MAYNARD H. MIRES, M.D.
Stories for a Sunday Afternoon
Copyright © 2014 Maynard H. Mires, M.D.
ISBN 978-1-886068-79-7 paperback
ISBN 978-1-886068-80-3 ebook
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903282
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This book is dedicated to a lovely and gracious lady, My Wife,
Ruth Agnes Bingham Mires
Preface
1. The Britton Family in America
2. The Coon Family in America
3. The Landon Family in America
4. The Austins of Syracuse
5. At the Sign of the Mermaid
6. To Cross the Raging Main
7. Low-Down: The Story of a Wagon
8. The Class of ‘86
9. Buffalo Beckons!
10. Baptists and Burma
11. Panama: A Land Divided, a World United
12. The Northern Frontier
13. The Princess
14. The Journey
15. Rally ‘Round the Flag
16. The Queen Holds Court
17. Amateurs in a World of Intrigue
18. Flight to Bangkok
19. The Picture
20. On the Trail of the Worm
21. Grandfather Remembers
22. My Uncle Tom
Additional Photographs
For Further Reading
About the Author
Ibelieve that there comes a time in everyone’s life when he/she feels like setting down a few facts and stories about the family. This combination historical-biographical account contains facts, anecdotes, and sometimes “hearsay” which will supposedly be of interest to other members of the extended family.
The reader will occasionally notice discrepancies, but these can be easily explained by the fact that the stories came from many sources. One relative would tell me something about an ancestor; another would relate the same story, but the details might not agree!
I hope that the reader will enjoy these narratives as much as I enjoyed writing them. The temptation was very strong to call these bits and pieces of family history “The Tales of a Grandfather,” but this would have been pure plagiarism! Our beloved Scottish author, Sir Walter Scott, used that title in a neat little three-volume set written for his grandson in 1828. Fortunately, I have these books in excellent shape which shall eventually be passed on to one of my descendants.
So, read these stories and be justly proud of those in your bloodline who have gone before. You are part of this heritage!
Maynard H. Mires, M.D.
Every piece of genealogical research of my acquaintance strives to discover the absolute origin of the family name, and, after a brief venture into the obscurity of the Dark Ages, manages to come forth with a few totally unrelated references. It would be convenient if I could begin by mentioning Sir Roger le Breton (1215-1263), a valiant knight and crusader, who dashed about rescuing delightful damsels in distress. However, no such person ever rode across the pages of history; and, even if he had, his existence would have no bearing on the story I am about to tell.
Actually, I did find in my reading more than one hundred names of Brittons in the English parishes of North Stoke, Beach, Weston, Bitton in Gloucestershire, and Coaster in Somerset. Family tradition has it that our Britton progenitor on these shores descended from the Yorkshire Brittons (or Britons). With that out of the way, I may turn to the real reason for producing this essay.
In one of my scrapbooks is a 1933 clipping from the Watertown Times, entitled “Britton Reunion to be on August 11 . . . for descendants of Lyman Britton, Omar Pioneer . . . to be held at Thompson Park.” The article continues by stating that “Elton E. Coon, whose father was a nephew of Lyman Britton, recalls that ancestors cleared off the tall pines of the region to be rafted down river.”
This all-day reunion was expected to attract about forty people, and, after a picnic dinner at noon, there would be a business meeting to elect officers for the coming year. Present officers were Mrs. D. E. Landon of Clayton, president, and Mrs. Martha W. Glass of Clayton, secretary and treasurer. The previous year only about 25 people had attended the reunion at Grass Point, so it was being held in Watertown this year “because the location is more convenient.”
My grandfather, Elton E. Coon, never ceased to be somewhat exercised over the fact that the annual Britton Reunion was held in honor of Lyman Britton, since half of those who attended were in fact descended, not from Lyman, but from his sister, Nancy. Grandfather felt that, to be correct, the Reunion should be in honor of Otis Britton, who was really one of the first pioneers in the North Country, as well as the father of both Nancy and Lyman. Furthermore, Lyman’s later behavior, when economic disaster prompted him to desert his family for a new life in Canada, did not exactly endear him to the relatives.
These annual affairs were quite regular until the death of my grandfather in 1939 and the beginning of World War II soon thereafter caused their discontinuance. After the War, my Aunt Lucia (Mrs. Clyde P. Burgess) and other relatives sparked a new interest in family matters, and reunions were recommenced during the 1950s. Since Aunt Lucia’s death, the family gatherings have been held in her memory, and it is especially appropriate that the present [1976] moving spirit is her daughter, Anne.
The American Revolution Bicentennial has occasioned the publication of new books by the thousands, and one might ask why I should wish to add to this number. My reasons are twofold: first, the material needed to be brought together in one place so that all could read of the many accomplishments of a family which exemplifies the history of our country; second, our family association can perhaps profit from having some sort of “handbook” to which we can all refer. It is my sincere hope that you all enjoy reading it.
Hotten’s book, Our Early Emigrant Ancestors, or The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, Emigrants, Religious Exiles, Political Rebels, etc. tells that James Britton, age 27 years, was a passenger on the ship Increase, Robert Lea, Master, “having taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, as also being conformable to the government and discipline of the Church of England, whereof he has brought testimony from Ye Justices and Ministers where his abode has latlie been.” This certificate was dated 15 April 1635.
Also on the Increase was a physician and chirugien by the name of Symon Ayres who had brought his wife, his eight children, and a maid, Jane Ramlin, age 30 years. We can but assume that the long voyage across the Atlantic, while living in cramped quarters, resulted in everyone becoming much better acquainted than they were in the beginning. James and Jane were presumably married after arrival in Boston, for we read of them settling in Woburn, Massachusetts.
James Britton subscribed for town orders in 1640 at Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was taxed there in 1645 in the first recorded tax list, and died on May 3, 1655, leaving his widow and two sons, Peter and William. It was extremely difficult in those days for a woman to survive without male protection, and Jane married second, February 1, 1658, Isaac Cole of Charlestown. Mr. Cole died on June 10, 1674, and Jane on March 10, 1687.
Short as it was, this man’s life was inextricably tied to the lives and fortunes of the Pendleton family of York, Maine. As a youth, William had migrated to York County (Maine was still a province of Massachusetts) and married, in 1670, Mary Pendleton, daughter of Captain James Pendleton and granddaughter of Major Brian Pendleton, the Deputy President of Maine.
Brian Pendleton was one of the leaders of the Puritan party in Maine. Largely through his efforts, the Bay Colony first extended its authority over the eastern settlements, and in after years he became to all intents and purposes undisputed ruler. The strength of the Puritans was his, the courageous heart, the unyielding spirit, the religious fervor which did not degenerate into blind fanaticism, the unswerving loyalty to Massachusetts, an allegiance which even made him, in the words of Randolph, “an enemy to the King’s interest.”
A most definitive work on the subject of King Philip’s War, 1675-1677, was written by George M Bodge of Boston in 1906. There are numerous references to the Pendletons, both father and son, and of course, William Britton was with them as they returned to Massachusetts to pursue relentlessly those who had laid waste all of York County.
After the War, the Saco Valley settlements had to be rebuilt. The Major had formerly lived at Old Saco (now Biddeford, Maine), and also owned the area known as Pendleton’s Neck or Winter Harbour (now Biddeford Pool). Outside of occasionally witnessing a deed at Saco, there is very little I can find concerning William Britton. When he died in 1680, Mary remarried within the year Joseph Cress, who died on June 18, 1684. Her third husband whom she out-lived was Nicholas Morey. She died January 10, 1733.
Young William was an only child. His occupation is given as “mariner,” but the smartest thing he ever did was to marry at Taunton on October 26, 1698 Miss Lydia Leonard, the daughter of Captain James and Lydia (Gulliver) Leonard. She had been born in Taunton on March 10, 1679, a member of the famous family which established the first forge for making iron in the Plymouth Colony. That forge made the Leonards prosperous indeed, and they began the manufacture of iron at Lynn, Braintree, Rowley village, and later Canton. Henry Leonard left Massachusetts to establish a forge in New Jersey, so that a statement was often heard, “Where you find iron works, there you will find a Leonard.”
Genealogists among our readers will be interested to note that through this Leonard connection we are descended in direct line from the family of Lord Dacre, one of the more distinguished families of Great Britain. Specifically, the Captain James Leonard referred to above was a great grandson of Henry Leonard, 12th Lord Dacre (1569-1616).
Lydia was appointed administrator of William Britton’s estate on February 10, 1725. The inventory showed: 543 Pounds, 7 Shillings, 3 Pence; 40 acres of land, one old house, one new house and other land. She died on March 13, 1773 age 94 years.
The children of William and Lydia Britton were as follows: 1) William III, born about 1700, married at Norton on March 21, 1733 to Sarah Woodward; 2) James, lived in Dighton; 3) Abiel, lived in Raynham; 4) Mary, married John Hall of Taunton; 5) Lydia, married February 14, 1733 to Nicholas Power and married second to John Partridge of Raynham; 6) Sarah, married May 8, 1735 to Thomas White of Taunton; 7) Elizabeth, married January 18, 1736 to Timothy Williams of Raynham; 8). Ebenezer, born June 1, 1715, married at Raynham May 20, 1735 to Tabitha Leonard and married second at Raynham February 20, 1749 to Sarah J. Bullock by John Andrews, Justice of the Peace; 9) Abigail, born July 1716, married December 16, 1736 to Joshua Campbell of Raynham; and 10) Pendleton, born 1722, married Hannah Steel on October 22, 1747, died 1806 in Easton, Massachusetts.
Ebenezer Britton resided in Raynham, Massachusetts until his 55th year; then in Boston for a year (where his son Calvin was born) and soon after, in July 1771, removed to Westmoreland, New Hampshire, where he purchased 112 acres of land and built the first saw and grist mill in that town. He served as selectman, moderator of town meeting, signed the Association Test in 1776 and was a loyal patriot during the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, meeting at Exeter in 1776, 1777 and 1778. He acted as Treasurer of the Army several times, and was a member of the Continental Congress, 1777-1778.
When some of his neighbors worried about the depreciation of Continental money he said, “I am not afraid of Continental money; it will be redeemed in good time. But, redeemed or not, no soldier who has fought under George Washington shall go hungry while I have corn to feed him.”
Of Ebenezer’s twelve sons, the eldest, Ebenezer, Jr., was a Major in the Continental Army, Job was wounded at Bunker Hill, and Samuel was in the Green Mountain Boys. Calvin was a Brigadier General of Militia in the War of 1812.
Ebenezer, Jr.’s name appears on a muster and payroll of officers belonging to Colonel Samuel Ashley’s Regiment of Militia in the State of New Hampshire who marched from Cheshire County at the requisition of Major General Gates to re-enforce the Army at Ticonderoga. This same regiment marched again to Ticonderoga on the Alarm May 8, 1777. Major Britton also led the force which responded when the Indians and Tories burned Royalton, Vermont in 1780.
Samuel Britton, although very young at the outbreak of war, joined the Green Mountain Boys in Vermont and was at the Battle of Bennington. He served until the close of the War, and, in 1784, married Mindwell Butterfield of Westmoreland. Samuel and Mindwell came with their children to the Black River Country of New York State about 1800, and settled in 1805 near what was then known as Brittons’ Point, Brownville, now known as Percy’s Point, Cape Vincent, and where the State Park is now located. Linda’s Island, in the St. Lawrence, is so named because Sam’s daughter, Linda, used to rendezvous there with a British officer from Fort Haldimand, whom she later married. The War of 1812 brought complete ruin and disaster to Sam Britton, who wished, in spite of his hazardous location, to remain neutral. The inevitable happened; nobody trusted him, and his house and orchard were destroyed. Sam and Mindwell are buried in the Sand Bay Cemetery, very near the main highway between Cape Vincent and Clayton.
Calvin Britton (1771-1839) served with his brigade at the Battle of Sacketts Harbor under General Jacob Brown, who was also his friend and near neighbor. Calvin in later life sold the Stone House Farm near Brownville and moved to Michigan, as part of the westward migration of the 1830s.
Because of the large number of children he had by his two wives, old Ebenezer is still known around Westmoreland as “the father of us all.” He died on January 21, 1788, and Sarah on September 19, 1790. They are buried in the old North Cemetery on New Hampshire Route 63, overlooking the Connecticut River, and just a short distance south of the Major Leonard Keep Restaurant.
The many children of Ebenezer Britton are as follows: 1) Tabitha (August 16, 1736-June 16, 1739); 2) Ebenezer (born April 23, 1739), married Susannah Dean; 3) David (June 14, 1741-November 20, 1833), married Lydia Leonard; 4) Abigail (born March 30, 1744), married Thomas Lawrence; 5) Wealthy (born May 7, 1746), married Solomon Snow; 6) Tabitha (March 31, 1749-March 28, 1840), married David Wilbur; 7) Samuel (May 30, 1751-February 15, 1760); 8) Kezia (born April 22, 1753), married Joseph White; 9) Job (February 20, 1755-December 15, 1804), married Abigail Chamberlain; 10). James (born September 2, 1757), married Sibyl Chamberlain; 11) Mercy (born April 30, 1763), married Hosea Snow; 12) Samuel (March 31, 1762-April 19, 1835); 13) Asa (born April 30, 1763), married Sally Keep; 14) Stephen (April 21, 1765-June 23, 1847), married Zilpha Gilbert; 15) Squire (June 14, 1767-1839); 16) Sarah (born May 9, 1769), married Niles Aldrich; 17) Calvin (born April 1, 1771-1839), married Mary Cole; 18) Luther (born May 12, 1773), moved to Chaumont, New York, 1809; 19) Martin (born July 19, 1775), married Eunice Adams.
The story of Job and Abigail (Chamberlain) Britton is best told by merely copying the several depositions found in the Revolutionary War pension records of the State of New Hampshire. Some years after Job’s death, his widow Abigail (1756-April 23, 1846) fortunately had to supply a great deal of information in order to quality for her pension of $20 per annum. I quote from the records:
June 19, 1838, Abigail Britton of Rochester, New York, deposed that she is the widow of Job Britton, a private in militia under Captain Jacob Hines of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, Colonel James Reed; that her husband was residing in Westmoreland, New Hampshire preceding the Revolution, and in May preceding the Battle of Bunker Hill he enlisted for one year; went with his company soon afterwards to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he joined the army; was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill by a ball in his right shoulder which disabled him until the following spring, the ball remaining in his shoulder for a long time afterwards;
that the following spring he joined his company in New York and went with them to Canada where he was taken with smallpox and did not return home until the following autumn;
that during the whole period of the Revolutionary War her husband was frequently called into service, sometimes as a substitute and sometimes as a minuteman, but she cannot remember the particulars until the last six months of the war. Then he enlisted as a substitute for Sergeant Ephraim Stow in Captain Ellis’ Company and lay in winter quarters under General Washington at Newburgh, New York until peace was declared, when he returned to his family in Westmoreland;
that she was married to him February 3, 1774, the year before his enlistment under Captain Hines; and that he died at Westmoreland in December, 1804, and she has remained a widow ever since.
June 3, 1838, Hinds Chamberlain of LeRoy, New York, aged 73 or 74 years, testified to acquaintance with Job Britton from childhood; that when he was about ten years old his sister, Abigail Chamberlain, was married to Job Britton, both of whom lived in Westmoreland, New Hampshire at the time; that the next year Britton enlisted, went to Cambridge under Captain Jacob Hinds, and came home wounded; and he and others said the wound was received at the Battle of Bunker Hill; that Britton was out in service a number of times after that; and in March 1783, when deponent was serving as substitute for a man who was on a furlough, he saw Britton at Washington’s winter quarters near Newburgh, New York and they were discharged at the same time, after peace was declared, and came home together.
March 9, 1838, William Hutchins of Westmoreland testified that Britton served with him in 1775 for one month under Captain Isaac Butterfield and then both of them enlisted for eight months under Captain Jacob Hinds; and in the fall of 1776, Britton and himself were detached and served two months under Captain Joseph Burt at Ticonderoga; that in 1777, immediately after the Battle of Hubbardton, Britton and himself were marched to Rutland under Captain John Cole, where they served a month, etc.
March 3, 1838, Larkin Baker, town clerk of Westmoreland, certified that on the books of the town is a record of the marriage, February 3, 1774, by Ebenezer Bailey, of Job Britton and Abigail Chamberlain.
Memorandum filed showing that in American State Papers, Class 9, page 159, Job Britton’s name is recorded as entitled to 1/3 pension for wound received at Bunker Hill, and so reported to House of Representatives by Secretary of War, February 28, 1785.
Claim allowed September 4, 1838.
January 15, 1841, Abigail Britton testified that she gave her certificate to her son, Job Britton, Jr., who took it to an attorney to get her pension, but that when she applied for it, search was made and it could not be found, and asks for a new certificate. The attorney certified to same effect, and a new certificate was issued.
June 27, 1844, Abigail Britton, aged 88 years, applied for increase of pension and gave more details of service, viz: that in 1775 he enlisted at the meetinghouse in the center of the town at Westmoreland . . . . that the musket ball lodged in his bone at the Battle of Bunker Hill was “cut at by the surgeons until it was moved out of the bone into the fleshy part of his arm and afterwards worked outwards so that it could be seen, and remained there two years and upwards until Hinds Chamberlain, her brother, in jumping off a fence catched her husband by the shoulder and undesignedly extracted the ball.”
. . . . that he was brought from Canada while sick with the smallpox in baggage wagons to the headquarters of the army, and that Henry and Ebenezer Chamberlain, of the same company, took care of him” . . . that in the spring following he joined the army again as a substitute for his brother, James Britton, now deceased, and served 5 or 6 months . . .”
“that March 28th of the year following he served four months for his brother, Samuel Britton, who enlisted for the war, came home sick on a furlough, prevailed on his brother to take his place; is now dead . . . .that she recollects the day because it was about one hour after the birth of one of her sons; and that four months before the 3rd of January preceding the close of the war (which date she recollects by the birth of a son on said January 13) her husband again joined the army as a substitute for his brother-in-law, Ephraim Stone, and served until the close of the war; “that in the last service he did a sergeant’s duty; and brought home a discharge which was left with Asa Britton of Westmoreland, and is now lost.”
Hinds Chamberlain of Le Roy, New York, aged 78 years, testified in more detail than before and mentions that his brother, Henry Chamberlain, served with Britton at Lake Champlain; that deponent was examined and passed by Baron von Steuben at the time of his joining the army at Newburgh aforesaid; that James and Samuel Britton, Ebenezer Chamberlain and Ephraim Stone are now all dead.
We now reach the first period of westward migration, and the explanation of why Jefferson County, New York telephone directories contain so many New Hampshire names. With the close of the Revolution, peace came to this northeastern region, and those with itchy feet were free to move on without fear of hostile Indians. The old military roads were extended westward and northward, and whole families set out to find those greener pastures. Their motives were several: a dislike of overcrowding, a desire to escape debt, tales of free and fertile land, or perhaps just a longing for adventure.
In the year 1800, Charles Welch and Otis Britton made their decision to become pioneers, and followed what was to become an increasingly popular trail to Remsen, Herkimer County, New York. From there, they headed for the North Country where Jacob Brown and his bride, the former Pamelia Williams, had settled earlier that same year.
Charles and Otis took a job of chopping out a road from a point on the river at Brownville to the ferry at Chaumont, a distance of ten miles. They began this work in November, but before it was completed a heavy snowfall came. Their shoes were worn out; they could get no others, and so were obliged to finish their work and travel back to Herkimer County, a distance of more than eighty miles, in their bare feet. Before leaving, however, they assisted Samuel Britton, an uncle of Otis, in erecting the body of a log house. By some mishap Otis had his leg broken, and was drawn on an ox sled to Floyd, Charles preceding the team with his axe to clear the road.
The following fall, Charles Welch married Eunice, daughter of Moses Cole of Newport, settling in Brownville and keeping house in a little log cabin built by the Browns and used for a smokehouse. Nathan, twin brother of Charles, joined them, and they took up a farm in the Parish neighborhood, where a son was born to Charles and Eunice, the first white child born in the new town north of Black River. By this marriage, Charles Welch and Otis Britton became brothers-in-law, as Otis had earlier married Moses Cole’s daughter, Diadema. She had been born November 18, 1775.
The children of Otis and Diadema (Cole) Britton were Nancy (1798), Abigail (1799), Eunice, Lyman (1801), Warren (1805) and Lucinda (1807). Nancy was born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and I assume that the same is true of Abigail. Lyman, of course, was born in New York State.
A search of the probate records in Jefferson County (Box B-55) shows that Otis Britton was administrator of the estate of Lanson (probably was Alanson) Britton, “late of the town of Brownville.” Calvin Britton and Moses Cole were the appraisers and the inventory was taken on December 18, 1809.
The War of 1812, which was so devastating along the northern frontier, seems also to have swallowed up Otis Britton, who enlisted in Captain Luther Britton’s Company of New York Militia, General Jacob Brown commanding. The next (and last) mention we have of Otis is the inventory of his estate, dated March 6, 1816. The administrators were Diadema Britton and Moses Cole, Jr. (her brother). Diadema stated that she was “of the town of Brownville.”
In the Taylor Cemetery, Cape Vincent, is a stone with the following inscription: Diadema Britton, wife of Otis Britton, d. June 28, 1845, aged 70 years.
Born on December 8, 1798, Nancy would have no recollection of New England, as she was a very small child when the family moved to Brownville. She was not much more than a child when, on December 31, 1815, she married George Coon. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, having served as an Ensign in the Militia at the Battle of Sacketts Harbor. (Because of this service he was to receive 160 acres of bounty land on Warrant 13556, under the act of March 3, 1855.) The report of the Third Auditor’s Office, Treasury Department states that he enlisted at Brownville, New York.
There is a somewhat hazy period in their early married life in that George and Nancy moved down to Otsego County and lived in the vicinity of Cooperstown Junction. The reason for this move was hinted at in an interview my grandfather once gave to a reporter for the Watertown Times, when he stated that George Coon had built up “quite a fleet” on the St. Lawrence following the War, but was wiped out financially and decided to turn to farming. The sojourn to Otsego County must have ended in 1839, for I have seen papers dealing with the sale of his property in that year.
George and Nancy are more commonly thought of as inhabitants of the Town of Orleans near DeLaFarge Corners. There they raised their large family: Elias, Diadema, William, George W., Lucinda, Abigail or Abbie, Mary, and the twins, Isabel and Phoebe.
George Coon’s age at his death (on September 4, 1872)—and therefore the year of his birth—have been rather hotly discussed in recent years, since his tombstone was broken in several pieces sometime before 1939. The fragment showing his age was variously read as 83, 84, 86 and 88! A Coon descendant, the Reverend Roger F. Williams of Alexandria Bay, many years ago questioned a number of ancient citizens who remembered this couple (including one who had worked in their household as a young woman). Consensus of opinion seemed to be an age difference of either 9 or 10 years between George and Nancy. Both George and Nancy (who died February 12, 1864) are buried in the Tanners Corners Cemetery.
Of the nine children, approximately half were caught up in the second great westward migration which took place immediately preceding the Civil War. For the next two generations they would keep in touch, and letters came from time to time from places in Michigan with strange-sounding names like Saginaw, Port Huron and Clio.
We, of course, are more interested in Elias, born in Brownville on May 31, 1817, who married Mary Ann Hawn in Depauville in April, 1842. Mary Ann, the daughter of George Hawn, was born on July 22, 1821. Their children were: Helen Alvira Coon (b. September 22, 1843), Edgar Alonzo Coon (b. September 9, 1847), Nantie Adelia Coon (b. August 2, 1856) and Elton Elias Coon (b. December 17, 1860).
To continue in Elton’s own words:
I always had a taste for books, and was graduated from the old Hungerford Collegiate Institute in Adams when I was 21. The next year I won an appointment to West Point in a competitive examination against seventeen others. I didn’t stay the whole four years, however, as I decided that I liked teaching best. I taught at Plessis, Fishers Landing, Omar, DeLaFarge Corners, Brownville and other places in this county until I was past sixty. Teaching back in those olden days was different from teaching today. Omar, for instance, had a building filled with pupils, and a teacher had to be forceful enough to keep order with big boys and girls crowded into a small building.
On March 26, 1890, I married Nellie Landon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Landon of this section. We lived on the Coon homestead near DeLaFarge Corners until two years ago [1936] when we moved to this village [Omar]. Next spring we shall celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary. We have six children: Mrs. Marcia May of Glens Falls, Mrs. Ethel Mires of Sherburne, Mrs. Nettie Lyindecker of Lowville, Mrs. Kathryn Byer of Sherburne, Mrs. Lucia Burgess of Grand Gorge, and Eric R. Coon of Lowville.
I was a Granger for over forty years, but withdrew when I didn’t have a farm property to insure, and did not go as much as formerly. I read much of the time, and enjoy books on ancient history or some of the old authors.
Lyman was born on December 16, 1801, and very early in life joined his great-uncle Calvin Britton in the lumber business, cutting the tallest pine trees and shipping them down the St. Lawrence River by raft to Montreal. In those days Clayton was the headquarters for rafting.
The cemetery at Mullett Creek was first started by Lyman and Calvin Britton. When they were in that area cutting pine with a large crew of lumbermen, an epidemic of smallpox broke out. Many of the lumbermen died and were the earliest burials in this cemetery. Since no stones were used to mark the graves, and no records were kept, grave-diggers in later years would occasionally encounter these remains (according to my grandfather).
In 1824 Jean laFarge secured the title to most of the land in the town of Orleans. Wishing to add “class” to his name, he somehow slipped in the “de” with the resultant ring of nobility! All of this region had been cleared by the Brittons, and many persons had settled and built homes. After delaFarge had obtained the services of the settlers in building his famous mansion, now in ruins except for one wing, and after he had made them prepare his soil for cultivation, he drove them out, conveniently forgetting the land titles he had promised them. They were not to forget this indignity, and the delaFarge family in their home at Perch Lake was plagued by stray shots through the windows.
About 1837, Lyman Britton suffered his first financial reverses. He was clearing an area north of Montreal when the great business depression hit. There was no market for his timber and he lost heavily. To make matters worse, Canada was practically in a state of civil war, what with the William Lyon Mackenzie uprising, and British troops pouring in to restore order. The border situation was tense, with Americans naturally sympathizing with the rebels. This was not a good time for someone whose business straddled both sides of the river!
On January 31, 1830, Lyman had married a Canadian girl, Eliza Banford (b. October 6, 1811), and proceeded to father the following children: Otis (b. November 11, 1830), William (b. 1832), Clarissa (b. 1834), Betsey (b. 1836), Calvin (b. 1838), Adeline, Emeline (b. 1841), and George (b. 1844).
To help pay off his debts, Lyman began selling some of his land holdings in the Town of Alexandria. For example, on October 28, 1842, he and Eliza sold 50 acres on lots 180 and 185 to his brother, Warren Britton, for $500. Eventually, however, it became obvious to Lyman that his timber-cutting business was finished and there was no hope of retrieving his fortune. Who can tell at what point a man’s spirit is broken and he gives up? So he left town.
In the Jefferson County Clerk’s records, Liber 90-103 is the following entry: “For consideration of one dollar paid by Eliza Britton, late wife of Lyman Britton but now divorced from him, Eldridge G. Merick quit-claimed to Eliza Britton 100 acres of land in the town of Alexandria which was held for her, having been conveyed by Lyman Britton as alimony, and Mr. Merrick released Eliza Britton from any lien, etc. in his favor or in his name against the said Lyman Britton.” During this same period (the late 1840s), there are numerous instances of Lyman’s brothers and sisters conveying property back to Eliza so that she might have some income therefrom.
The 1850 Census shows Eliza and her children residing in the Town of Alexandria. Value of real estate—$1,000. The 1855 and 1860 censuses show them living in the Town of Orleans. In the meanwhile, Lyman had moved to Canada West (Ontario), and I have seen letters sent from Plympton to various family members. He died March 31, 1882 in Denver, Michigan.
The eldest child, Otis N. Britton, married Abbie Stackhouse on March 16, 1863, thus joining two of the pioneer families of Omar. Abbie (February 19, 1823-January 4, 1899) was the daughter of Samuel Stackhouse. Many people living today [1976] remember their son, Samuel Lyman Britton (1864-1928), and their daughter, Mrs. Kezia Workman. I mention these names with an ulterior purpose, in order to lend support to one of my genealogical theories. Kezie is admittedly a most unusual name, and yet no doubt considered a “family name” by the Brittons as recently as the 1860s—long after Ebenezer Britton’s daughter, Kezia (b. 1753), was forgotten. Incidentally, Otis N. Britton died on September 30, 1910, but I cannot leave him without mentioning the nickname applied to him and his younger brother. To their friends, they were “General” Ote and “Colonel” George, although, to the best of my knowledge, they had never held commissions in the army. Possibly this was left over from some childhood games they used to play, or perhaps is just indicative of the superb sense of humor traditionally inherited by most of the Brittons.
In a very real sense, there is no conclusion to this story of the Brittons, for we are here, and there will always be someone to carry on. Family traits are inherited, family loyalty can be taught, even though family history may become a little dim through the years.
Undoubtedly this story contains some errors, but I trust that they are of minor nature. To those whose names do not appear in print I apologize. (Mine doesn’t either!) It should be possible, however, without too much difficulty, to tie in to a parent or grandparent and therefore make yourself a part of the story.
Now that you have finished reading this history, I hope that you share my viewpoint: here is a typical American family which has suffered all of the trials and tribulations of poverty, hunger, heartbreak, war, et cetera, and is still here to talk about it! Thus, we bravely face the next century of our nation’s history and whatever it may hold.