date and at what place he settled are both unknown. Richard Arthur, his son, and the father of Bradford, was at one time a resident of Groton, Rhode Island, from which place he removed to Westfield, Mass., at about the beginning of the Revolutionary war.

He married Hannah Bradford, a greatgranddaughter of Governor Bradford, who came over in the Mayflower. He was by occupation a ship carpenter, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and at one time a prisoner in that eventful struggle.

He died in Westfield, Mass., in 1790, aged forty years. Hannah Bradford Arthur, his wife, died December 13, 1 83 1 , aged eighty-four years. They had eleven children, six sons and five daughters.

The sons were Bradford, Levi, Richard, Russell, Joseph, and Elisha. Four of the daughters married early settlers here, and the entire family came from Westfield, Mass., in 1802 and 1803, and took up large farms on the State road north of Martinsburgh village, the most of which are still owned by their descendants.

Bradford, the eldest of these children, and the subject of the portrait connected with this sketch, was born in Groton, Rhode Island, in 1773. Some portion of his early life was passed in Rhode Island, when he removed with his parents to Westfield, Mass., where he was educated. He was a farmer, and served as a heutenant in the American forces during the War of 1812.

On the 26th day of April, 1798, he married Rheumah Ely, of Springfield, Mass. In 1803, he came to Lewis county and took up a farm. He was for a number of terms supervisor of his town, and held also the office of coroner.

He died September 9, 1855, aged eighty-two. Rheumah Ely, his wife, died April 15, 1850, aged seventy-three. Their children were: — Lovisa, born March 7, 1799, married Murlin Finch, of Lowville, died August 6, 1882; Warren, born December 20, 1800, married first, Maria Harger, of Martinsburgh, and second, Almira Hough, died June 19, 1876; Rheumah, born August 6, 1803, married Egbert Ragan, of Turin, died May 24, 1828; Almira and Alvina, (twins) born June 8, 1805, the former married Roswell Miller, of Leyden, and died February 21, 1838, and the latter, now the widow of Willis Rudd: Louisa, born February 18, 1808, widow of Thomas J. Adams, of Martinsburgh; Julia Ann, born April i, 1810; DeWitt Clinton, born July 15, 18 12, died September, 1815; Mary Ann, born November 27, 1815, widow of Chauncey Roberts, of Leyden; Emily, born March 31, 1818, married Duane Moore, of Martinsburgh; Harriet, born August 20, 1821, married Sherman Phillips, of Lowville. [Source: History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.]

ARTHUR, Orlando, Biography

The father of the subject of this sketch was Levi Arthur, who was born in Westfield, Mass., March 20, 1780, and who came to Lewis county about the year 1802.

He married Sally Hovey, who was born in Bennington, Vermont, April 20, 1785, and who, in 1803, came from that State to this county with her brother, Samuel Hovey, for whom she kept house for some years.

Levi Arthur died November 28, 1852. His wife died in Martinsburgh, October 19, 1 86 1. Their children were Jane Ann, born February 16, 1807; Orlando; Caroline, born January 10, 1812, died November 14, 1846; Mellissa, born June 11, 1 8 14, died September 7, 1815; Alfred, born August 16, 1818; Pamelia, born August 20, 1820; Levi, Jr., born March I, 1823, died December 10, 1877.

Orlando Arthur was born in Martinsburgh, June 4, 1809, in which place he has always lived. He received the education of the common schools, and entered upon the occupation of farming, which he has followed through life with some success. Born at a time when the town and county was in a state of rugged wilderness, he passed his earlier years in the trials and deprivations of pioneer life, and has lived to see the county rescued from its primitive condition; to see the forests fall beneath the settler's axe, and cultivated farms spring from the wilderness; the cramped cabin give place to the comfortable dwelling, and all the modern improvements supersede the crudeness of those pioneer days. On the 29th of January, 1834, he married Ehza Ann Mastan, by whom he had eleven children, as follows: Elijah, born November 12, 1834, died February 2, 1835; James E., born April 22, 1836, died September 12, 1839; Orlando, Jr., born August 6, 1838; Charles D., born May 12, 1840; Lewis, born July 22, 1 841; Martha A., born January 23, 1843, married Amos Peebles; Frances H., born January 10, 1845, married Henry Coats; Caroline, born December 3, 1847, married James Kelly; Almedia, born November 19, 1849, married John McCue; Eliza Ann, born July 22, 1851, married John McCue, and died August 2, 1872; Nancy A., born September 9, 1853, married Samuel Roberts. [Source: History of Lewis County, New York; with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 1805-1883. By Franklin B. Hough. Published by D. Mason & co., Syracuse, N.Y.]

BOSHART, Charles D., Biography

The father of the subject of this sketch was Garret Boshart, who was born in Johnstown, Fulton County, July 15, 1771, and died May 26, 1845. He came to Lewis County in 1798, or '99, when but three houses stood where at present is the village of Lowville. His wife was Dolly Goutermout, who was born in Ephratah, Fulton County, Jan. 4, 1788, and died June 11, 1875. They had ten children as follows:

Garret, died April 7, 1872: Catherine, married Rev. Phihp Weiting, pastor of the Lutheran church at New Rhinebeck, Schoharie county, November 23, 1828, died March 14, 1876; Nancy M., Dolly A., Nicholas, William; Eliza, married K. Collins Kellogg, of Lowville; John died May 4, 1843.

Charles D., the tenth child, was born in Lowville, on the farm where he now lives, November 2, 1829. In this place his early life was passed. He received his education at the Lowville Academy, an institution which has graduated many persons of stability and prominence, and engaged in the occupation of farming in which he has been eminently successful. About 1863, he began the culture of hops, and during these twenty years has been one of the largest hop growers of Lewis county.

To the men of quiet, persistent, yet unobtrusive mould is due the material prosperity of every town and county. They cultivate their farms and produce prolific crops.

Of this steadily persistent cast is Mr. Boshart. A keenly observant, well informed man, who rarely leaves the work he has marked out until his purpose is accomplished; of honor in the fulfillment of his spoken promise as well as of his written word; and of strict integrity in the transaction of his private and public business, he may be numbered among the representative men who have graced the annals of Lewis county and aided in the advancement of its prosperity. Though not a politician in the lower sense of that term, he has taken some interest in the affairs of local government, and has for eleven years served the town acceptably as Supervisor, to which office he was elected in 1872.

On the 11th of February, 1858, Mr. Boshart was married to Margaret Quackenbush, daughter of James and Margaret Quackenbush, of Fonda, Montgomery county. New York. The children of this marriage were :-

Julia, born February 22, 1859, died in infancy; Charles Frederick; Nellie M. E.; Edward James; and Grace E.