Dewey Family Sketch

From Dewey genealogy and family history. Compiled by Louis Marinus Dewey, Westfield,
Massachusetts, 1898.

JOHN DEWEY, son of David, b. June 27, 1743, at Lebanon, Conn.; d. Jan, 17, 1807, ae 63, at Suffield, Conn.; lived at Suffield (Boston neck), Conn.; he was in Arnold's expedition against Quebec in 1775; private in 5th Regt. Conn. Line; m. Nov. 12, 1772, MARY PHELPS, dau. of David and Margaret (Colton), b. Aug. 16, 1747, o. s., at Enfield. She m. 2d, John Parsons, of Springfield, Mass., and d. July 5, 1847, ae 99 years, 10 mos.

CHILDREN - BORN AT SUFFIELD CT:

John, 2d,   b. Aug. 4, 1773; married Olive Hovey;
Molly,       b. April 19, 1775; married Moses Hull;

Jedediah,   b. May 15, 1777; married Ann Bement;

Elam,         b. April 16, 1779; d. (?), near Manchester, N. Y.; m.
and had (1) Alfred, who m. and had John J. Dewey, postmaster at
Clifton Springs, N. Y.; (2) William, whose widow Nancy was living
at Shortsville, N. Y., in 1890; (3) Charlotte, d. unm.

JOHN DEWEY, 2d, son of John, b. Aug. 4, 1773, at Suffield, Conn.; d. March 26, 1863, at Manchester, N. Y.; a farmer and miller; moved to what is now Manchester, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1817, from Suffield, Conn.; m. Feb. 18, 1798, at Hampton, Conn., OLIVE HOVEY, who d. May 17, 1829, at Manchester, N. Y.

CHILDREN - BORN AT SUFFIELD CT:

Olive,           b. Dec. 27, 1799; d. Nov. 6, 1800.
John,            b. Aug. 24, 1801; d. Aug. 10, 1805.

Hiram,          b. Jan. 13, 1803;

Eunice Woodward, b. May 20, 1804; d. 1890; m. May 20, 1827, at
Manchester, N. Y., Mowry Aldrich, who d. in 1849; they had:
Mowry, of Hudson, Mich.; d. in 1891; Olive (M. D.), of Philadelphia,
Pa.; Edward, of Mississippi, was Confederate soldier;
Eugene, a Confederate soldier, d. in Missouri in the army; John, d. young
in Michigan; Hiram, living in Kansas, three years a Union soldier in 126th
N. Y. regt. Vols.; William, d. in Mississippi; Eunice Arabell, m. (?) Snook,
and d. in 1884.

William Wyllis, b. March 17, 1808;

Joseph Howard,   b. Oct. 4, 1810;

George Gordon,   b. Nov. 2, 1813; d. Sept. --, 1841; m. (?), Esther Evatt,
and had George H., b. about 1840; was living in Michigan in 1890,
and served in a Michigan regiment in Civil War.

MOLLY DEWEY, dau. of John, b. April 19, 1775, at Suffield, Conn.; d. March 19,
1855; m. Nov. 15, 1796, MOSES HULL, a farmer and Methodist preacher in western N. Y.

            1. Polly.
            2. Chole.
            3. Aurilla, b. July 15, 1801; d. July 17, 1889; m. Nov. 10, 1819, Asa
                 Parshall, and had: (1) Harriet A.; (2) Emily M.; (3) Moses H.; (4)
                 Edwin A.; (5) John D.; all dead but John D., in Dec., 1896.
            4. Moses,   b. March 24, 1803; m. Jan. 18, 1826, Clarissa Phelps.
            5. Truman.
            6. John D.
            7. Clarissa.
            8. Cyrus.
            9. Jerusha.
           10. Sarah.   All dead in 1896 except Moses, Jr.

JEDEIAH DEWEY, son of John, b. May 15, 1777, at Suffield, Conn.; d. May 8, 1859, ae 82, at Manchester, N. Y.; moved from Connecticut, town of Suffield, to the county of Ontario, town of Manchester, N. Y., in the year of our Lord 1799. During the month of February he and his wife, whose maiden name was Ann Bement, came the whole distance with a yoke of oxen attached to a sled, driving two cows through the snow and bitter cold weather. When they arrived at Utica they found the road in a bad shape, only the trees having been removed from the path. The letter H was cut on the trees by the roadside which stood for highway, which was done for the guidance of travelers. After suffering great privations traveling through the snow and zero weather, driving a yoke of oxen, two cows and a calf, for one of their cows dropped a calf on their journey, they arrived safely at their destination, being thoroughly worn out by their journey. All they had in the world was their oxen, cows, calf, sled and household goods on the sled. They ran in debt for their land, which they paid for in after years. Mr. Dewey had been out the year before, made a small clearing, sowed some wheat and put up a log house. The place he settled on was what is now known as the place where Jedediah Dewey, Jr., lived and died. He brought the place into a good state of cultivation, and left it to his family. He died at the good old age of 82 and went to his reward in Heaven, having been a devout Baptist all his days. He was a man of great force of character. Whatever he thought was right and he undertook to do, he persevered until he accomplished it, if it was among the possibilities. He was rigid in his religious observance. He was a Baptist of the olden style, as were all the Dewey family. He told his son Edmund, that is, Col. Dewey, when he became a Universalist, "Now, do not tell your children anything about it, for if you do you will ruin your whole family." He was a straight out Whig in politics, and made himself felt wherever he went. He was, as were many of our old pioneers, a grand old man; m. Nov. 28, 1798, at Suffield, Conn., ANNA BEMENT, dau. of Edmond and Mary (Sheldon), b. Jan. 22, 1780, at Suffield; d. May 18, 1865, ae 85, at Manchester, N. Y.

CHILDREN BORN AT FARMINGTON (NOW MANCHESTER) N. Y.:

Anna,          b. Sept. 11, 1799; m. Sept. 25, 1821, Oliver Hovey,
who d. in Ohio; she d. June 23, 1825, at Manchester, N. Y.; no children.
Edmund Bement, b. June 2, 1801;

Harriet,       b. Aug. 30, 1803; d. Dec. 5, 1879, at Manchester;
m. Jan. 5, 1823, Jeremiah Lyke, b. March 3, 1797, in Dutchess Co.,
N. Y.; d. Nov. 5, 1875; they had: (1) Elizabeth H., b. April 6,
1827; (2) Angeline, b. April 1, 1831; d. Nov. 13, 1850; (3) Jeremiah,
b. Jan. 19, 1835; (4) Dewey, b. June 19; d. Nov. 26, 1837; (5) Maria D.,
b. April 10, 1839; d. Sept. 26, 1850; (6) Olive C., b. July 13, 1841;
d. Jan. 11, 1874.

Silas,         b. May 8, 1805; d. March 17, 1810.

Jedediah, 2d, b. April 15, 1807;

Wealthy,       b. Jan. 18, 1811; d. April 14, 1854; m. Jan. 23, 1834,
Robert Robinson, at Manchester, b. Jan. 24, 1806; d. July 13, 1865.

Mary,          b. June 4, 1815; d. June 6, 1894; m. Sept. 6, 1832,
Seymour Aldrich, b. Aug. 10, 1810; d. Jan. 20, 1888; lived at
Shortsville, N. Y., and had: (1) David R., b. April 5, 1834; (2)
Edmond D., b. April 8, 1835; (3) Mary E., b. Aug. 7, 1840; (4)
Wilson, b. March 9, 1838; (5) William H., b. March 14, 1842;
(6) Emily, b. June 30, 1845; (7) Anna, b. June 1, 1849; d. March 3,
1869; (8) Caroline C., b. Sept. 1, 1846; d. Aug. 23, 1849; (9) Sarah,
b. July 24, 1851; (10) Dewitt C., b. July 2, 1853; d. Oct. 9, 1874; (11)
Ellen, b. Aug. 3, 1857.

Olive,         b. May 23, 1817; m. April 12, 1837, Hezekiah Owen Baggerly,
and lived at Savannah, N. Y., in May, 1898; had a son, Wilber F. Baggerly, of Savannah, N. Y.

Elizabeth,     b. Aug. 26, 1819; d. Feb. 14, 1895, ae 75, at Fairport,
N. Y.; m. Dec. 28, 1842, Leander Peabody Moseley, b. Oct. 10, 1809,
at Lebanon, Conn.; they had: (1) Anna Sarah, b. Sept. 17, 1853;
m. Oct. 18, 1876, Charles Clarence Moore, a lumber merchant
at Fairport N. Y., b. Aug. 7, 1851; (2) Carrie Elizabeth, b. Sept. 19, 1855.

From Ontario County Journal 24 February 1888

Col. Edmund Bement Dewey, whose likeness is herewith presented, enjoys the distinction of being the oldest man, now living, born in the township of Manchester, and the oldest with but one exception, residing in the village of Clifton Springs. Mr. Dewey was born the 2nd day of June, 1801, on the old Dewey farm, located one mile east of Shortsville, now owned by Mr. VanDevaort. His boyhood days were passed, as were those of all pioneer's children, in making himself useful in helping clear away the forests and breaking up the land, with the winter months devoted to attendance at district school. When in his 21st year, he married Miss Sarah Cooper, and soon after started in the battle of life on his own responsibility. Farming has been his principal occupation through life, but for several years in connection with that he owned and operated the grist and saw mills located at Manchester Center. He had the companionship of his first wife for about fifty-five years, and the result of the union was twelve children, among whom were two pair of twins. Five years ago Mr. Dewey had the pleasure and the unusual experience of being seated at dinner with persons representing five generations of which he was great-great grandfather and with satisfaction he counts his descendants by the score.

In 1879 he married his second wife, Mrs. Fannie VanDerhoof, with whom he is now living. Mr. Dewey was a Democrat until the first election of Lincoln, since when he has voted the Republican ticket.

Although never a very active politician he has held several offices in the town, and for a time was superintendent of the poor in the county. Religiously he is a Universalist, and has been identified with that society for many years, and is now a regular attendant, rain or shine, at the church of the Messiah in this village.

Mr. Dewey received the title of Colonel by service in the militia of the state and officiated in that capacity for a number of years in a regiment known as the "Independent Rifles," a uniformed body of men made of companies from various towns in Ontario county. Physically, Col. Dewey has been a giant among men, and now at his advanced age, he is able to take care of a horse and cow, and gets about the village in a way that surpasses many men of sixty. Six feet three and well-proportioned, in his younger days nothing that could be overcame by physical strength stood in his way, and many have been his escapes from injury where men of less strength would have been killed. It is needless to say that the colonel commands and has the respect of a large circle of acquaintances, all of whom sincerely hope to see his familiar form on our streets for many years to come.

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Updated 22 October 2005