Table of Contents
The following 10 biographical sketches were extracted from the Geographical gazetteer of Jefferson county, N.Y., 1685-1890.
William Thomas
William Thomas, one of the early pioneers of Adams, left Halifax, Vt., in March, 1801, with his wife, seven sons, and two daughters, traveling with an ox team and sled, to seek a home in the then “far west.” They came via Boonville and Lowville, the journey, a portion of which was through the trackless wilderness, occupying 25 days. Their children were Benjamin, who died in Orleans County; Ira A., who died in Adams in 1859; Lucinda (Mrs. Samuel Hubbard), who died in Clayton; Joel, who died at the age of 90 years; James, Polly (Mrs. Elihu Putnam), Ezra, and William, who died in this town. Ira A. Thomas, born in 1779, married Lucy Allen, of Vermont, in 1799, and their children were Eunice (Mrs. D. Walker), Lois (Mrs. Ezra Putnam), Ruth, Lucy (Mrs. Rev. David Walker), Ira A., Jr., and Capt. Lewis N. The latter was born on the homestead in this town in 1818, and was educated at Cazenovia Academy. He married Abbie, daughter of James and Abbie (Thurston) Searles, in 1838, by whom he had two sons, Sanford S. and William H. S. Capt. Thomas was accidentally killed by the cross-bar of his barn door being blown against his head, August 24, 1863. William H. S. Thomas, born in 1840, married, first, Fanny J., daughter of John M. and Philamelia (Stoddard) Searls, in 1868, who died in 1876. In 1880 he married Mary A., daughter of James and Ann (Erwin) Gregg, by whom he has two sons and one daughter, viz.: Lewis N., Ira A., and Cynthia G. Mr. Thomas is a dairyman and farmer, and owns and occupies the homestead farm of 425 acres, on road 61, which has never been owned out of the Thomas family.
Sanford S. Thomas
Sanford S. Thomas, son of L. Newell and Abbie (Searles) Thomas, was born in Adams in 1838, and was reared upon a farm. He married Phila M., daughter of Irving and Phila (Whetter) Spencer, of Ellisburgh, in 1860, by whom he has had five sons and three daughters, viz.: Jennie E., Newel S., Bernard S., George C, Frank B., Fannie A. (deceased), James C, and Ruth A. Mr. Thomas is a wholesale seed grower and resides on road 62.
Peter Doxtater, Sr.
Peter Doxtater, Sr., son of George, was born in 1750. He came from German Flats, Herkimer County, with his wife and six children, about 1802, and located where Howard Brainard now lives. He married Elizabeth Cunningham, and their children were George, William, John, Peter, Betsey, and Elijah. They came up the Mohawk River in a flat-boat, purchased supplies in Utica, then proceeded to Oneida Lake, thence through the Oswego River to Lake Ontario, along the shore of which they slowly worked their way to Big Sandy Creek. There were only a few families in Adams at this time, and Mr. Doxtater’s was the first deed given in the town. In his youth Mr. Doxtater was captured, with three brothers and sisters, and taken to Canada, where he remained three years. He died in Adams in 1842, aged 92 years. Peter, Jr., born in 1792, married Lorany, daughter of Ebenezer and Innocent (Hulburt) Blackstone, of New Hartford, Oneida County, in 1816, and they reared three daughters, viz.: Delia A. (Mrs. James G. Pease), Sophronia (Mrs. R. E. Smiley), of Watertown, and Elizabeth C. (Mrs. S. N. Bond), of Adams. Mr. Doxtater died in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Pease were married in 1841. They had three sons and one daughter, viz.: De Alton J., who died in Minnesota in 1885; Brayton R., who died in Peru, S. A., in 1868, aged 20 years; Enoch, who died in 1853, aged two years; and Lizzie E. Mrs. Peter Doxtater, Jr., at the age of 88 years, resides with her daughter, Mrs. Pease, on North Main Street.
George Doxtater
George Doxtater, son of Peter and Elizabeth (Cunningham) Doxtater, born in 1780, came to Adams in 1802. He married Mary Brodoch, in 1809, by whom he had three sons and five daughters, viz.: Polly, Betsey, Sally, Nancy, Chauncey, Roxiana, George W., and Peter B.
Westwood, Carmi, Moses, and Jonathan Wright
Westwood, Carmi, Moses, and Jonathan Wright, sons of Joseph, who died at Deerfield, Mass., in 1793, came to Adams about 1802. Westwood located where his grandson, Edwin S. Wright, now resides; Carmi where Austin Sischo resides; and Moses on the Barret place, now owned by E. S. Wright. Westwood married Sarah Billings, by whom he had five sons and two daughters, of whom Cynthia married Ebenezer Blackstone; Elijah, Henry, and Stephen died in Adams; David died in Watertown; Sally married Joseph Woodman and died in Michigan; Stephen B., born in 1789, married Hannah, daughter of Jacob Kellogg, in 1814, and their children were Deborah, who married L. Patrick, of New York; Charles B., who died in Illinois; Harriet, who died in Adams in 1880; Louise, who married David De Wolf, of Sackets Harbor; and Edwin S., who was born on the homestead in 1828. The latter married Louise, daughter of J. K. and Mary Pierce Bartlett, in 1855, and they have two children, Ella W. (Mrs. Charles F. Lawrence), of Illinois, and Wilbur B. The latter, born in 1860, married Lena E., daughter of Loren and Mary (Curtis) Lawrence, December 15, 1886, and is now a dairyman and farmer and resides with his father on the homestead, which has always been owned by some member of the Wright family. The old house, built in 1803, is still standing, and some of the original shingles are still upon the roof.
Lemuel Arms
Lemuel Arms and wife, Mary Anderson, came from Deerfield, Mass., about 1802, with their three sons, Richard, Luman, and Hiram, and located at Adams Center, in the place now occupied by George L. Fox. After locating here their children, John and Sarah (Mrs. James Plato), were born. The brothers Luman and Hiram purchased a large tract of land at Adams Center and built the first hotel there, and which is still standing and kept as a hotel. They also engaged in the manufacture of wagons and sleighs. Hiram married Famzin E. Paddock, in 1823, and their children were Foster A., who died in this town in 1853; John Q., who resides in Adams Center; and Emeline E. (Mrs. S. D. Hunt), who died in 1860. John Q. Arms, born in 1828, was educated in the schools of his native town, and was engaged in mercantile business here about 14 years. He was also in business in New York city about 10 years. He married Hulda A., daughter of Rufus and Hulda (Kellogg) Sawyer, in 1878, and now resides in Adams Center village, on Rodman street.
Luman Arms
Luman Arms, born in 1796, married, first, Caroline, daughter of Rufus Arms, by whom he had five children, viz.: Louisa (Mrs. Albert Yandes), who died in Michigan in 1888; Julia (Mrs. Merrick Needham), who died in 1843; William D., of Adams; Henry, of Michigan; and Caroline (Mrs. H. D. Bartlett), of Collingwood, Ohio. His first wife died in 1834, and in 1835 he married Elizabeth Pierce, by whom he had three children, viz.: Harrison, of Chicago, Ill.; Foster M., of Adams; and Gertrude (Mrs. Charles M. Heath), of Adams Center. Mr. Arms’s second wife died in 1882, and in 1883 he married Olive, daughter of Samuel Ward. Mrs. Arms died in 1884. William D. Arms, born February 14, 1829, was reared on his father’s farm. He engaged in mercantile business with O. R. Davis, at Adams Center, for several years, and then removed to New York and was a jobber in woolen goods for some time. In 1875 he formed a co-partnership with J. M. Hungerford, in the sale of dry goods and carpets, at Adams, in which business he still continues. He married Amanda C., daughter of J. W. and Candace L. (Fox) Horton, in 1855, by whom he had two daughters — Minnie L., who died in 1885, aged 25 years, and Carrie E., who resides at home. His wife died in 1872, and in 1877 he married Carrie, daughter of Heman and Caroline (Pierce) Grinnell. Mr. Arms has been supervisor of the town eight terms and chairman of the board five years. He is a generous supporter of the Baptist Church, and resides on North Main Street.
Miles Cooper
Miles Cooper, with his wife, Asenath Cowles, came from Durham, Conn., to this town in 1803, and located in the village, where he took up 100 hundred [sic] acres of land and built a log house on the site of S. D. Hungerford‘s house. Here they resided until 1811, when he built the first frame house in the village. They had three sons and six daughters, of whom Lodema (Mrs. Chauncey Redway) died in Ellisburgh; Ira died in Adams; Polly (Mrs. Appleton H. McKee) died in Sackets Harbor in 1832; John C. died in Adams in 1877; Sarah (Mrs. George Hollister) died in Rochester; Eliza and Nancy died in childhood; George resides in Adams; Nancy is the widow of Eben Cowles. George Cooper was born in 1811, in the log house built by his father. He married Roxiana, daughter of George and Polly (Brodock) Doxtater, in 1835, and they have had three sons and three daughters, viz.: Mariette (Mrs. J. J. Stillman) and George D., of Adams; Antoinette (Mrs. D. P. Fairbanks), of Oswego; Emmett B., of Nebraska; Charles C., of Adams; and Elizabeth, who died in infancy. Mr. Cooper was a prosperous farmer and once owned 640 acres of land, 100 cows, and 1,200 sheep. He built the Cooper House block. Charles C. Cooper, born August 12, 1848, lived in this town and kept the Cooper House. He married Henriette S., daughter of Nathaniel and Juliette (Schuyler) Louis, in 1873, and they have two daughters — Clara E., born Decmeber 7, 1874, and Florence E., born December 2, 1876. Mr. Charles C. Cooper and his father reside in this town on road 64.
Saunders B. Chapman
Saunders B. Chapman was born in Westerly, R. I., in 1804. When three months old his parents brought him to Northern New York. He married Elizabeth Lanphire in 1834, and they had three daughters, viz.: Mary E. (Mrs. John Williams), of Adams; Susan M., who died at the age of 23 years; and Elvira M., who died at the age of nine years. Mr. Chapman is a farmer, and resides on road 26 in this town.
Titus Bassett
Titus Bassett was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1781, and in 1804 removed to Adams, where he died in 1867. He married Sarah, daughter of Nathaniel Warriner, and their children were Harvey, Marvin, Marvin, 2nd, of Oswego, and Laura, of Adams. Harvey Bassett was born in Adams in 1819, and here learned the hatters’ trade. He married Jane, daughter of Abram and Leah (Van Buskirk) Ouderkirk, in 1843, by whom he had a daughter, Sarah Jane, who was born in 1842 and died in 1864, and a son, Daniel D., who was born in 1844. He died in 1856. Daniel D., who learned the printers’ trade, served in the First N. Y. Vet. Cav. until the close of the war. He married Angerase, daughter of John and Mary (McGovern) Foley, of Ellisburgh, in 1866, by whom he has had a son and a daughter, viz.: Lena R., who died February 14, 1883, aged 15 years, and Floyd H., born May 4, 1873. Mr. Bassett is foreman of the Journal printing office in Adams village, and resides on Clay street.
Source: Child, Hamilton. Geographical gazetteer of Jefferson county, N.Y., 1685-1890, part one, p. 226-229. Syracuse, N.Y.: The Syracuse journal company, printers and binders. 1890.