"WI" to "WZ" Surname Family Sketches




From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

William A. Widman, Canandaigua, was born in Canandaigua, April 17, 1860, a son of John, one of the first shoe dealers of the town, born in Germany in 1823. He came to this country when about twenty-five years old, first locating at Rochester, where he remained a short time, then at West Bloomfield. He came to Canandaigua next and followed shoemaking. He was a partner with Latta & Orr, and in 1867 entered into partnership with Matthew O'Brien in the shoe business. After about four months the building where the Hubbell block now stands was burned, and Mr. Widman lost very heavily. In 1868 he established a business alone, which he conducted until his death (1886), with the exception of about eighteen months, when John A. Ming was with him.  In 1852 he married Mary B. Drexler, by whom he had eleven children, of whom ten survive.  William A., the second son, is now conducting the store where his father was proprietor so long, located at 220 Main street, where he carries a complete stock of boots and shoes, rubbers, etc., also conducting a manufacturing department in connection. He is assisted in the store by his brother Charles, who is at the head of the custom department, and his sister Louise is also an assistant in the store. They employ James Hughes and Herman Knaier in the custom and repair department.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Wilbur, Cyrus H., Canandaigua, was born in Canandaigua, September 3, 1832, a son of Hiram Wilbur.  Jeptha, the great-grandfather, was a resident of Dutchess county, and had ten children.  Samuel married Elizabeth Hicks, and had eight children:  Ephraim, Hiram, George, Benjamin, Cynthia, Mary, Jeptha, and Phoebe.  Four of their children are still living:  Ephraim, a farmer of Naples; Benjamin, of Dutchess county; Phoebe, widow of Dr. Losey, of Dutchess county, and Hiram, of Buffalo, who was born in Dutchess county, October 3, 1808, and came to Ontario county.  He married in Dutchess county, Margaret Couse, and had six children, four of whom are living:  Samuel J., of Naples; Norman R., a hotel-keeper of Pleasantville, Pa.; Marietta, wife of William H. Green, of Buffalo; and Cyrus H.  The early life of the latter was spent on the farm.  He was educated in Canandaigua Academy, and in 1855 he moved to Cheshire, where he bought a small farm and kept a hotel.  In 1862 he started a general store in Cheshire in which he has since been engaged.  In 1892 he erected a new building for his business and has now a very fine store.  Mr. Wilbur takes an active interest in politics and has been commissioner of highways.  He married in 1853, Hortensia M., daughter of Thomas J. Lucas, of Canandaigua, and they have one son, Hiram Melvin, a clerk in his father’s store.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

William W. Wilcox, Canandaigua, was born in Simsbury, Conn., September 12, 1852, and came with his parents to Canandaigua in 1857, where they bought the Judge Sibley property, and for the first few years conducted the farm; at a later day he was president of the First National Bank. He was a very prominent man in the town, and died August 28, 1885. He had eight children, two of whom reside in Canandaigua: Charles, who conducts a vineyard on the lake; and William W. The latter was educated in Canandaigua, and after leaving school went to Bloomington, IL, and engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business for seven years, returning to Canandaigua in 1882, and in 1883 went as bookkeeper for N. H. Grimes, and at the death of the latter in 1891 he bought the store, which he has since conducted. He carries a full line of everything sold in a grocery and provision store and does a very large business. He employs nine clerks besides bookkeeper and cashier.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Charles J. Wilder, Canandaigua, was born in Canandaigua, November 27, 1852, a son of Austin H., a native also, born in 1809, and died in 1872.  He was a man of considerable prominence in Canandaigua, and during the early days of the N. Y. C. R. R. held the office of station agent here.  Of his seven children, four survive:  Mrs. Frank Cooley of Jackson, Mich., I. Hart Wilder of Flint, Mich., Mrs. H. L. Hart of Canandaigua, and Charles J.  The latter was educated in the common schools and at the academy here.  After leaving school he followed farming a short time.  He then went as clerk in the jewelry store of W. H. Ellis.  Here he remained six years, then engaged as bookkeeper with Torrey & Son, coal dealers, where he has been for nine years.  The office is now conducted by T. M. Emerick.  In the spring of 1884 Mr. Wilder was nominated on the Republican ticket for town clerk, and elected by a majority of about 150, and was re-elected to the same position for five years.  He is a member of Kanandaque Lodge, K. of P., No 245.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

George A. Wilder, Bristol, a native of Bristol, born November 7, 1833, is a son of John, a son of Ephraim and Lydia (Loomis) Wilder, who came from Connecticut to Bristol about 1790. They had four sons and four daughters. John was born in Bristol, June 7, 1794, and married Eunice Codding, born May 2, 1796, by whom he had five sons and a daughter. Mr. Wilder was educated in the district school and became one of the leading farmers of the town. George A. Wilder was educated in the district school, and is a general farmer and hop grower. He owns 225 acres of land. March 4, 1860, he married Mary L. Case, a native of Bristol and a daughter of Seymour W. Case. Mr. Wilder and wife have had three children: George S., a farmer of Bristol, who married Belle Dudley of Buffalo, by whom he had one child, Ethelyn L.; John S., who is a clerk in a dry goods store in Cleveland, O.; and Carrie E., wife of George Downie of Cleveland, O. Mr. Wilder is a Republican, and he and family attend the Congregational church of Bristol.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Gustavus C. Wilkens, Geneva, was born August 8, 1843, in the western part of Russia. November 25, 1869, he landed in New York, and after spending a short time in that city and Philadelphia, went to Mount Vernon and remained for a time. He has been engaged in the meat business since 1871, and has spent two and a half years in Rochester. He married Caroline Krull by whom he has had two children.



From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

Samuel D. Willard, who was one of Geneva's most prominent citizens of many years, was born near Cayuga village, August 24, 1835, and was a member of one of the pioneer families of the Lake country. He was educated in the schools there and later at Canandaigua Academy and at Temple Hall, Geneseo, from which institution he graduated in 1854. He then went to Cleveland, where for a time he engaged in the commission business, then returned and lived for a time with his mother in Lima, following which he spent four years in the West. Returning, he took a position with the Burtiss and Beardsley Manufacturing Company at Auburn and continued there until the spring of 1869, when his health failed him and compelled him to seek out-of-doors work. Mr. Willard then came to Geneva and engaged in the nursery business, becoming a partner in the firm of Graves, Slover and Willard. For the remainder of his life he continued in the nursery business and became noted as an authority on the growing of plums, in which he had been unusually successful.

Mr. Willard was greatly interested in the formation of fruit and agricultural societies and was prominent in the affairs of the Western New York Horticultural Society and the Western New York Fruit Growers Association. He was a member of the executive committee of the New York Agricultural Society and was an early promoter of farm institutes. The establishing of the State Experiment Station was another of Mr. Willard's interests.

On September 20, 1897, he was appointed postmaster of Geneva, in which capacity he served until Feb. 10, 1906, when he was succeeded by A. R. Wyckoff. Mr. Willard was instrumental in securing for Geneva its new federal building. He became a member of the Geneva Board of Education in 1890 and served until Feb. 28, 1913, when he retired because of failing health. He was a member of the North Presbyterian church. In 1856 he married Miss Helen Day of Lima. Her death occurred March 17, 1908. Mr. Willard died May 23, 1913.



From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

George Burbank Williams, business manager, secretary and treasurer of the Geneva Printing Company, was born Sept. 8, 1873, in Rochester, N. Y., the son of Samuel Burbank Williams, formerly of Deerfield, Mass., and Emma Elizabeth Warfield of Rushville, N. Y. He attended the Rochester public schools and then entered Rochester University, where he graduated in the class of 1897, Ph. B, majoring in Chemistry and Political Economy. After graduation he was sent as a representative of a group of Rochester business men to an Arizona mining camp and later operating the property and returning to Rochester in 1899. From 1900 to 1903 he was cashier in the office of the Rochester city treasurer and was deputy chief comptroller from 1904 to 1907. During part of this same period he was secretary of the Children's Playground League of Rochester and among other activities organized the National Association of Comptrollers and Accounting Officers.

In January, 1907, he came to Geneva as secretary and treasurer of the Geneva Printing Company and one of the publishers of the Geneva Daily Times, a business in which he has since engaged. He promptly became active in various community undertakings, among them the Chamber of Commerce, which he served as secretary for a period of three years. In 1911, his mining interests in Arizona again demanded his attention and he was absent from Geneva for about a year.

Mr. Williams is a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, Colonial Wars, and a life member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. He is a member of the various state and national newspaper associations and in 1929 was president of the New York Associated Dailies. He is a member of the Brick Presbyterian church of Rochester and associate member of the First Presbyterian church of Geneva. He is vice president of the Partlow Corporation of Utica, N. Y., and a director of the Polygraphic Company of America, Inc., of New York City. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Geneva Country Club, the University Club and several other local organizations. In 1926 he married Miss Eva Nixon, daughter of Mrs. Harmon A. Nixon of Evanston, Ill. They reside on Lochland Road. (Publisher's note: G. B. Williams died Sept. 16, 1966.)



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

George N. Williams, Canandaigua, was born in Canandaigua March 11, 1837, a son of Dr. Thomas Williams, a native of New Hampshire, where he was born March 27, 1787.  He was a graduate of Dartmouth College class of 1814, and of Dartmouth Medical College in 1818.  He emigrated that year to Ontario county and located in Canandaigua, following the practice of his profession until his death January 9, 1860.  He married November 27, 1823, Lucinda Barlow, daughter of Col. Thomas Remington of Canandaigua, and they had eleven children, of whom four are living:  Mrs. Charles P. Johnson of Wisner, Mich., Mrs. L. C. Loomis of Washington, D. C., Mrs. W. L. Gordon of Topeka, and George N.  He was educated at East Bloomfield Academy and Lima Seminary, and after leaving school taught for a short time, then studied law until November, 1861, when he enlisted as a private, and was elected first lieutenant of Company K, Ninety-eighth Regiment N. Y. Volunteers; he was afterwards promoted to a captaincy, and was mustered out of the service in June, 1863.  Mr. Williams is now a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.  Returning to Canandaigua, he resumed the study of law, and was admitted to practice in December. 1864.  He followed his profession for four years, then engaged in the business of banking, which is still his occupation.  He was twice elected treasurer of Ontario county, and for six years was cashier of the First National Bank of Canandaigua.  In the year 1866 Mr. Williams married Abigail Stanley, daughter of ex-governor Myron H. Clark, and they have two children, a daughter, Mary Clark Williams of Canandaigua, and a son, Clark Williams of New York City.



From Victor Herald Newspaper 6 July 1895

Memorial Held at St. Paul's Universalist Church, Victor, N. Y. - Ezra Wilmarth was born in West Stockbridge, Mass., in the year 1765. He first came to Victor with his family in 1796, and purchased 160 acres of land, a portion of which is now owned by John Chisholm. Later sale was made of this to Samuel Gillis, a son-in-law, and Mr. Wilmarth moved to Boughton Hill, where in 1815, he commenced the building of a brick house which was finished and opened as an inn Christmas 1816. The building he used as a tavern eight years, it is now the home of Hermon Green. There are so few among us who have any personal recollection of Mr. Wilmarth, or Uncle Ezra, as he was familiarly called, that I have not been able to learn much of his characteristics only that he was a quiet, unassuming man, respected as a neighbor and citizen. After this town was set apart Oct. 1812, and named Victor, at the first election of town officers, which took place April 6th, 1813, Mr. Wilmarth was one of the three assessors duly elected. His name is also found upon the scroll of the first Masons of the town. It was at his house 1817, that a charter was resolved upon. In the organization of the First United Universalist Society of Victor in 1834, Ezra Wilmarth's name stands first upon the list of those who subscribed to the Articles of Faith as expressed in the compact at that time. He was an attendant upon its services as long as health would permit. His mind and body were greatly enfeebled the last year of his life receiving the most devoted care from his daughter, Mrs. Lavinia Ball. He died at the homestead Dec. 20th, 1855, aged 90.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

L. Stanley Wilson, Canandaigua, was born in Waterloo, Seneca county, March 9, 1844, a son of Ralph, a native of Wayne county, born in the village of Rose. He married Eleanor E., daughter of Colonel Lucius Stanley of Seneca, and they have four children, of whom subject alone survives. When he was three years old his father died, and Mrs. Wilson went to her father's in Seneca where L. Stanley was reared. He was educated in the common schools and followed farming until about twenty years of age. He then learned the carpenter's trade in which he has ever since been engaged. In 1872 he came to Canandaigua and soon after began contracting. He has made a specialty of jobbing and repair work, has a large line of customers and usually employs from one to six men. He and his family are members of the M. E. Church of this town. He has never been a politician.  Mr. Wilson married in 1865 Mary Caroline, daughter of George T. Robertson of Ferguson Corners, Yates county, and they have four children: Philip K., a carpenter of Canandaigua; Minnie M., a dressmaker; Mary C. and L. Stanley Jr., both students.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Matthew Wilson, Geneva, son of William, was born in the north of Ireland, August 18, 1819. In June, 1839, he landed in New York, and remained there three years as clerk in a large wool house.  n 1842 he settled in Geneva, and bought wool for several years. In 1842 he engaged in painting and paper hanging, and in 1850 opened a wall paper store, where he has remained ever since. He married in 1852 Prudence S. Dorchester, and has four children living: William, a clerk for his father; Frank, a clerk; Sophia, married Solon B. Furman of Tampa, Fla., and died there in 1892; and Clara D., who married D. J. Van Auken.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Thomas B. Wilson, Seneca, was born on the home farm, December 12, 1852. He was educated in the district schools and two years at Canandaigua Academy. His main occupation is farming. February 28, 1877, he married Margaret A. Scoon of Battle Creek, Mich., and they have three children: Charles S., John C., and Mary A. Mr. Wilson's father, John C., was born on the same farm, August 2, 1821. He was educated in the schools of his day, was also a practical farmer until he retired in 1885. He married Catherine A. Burrell of this town, and had three children: Thomas B., Margaret A., who married Joseph R. Fish; and Sherwood, who died in 1876. Mr. Wilson's grandfather, Thomas Wilson, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1791, and came to the United States about 1805 with his parents, locating at Hall's Corners. He married Elizabeth Crosier of the town of Seneca, and had five children--two sons and three daughters. Mr. Wilson is one of the trustees of the Seneca Presbyterian church. Mrs. Wilson's father, Charles R. Scoon, was born in Newstead Mills, Scotland, August 12, 1826, coming to the United States in 1850. He died May 18, 1893. He married Helen McKee, formerly of his native country, who died November 23, 1864, and they had a daughter, Margaret A., on the 18th of September, 1865. He married Lucina F. Smith.  The ancestry of the family is English and Scotch.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

William Wilson, Geneva, was born in the old town of Seneca, June 16, 1855. He was educated in the public schools, Canandaigua Academy, and graduated from Hobart College, class of ' 76. Since that time he has been in the nursery business, now in company with G. R. Watson, under the firm name of William Wilson & Co. October 4, 1884, he was elected captain of the Thirty-fourth Separate Company, National Guards, and received his commission from the governor. In camp in the fall of 1892 he commanded a battalion. He is a Democrat in politics. October 10, 1878, he married Minnie E. Hipple of Geneva, and they have one son, James. Captain Wilson's father, James, was born at the old home about 1818, and married Anna Whitney of Flint Creek.  They had four children: Libbie M., who married John Hammond of Geneva; Anna R., who married Rev. J. E. Babcock; William; and Jennie B., who married Richard F. Rankine of Geneva. Captain Wilson's father was a lieutenant-colonel in the State Militia. James Wilson, one of Captain Wilson's ancestors, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.



From "History of Grand Rapids and its Industries, Volume 1." By Dwight Goss C.F. Cooper, 1906.

William A. Wilson, M.D., was born in Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., February 21. 1846. Graduated at the Albany Medical College. Albany, N. Y., with class of 1868. Practiced fifteen years in Yates and Steuben counties. N. Y., settled in Grand Rapids in 1884. Was a member of Grand Rapids Board of Health in 1886, and Secretary- of the same. Was a member of Yates county, N. Y., Medical Society. [page 215]
Thanks to Martha Magill for this contribution.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Amasa T. Winch, Canadice, was born in Marlow, N. H. May 9, 1820. His father was John Winch, a native of Alstead, N. H., his grandfather, Luther, was born in Farmington, Mass., a descendant of one of the early families of Massachusetts colony.  His mother was Mary, daughter of Ephraim Thomson, whose ancestor came over to the Plymouth colony in the second shipload of colonists. John Winch located in Marlow, and subsequently removed to Cornish, where he resided till the fall of 1829, when he came on with his family and settled on a farm of one hundred acres at Canadice Corners, which he had purchased two years previously. He was elected town clerk in 1831 and supervisor in 1832, and was justice of the peace, and held other offices. He died February 4, 1882. Amasa T. was educated in the common schools of the town and the Lima Seminary. He was teacher, surveyor, and farmer, and on his marriage in 1847 located on the farm now owned by his brother Lorenzo. His wife is Elizabeth, daughter of Cornelius Terbush, descended from the early Dutch settlers on the Hudson. Of their four children three died young, and one daughter, Lucy A., is the wife of Lucius M. Doolittle, who resides with them and manages the farm, and also an apiary. Mr. Winch was town superintendent of schools three terms, supervisor seven years, 1870 to 1877; member of assembly two terms, 1877 and 1878, serving on Committees on Education, General Laws, Public Lands and others, and was justice of the peace one term. He has also served in different offices in the Canadice Methodist church for many years. Lorenzo Winch, son of John, was born in Cornish, N. H., in 1827, and was but two years old when brought with his parents to Canadice. He was educated at the schools of the town and early worked at farming. For some time he also worked at blacksmithing, and still keeps a shop for his own use. In 1849 he married Abigail J. Doolittle, and has had five children: Emma J., born in 1850; Mary E., born in 1852; Wilber A., born in 1857; John F., born in 1861; Fred L., born in 1864; died in 1890. Emma J., has been a school teacher many years. Wilber, the oldest son, also a teacher, now resides at home and is a farmer. Mr. Winch has been justice of the peace twelve years, and is the present supervisor (1892 and 1893).  He is a Republican and a Methodist. Mrs. Winch's father, Thomas Doolittle, was born in Bethlehem, Conn., in 1792, and came from Rutland, Vt., to Onondaga county, and thence to this town.



From Ontario County Journal 31 December 1886; News from Reed's Corners;

A. S. Winne, our enterprising merchant, was born in Amsterdam, Montgomery county, N. Y., in 1852, and will readily pass as a first class "Mohawk dutchman." He, with his parents, moved into this county about 18 years ago, and purchased a farm on the "middle road" from Canandaigua to Rushville. Upon this farm for several years he worked, and then hired a farm and worked for himself during the summer, and operated a threshing machine during the threshing season. He has worked some at the carpenter trade, has spent some time at painting, but none of these occupations seemed to please, and like many an other "Mohawk dutchman," he did not really know what he was made for. But it is an old saying that nothing was ever made in vain, and it is now a settled fact that the Creator made a Mohawker to run a country store. In 1885 the subject of this article bought the store and its contents of John Ward, and has been, therefore, the proprietor for about a year. His predecessor could scarcely get rid of his goods, and made but a scanty livelihood. He had no Mohawk blood in his veins. What a contrast! The present proprietor has purchased nearly or quite $10,000 worth of goods of one firm in a single year. Thrift, enterprise, and fair deal has made a lively trade even in Reed's Corners, where it is frequently said "nobody likes to see anybody prosper but themselves." The class of goods is such as generally characteristic a country store, and are sold as low as the same class can be bought elsewhere, and many things are sold under the regular market price. Tobacco and cigars, in numerous grades, are specialties.



From Phelps Citizen 29 January 1903


John Wirts was of German extraction and born in New Jersey in 1783. He came to Lyons about 1815 and to Phelps, near Fridley's mill, in 1835. He married first in 1807 Betsey Moore, by whom he had eight children. She died in 1833, aged 50 years. In 1836 he married Lucy Bedell, to whom was born a daughter. Mr. Wirts died in 1850, and his widow survived until 1874, when she died, aged 75 years. The children were Stephen M., who removed to LaPorte, Ind.; Peter R.; Mary, who died in infancy; Susan A.; Caleb H., who married and had Jennie, Styles, a soldier in the Civil War from Michigan; and Martha, who became the wife of Samuel Combs, jr; Charles R.; Sarah; Rosetta, who was the first wife of Dr. J. Q. Howe and died in 1844; and Helen, who married first Mr. Breed and second the Rev. C. E. Stebbins. She was the preceptress of the Union school for a series of years and held in high esteem by all her pupils.

There was a Wirts family who came perhaps from Maryland and settled on Limestone Ridge between Phelps and Clifton Springs. He came with the Fergusons and Sheckles, but he either returned to Maryland or set out after a few years for the newer regions of the west. He may have been in some way connected with the John Wirts family. We know not the first name of the family.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Francis H. Wisewell, M. D., Phelps, was born in Potter, Yates county, February 26, 1845. His father was Henry, and his mother Martha (Field) Wisewell. His grandfather also was Henry Wisewell. About 1870 Francis H. entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, studying medicine, where he graduated about 1872. He came to Phelps in 1877 and engaged in the drug business (selling also stationery, books and wall paper), where he has since remained. He married, in 1875, Isabel Ellas of Bath, Steuben county, a daughter of George S. and Amanda (Loomis) Ellas; Amanda Loomis being a daughter of Judge Chester Loomis, who came to Ontario county from New England at an early day. They have three children: Carl F., George Ellas and Francis H. Wisewell, Jr.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

W. Murray Witter, Gorham, a native of Seneca, was born December 23, 1843. He is a son of Warren B., a direct descendant of Wm. Witter, of England, who with his family came to America and settled at Lynn, Mass., 1640. William Witter, Sr., died on the voyage, but his wife Hannah lived to be very old. William Witter, Sr., was a very old man and a noted Baptist minister. Josiah Witter was twice married, first to Elizabeth Wheeler, by whom he had two daughters and one son. His second wife was Sarah Crandall, and they had one son and three daughters. Josiah Wheeler died at Stonington, Conn., in 1690.  Ebenezer Witter was born in Stonington, Conn., May 28, 1668. His wife was Dorathy Morgan, by whom he had four sons and five daughters. He died at Preston, Conn., June 12, 1698, and married Elizabeth Gove, by whom he had five sons and three daughters. She died 1761, and he married second Mrs. Amy Meach.  Ezra, son of Joseph, was born January 22, 1727, at Preston, Conn. His wife was Annie Morgan, and they had three sons and one daughter. He died March 9, 1761, and his wife March 17, 1761. William, son of Ezra, was born in Stonington, Conn., March 16, 1759. His wife was Esther Breed, by whom he had one daughter and three sons. He died March 10, 1845, and his wife August 26, 1819. William, son of William, was born in Stonington, Conn., February 4, 1786, and married in 1810 Bulah Carter.  They had four sons and two daughters.  He came to Aurelius, Cayuga county, and later, in 1820, came to Gorham. He was a minister and physician, and died September 12, 1847.  His wife died December 16, 1821. Warren B., son of Rev. Wm. Witter, and father of subject, was born at Aurelius, Cayuga county, in 1818, and came to Gorham when young. He was educated in Canandaigua Academy, and taught forty-three terms of school. June 19, 1841, he married Caroline Shoemaker, born October, 1814. She died August 7, 1873. He was one of the founders of the Ontario Patrons Fire Relief Association, and was its first president. He was county superintendent of poor for nine years, and school superintendent many years. He died in 1885.  W. Murray Witter has always been a farmer and now owns 216 acres. He breeds carriage horses and Merino sheep. December 19, 1865, he married Alicia T. Brundage, a native of Gorham, N. Y., born June 28, 1848, a daughter of James Brundage of Rensselaer county. His wife was Emeline, daughter of Isaac Arnold, who had two daughters. He came to Gorham and purchased seventy-five acres of land where W. Witter now resides. He died in 1863. Mr. Witter and wife have had five children, four now living: Ormond D., Jean M., Emeline F., Irwin H., and Roy E. (deceased).  Mr. Witter is a Republican, and has been justice of the peace eight years. He and his wife are members of the Grange at Reed's Corners.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

George Wolston, a native of Norfolk, England, born in 1833, is one of nine children of Jeremiah and Ann (Knapp) Wolston, natives of England. In 1853 George came to East Bloomfield, and for four years worked at farming. For the next eight years he rented land. He then purchased one hundred acres. Mr. Wolston married in England Sabina, daughter of John and Mary Nudd, and they had eight children: Mary, Sabina, Elizabeth, Louise (deceased), John E., Alice S., George H., and Maud. Mr. Wolston is a Democrat. He and wife are members of the M. E. Church at East Bloomfield.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

John Wolven, Phelps, was born in Seneca, November 21, 1841, one of two children, the other being Harriet, widow of J. C. Jackson, of Alexander and Eliza (Townsend) Wolven. Alexander, the father, was born near Saugerties, the mother being a native of Seneca. The grandfather was Levi Wolven. John married, November 22, 1865, Eloise Snyder of Lyons, one of eight children of Philip and Ann Snyder.  They have one son, Elmer E., and an adopted daughter, Alice Harmon Wolven.  Since 1846 Mr. Wolven has lived on his fine farm of 320 acres which is used for general farming, fruit and mint. He also has a flock of 140 sheep.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Jonas W. Wolverton, Canandaigua, was born in Frenchtown, N. J., October 15, 1819, a son of Joel, a farmer of that town.  When Jonas was but eight years old his parents moved to Ontario county and bought a farm in East Bloomfield, and some three or four years later the farm on the west shore of Canandaigua Lake now occupied by George C. Mather. Here he died in 1849, leaving a widow and eight children, but four of whom survive him: Job, a produce dealer of Canandaigua; Peter, a farmer of Canandaigua; Mary, wife of James S. Hickox, of Canandaigua; and Jonas W. Jonas was educated in the common schools, and assisted on the farm until twenty-three years of age, when he farmed by the month for about seven years. In 1851 he was married to Patience, widow of Amasa B. Spencer, and daughter of Harris Andrews, a prominent farmer of Canandaigua, and a native of Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Wolverton have had one child, Emily Amelia, wife of Ira P. Cribb, died in 1875 aged twenty-three years. Mr. Wolverton lives on a fine grain and fruit farm of 100 acres, and has besides thirty acres on the Middle Road. He is a Democrat but has never taken an active interest in politics. He is interested in church work, and himself and wife are members of the M. E. Church of Canandaigua.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Charles H. Wood, Farmington, was born in Farmington, July 2, 1846. His early education began in the common schools. He began his course of academic studies at Macedon Academy, 1862, and completed his course at Canandaigua Academy, 1867. During the winter of 1863-4, Mr. Wood attended Eastman's Commercial School at Rochester, N. Y., and won his diploma with high and marked distinction from the faculty of that institution. Mr. Wood was a careful and observing student and fitted himself for teaching. He taught several years in our common schools, also one year in Department No. 4 of Canandaigua Academy. As an instructor he had growing success, but owing to failing health and the advice of his physician, he gave up teaching and engaged in farm pursuits. Mr. Wood was the first and only practical temperance voter in the township, having voted the first Prohibition ticket in 1872. December 23, 1875, he married Adelaide, oldest daughter of George and Sarah (Birdsall) Hallock, Milton, Ulster county, N. Y. They have four children: Walter H., William C., George H., and Grace W. Mr. Wood's father, William, was born near Millbrook, Dutchess county, N. Y., November 12, 1812, and came with his people to this county in 1833. April 22, 1845, he married Julia C. Willson of this town, who was born in Allamuchy, Warren county, N. J., May 29, 1823. They had two children, Charles H. and Cora E. The latter was born January 19, 1865, and died November 15, 1886. Mr. Wood's father died July 4, 1886, and his mother still lives at their homestead farm "Brookside", on to which they moved April 11, 1871. Mrs. Adelaide H. Wood's father, George Hallock, was born in Milton, Ulster county, N. Y., May 2 1815. December 4, 1845, he married Sarah C. Birdsall, who was born September 29, 1828. They had eleven children; only five survive, viz: Adelaide, Caroline, who married Edgar M. Clarke of Milton, N. Y.; George W., who married Mary E. Haggard of Vermont; Martha H., who married Arthur E. Bell of Milton, N. Y.; and Robert W., who married Isabel Taber of Milton, N. Y. He is now the only descendant living in the township of the late Joseph Wood, who had litigation with the N. Y. C. R. R. Company fourteen consecutive years and won the suit as to their right of way through his land. He then refused to sell the land, but leased it to the company for fifty years; said lease expired in 1886. The validity and force of said lease is now pending in the courts.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

John M. Wood, Seneca, was born on the old homestead, which was settled by his ancestors, May 9, 1818, and it has never had a dollar of mortgage on it up to date. He was educated in the public schools and Geneva select school, presided over by Rev. Dr. Brower. He has always been a farmer until he retired in 1883. Mr. Wood has been married three times; first January 8, 1840, Eliza Rupert; they had six children: John H., Philip R., George A., Denton D., one who died in infancy, and Sarah A.  Mrs. Wood died September 19, 1854; he married second March 12, 1855, Rebecca Rupert, by whom he had one son, James W. She died December 27, 1868. For his third wife he married Mrs. Cordelia (Remington) Nelson, of the town of Gorham. Philip R. married Celesta Smith, of Geneva; they have two daughters, Charlotte and Flora. George A. is a physician in California, and married Sarah Rice, of Rochester. They have two sons, John and George. Denton D. married Susan C. Robinson, of Onondaga county; they have two children, May E. and John R. He has sole charge of the farm. Sarah A. married James W. Nelson, of the town of Gorham. James W. married May McDonal, of South Bend, Ind., and they have one daughter, Edith. He too is a physician of Long Beach, Cal.  Mr. Wood's father, John, was born at Brown Haugh, Newcastle on the River Tyne, England, in 1762, and came to the United States in 1801. He walked much of the way from Albany to Geneva. There were then few houses in Geneva. In 1813 he married Sarah McCleary, formerly of Pennsylvania, and they had five children: Eliza died at the age of two years; three died in infancy, and John M.  John W. Wood was a ruling member in the Presbyterian church of Geneva 20 years, superintendent of the Sunday school about ten years in his school district.  His father died October 11, 1832, and his mother January 8, 1871. The ancestry of the family is English and Scotch.



From Phelps Citizen 27 March 1890

David Woodard married an older sister of Samuel, William and John Hildreth. He resided on the land now owned by Edwin Seager, and is said to have built the house. We understand that his first house was opposite the red school house where each season a large growth is visible. He had a saw mill at the back part of this farm on Flint creek. He removed to Michigan about 1823. He had a son, Alonzo, and a daughter. In 1839 John Hildreth went to Michigan to visit his sister, then a widow, and was attacked with the Michigan fever, and was only able to reach Phelps before he died.



From Phelps Citizen 27 March 1890

Robert Woodhull was an early occupant of the Cad Wiggins farm. His brother, Joseph Woodhull, married Catry, a daughter of John D. Robison, December 1st, 1793. He cam to Phelps in 1791. He first purchased land of Jonathan Oaks, but for a number of years occupied the ancient Robison place to the east of the village. In 1833, he removed to Woodhull, Mich., where he died in 1841, aged 77 years. They had nine children, three boys and six girls. John, who married Betsy Swift, Betsy, Lana, Nancy, Ezra R., who was present at the centennial of Phelps, Almira, Louisiana, Vienna and Josephus.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Benjamin P. Woodin, Geneva, was born in the old homestead, March 12, 1840; was educated in the public schools, and has always followed farming. September 27, 1871, he married Mary E. Reed of Geneva, and they had four daughters and a son, the latter dying in extreme infancy. The others were: Julia G., Naomi R., Lizzie R. and Elsa M. Mr. Woodin's father, Benjamin, was born in Newburg, Orange county, in 1787, and came to the White Spring farm with his parents when an infant. He married Julia A. Condit of Junius, Seneca county, and they had twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity: Moses C., Matilda, Elsa, Mary, Electa C., Julia A., Justin G., Harriet M., Byron G. and Benjamin P. Mr. Woodin's grandfather, James, was a soldier in the Revolutionary, and also in the French and Indian war. The musket, cartridge-box and belts that he carried are in the possession of Mr. Woodin.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Oliver Woodruff M., Naples, was born in Starkey, Yates county, February 20, 1848, a son of Rev. William G. Woodruff, a Wesleyan Methodist clergyman.  His parents removed to Watkins, Schuyler county, when Oliver was a child, and he attended the Commercial School there, and at Hammondsport, moving from the latter town when seventeen years of age, to Alpine, Schuyler county.  He attended school two years.  From there to Moreland, where he remained two years, and in the fall of 1870, engaged in a mill, remaining till 1881, when, health failing, he worked on a farm at Blood's two years. Then two years in Veteran, Steuben county, when he returned to Naples to the same mill, remaining three years.  He then came to the Ontario mill in the spring of 1888, where he is still located, having purchased the property. Mr. Woodruff married in July 1873, Helen M. Simons of Naples, and they have two children living:  Lena H., and Robert J.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

James Woods, Seneca, was born in Seneca, Ontario county, May 25, 1825. He was educated in the district school, has always followed farming. June 14, 1864, he married Mrs. Margaret (Dodge) Thatcher. Mr. Woods's father, James, was born in New Jersey in 1793 and came to Pennsylvania with his parents when he was six years old, and came to this old homestead at Flint Creek in 1823. He too was a farmer. In 1821 he married Elizabeth McKnight formerly of Pennsylvania, and they had six children: Margaret, James, John, Elizabeth, Robert and Harriet N. Mr. Woods died September 1, 1880, and his wife May 24, 1873. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. Mrs. Wood's father, Joseph Thatcher, was born in Conway, Mass., March 16, 1793, and came here when he was sixteen years old. He married Anna LeFevre, and had ten children: Rebecca, Julia A., Ebenezer, Margaret, Sarah, Susan, Emeline, Jesse, Elizabeth J., and a baby not named. Mrs. Woods married for her first husband John Dodge, who died December 1, 1862. Joseph Thatcher was also a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Woods attend and support the Methodist church at Flint Creek. His father was a class leader in the old church a great many years.



From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

John Woods was one of the early master mechanics of Geneva and was employed by Charles Williamson as the master mason in the erection of the hotel and other buildings. He was also an early landlord and one of the incorporators of the Geneva Academy.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Franklin Woolston, Victor, was born on the old homestead near Fishers, April 24, 1836. He was educated in the district schools and Fairfield Academy, and is a farmer. March 31, 1883, he married Rhoda, daughter of John and Maria Ingraham, formerly of Penfield, Monroe county, and they have had five children: John W., and Franklin I. died in infancy, three survive: Miranda, George A., and Elmira W.  Mr. Woolston's father, William, was born near the village of Victor, June 13, 1807, and married Laura Andrus, who was born near Roxbury, Delaware county, May 23, 1812. Her father joined farms with Jay Gould's father. They had eight children: Franklin, John A., Laura A., Miranda C., William J., Daniel D., Hannah H., and David W. Mrs. Woolston's father, John Ingraham, was born in Perth, Canada, July 12, 1832, and married Maria Johnson, of Farmersville, Canada. They had thirteen children: Richard J., Rhoda, William A., Eudora, Isabelle, Charles M., Mary L., Lydia M., Harriet J., Leon E., George N., Arthur H., and Emma M.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

John A. Woolston, Victor, was born in Victor, January 6, 1838, was educated in the public schools, Fairfield Academy and Lima Seminary. He has taught school several winters, and is a farmer. April 6, 1864, he married Nancy C., daughter of Benjamin F. and Sally (Stafford) Lusk, of Victor. They have one son, William F., born December 31, 1864. He was educated in the public schools and Canandaigua Academy, and is a graduate from the American Veterinary College of New York city, he also studied in Toronto Veterinary College. He is a practical man in his profession, with the title of D. V. S. He resides with his parents, where his office is located. The early history is as follows: One John Woolston came from England with Lord Berkley, and located in New Jersey. He also had a son, John, who married and had six sons: John, Joshua, Michael, Cromwell, William and Joseph. The grandson of John was Cromwell. Joseph, the youngest brother, had two sons, Michael and Joshua. The latter was their great-grandfather, and married Tamer Evans, and had four sons and one daughter: Joseph, Michael, William, Barzillai and Jane. Joseph was the grandfather of John A. Woolston and Mrs. George W. Hill and Mrs. Wm. Hill. He married Elizabeth Bell, and in the year of 1806 came to Victor with his wife and two children, and were three weeks on their way.



From Phelps Citizen 29 January 1903

Jacob Wormley came to Phelps from Seneca and was proprietor of Lawrence House, later known as the Globe Hotel. He died in 1882, aged 75 years, and his wife, Samantha, died in 1880, aged 69 years. They had three children: Charles, who married a daughter of Joshua Porter, and removed to Enola, Kansas, where he died last April, aged 69 years, leaving a widow and daughter; Helen married in 1867 Joel Page, of Seneca, and there was a daughter who married Charles Ottley. Esq., of Seneca. Mr. Wormley was a warm-hearted and genial man. His residence, except for the few years in Phelps, was in Seneca.



From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Frank N. Wright, Seneca, was born in the town of Seneca, where he received a good education in the public schools, and became a farmer.  He married Emma, daughter of the late James and Eliza A. Gates, of Seneca, a member of one of the oldest families in town; they have one son, Charles G.  Mr. Wright has resided on the old Crittenden homestead eighteen years.  His father, William, was born in Yorkshire, England, October 20, 1813.  He had a limited education, but was a thorough-going farmer, and came to the United States in 1834.  In April, 1837, he married Elizabeth Shipley, formerly of his native county, and they had eight children, four of whom survive: Mary E., who married Frank Richardson, of Geneva, and has two children, Allen and Ida; Frank N. as noted above; Anna, who married Edward J. Cook, and has three children, Nellie, George F. and William; and Joseph, who married Clara A. Scott, of Phelps, and has two children, William and Carrie B.  Mrs. William Wright died in May, 1887.  Mr. Wright is a thoroughly Americanized Englishman, which is as it should be.  James Gates, father of Mrs. Frank N. Wright, was born at the old home in the town of Seneca, June 11, 1816, and was twice married, first to Eliza Crittenden, by whom he had four children, James H., Emma E., Charles C., and a daughter who died in infancy.  Mrs. Gates died in October, 1851, and he married second Christina Snooks, and had two children, Ida and Laura A.  Mr. Gates died February 9, 1889.



From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

William W. Wright, who was another prominent resident of Geneva, acquired a statewide reputation because of his various associations and connections with the politics and state matters, canal work and other police affairs. He was born at Adams, Jefferson County, N. Y., in 1813. When fifteen years old he embarked in the mercantile business and continued until 1836 when he engaged as cashier for a firm of contractors doing work for the state on the Chenango Canal which was then being constructed. Soon after he took a state contract in connection with the enlargement of the Erie Canal and on which he is said to have netted a considerable profit. From this time on he became prominent in state canal affairs and executed many big contracts for state work in different sections of the state. New York Central Railroad, the Erie, the Cohocton Valley Railroad and various others also occupied his interest and attention. Mr. Wright was a Democrat and a worker in behalf of the party; was a delegate to the convention in 1844. In 1839 he married Miss Mary Louise Ryker of New York City. In 1859 they moved to Geneva where Mr. Wright spent the rest of his life. He died in June, 1889.



From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

Robert J. Wyatt was born in Geneva and educated in Geneva schools. In his boyhood days he was employed in the nurseries of the city and later engaged in the nursery business with his brother. For 25 years he was a letter carrier on the local post office staff. He has been actively associated with various civic and fraternal organizations of the city. Mr. Wyatt is now a member of the city board of assessors. He is a Democrat in politics and once was his party's candidate for president of the Common Council.



From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

Abram Ralph Wyckoff was born at Ovid, October 13, 1862. He attended the public schools of his native town and the Academy and the High Schools at Lodi and Ovid. He taught school for several years in the vicinity of his home. He began to study law in 1881, and was admitted to the Bar in 1884. He was elected Justice of the Peace and served for a number of years as magistrate and a member of the Town Board of Geneva. He was village attorney for four years prior to 1898 when Geneva became a city. He was one of the three lawyers who drafted the City Charter. He was elected the first City Judge for a term of six years and was re-elected the second time. While still holding office he was appointed Postmaster of Geneva by President Roosevelt and was reappointed by President Taft. Of late years he has not held public office but is still actively engaged in business. His wife was Miss Ethel Agnes Catchpole, to whom he was married Sept. 16, 1896.



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