Township Sections of Mini-Biographies
from

The History of Otsego County, New York

1740-1878

D. Hamilton Hurd

Published by Everts & Fariss, Philadelphia

BURLINGTON

The land of steady habits" sent many worthy representatives to
the western county who assisted in subduing the forest and in a
great measure transmitted to the new settlements the ennobling
character of the sturdy and intelligent New Englander. Among
the number were the JOHNSONs, pioneers of 1790, Elisha,
Harris, Ira, and John. They came with their families and located
on adjoining farms about one and one-half miles north of
Burlington Flats, on what is known as "No. 10." Of the
descendants of Elisha and John, none are living in the town. A
daughter of Harris, Mrs. Daniel Dauchey, occupies the old
homestead.
Dyer C., son of Ira JOHNSON, was born in this town in 1798, 
where he resided until his death in 1857. Of a family of seven 
children, five are residents of Burlington. Lyman D. resides 
on a farm north of the Flats, where he is conducting an extensive
creamery for the manufacture of butter and cheese. He married
Mary A. DENISON, and their family consists of the following
children: Edelbert, Dyer, Cone, Jozinah, Ansel, Albert, Willard, and 
Lucy. Harriet married Peter BRAINERD. They have one
daughter, Julia. Marquis married Miss A. PORTER, - one
daughter, Louisa. Laura married A. HARRINGTON. Ira married
Charlotte ROSE, and lives on the old homestead.

Samuel GARDNER and wife were pioneers from Pownal, Vt., and 
settled one mile north of West Burlington on a farm which he
owned and occupied until his death. His family consisted of five
children, - one daughter and four sons, viz., Mrs. WHITE resides in
New Berlin, Chenango county. Colonel David Gardner occupies
the homestead where he was born, and has five children, - Carrie
A., Otis C., and Samuel W., reside in the town; Mrs. A. M. 
BURGESS in West Winfield, and Mrs. C. D. TRACY in
Rochester, N.Y.

Hiram, a brother of Colonel GARDNER, is a resident of Branch 
county, Mich. Edward is a resident of t his town, and has two
children living, viz., John L. and Porter, and one, Hiram, in
California. Another son, Elias C., was in the war of the Rebellion, 
and sacrificed his life upon the altar of country. He died in a 
hospital in Washington.

Paul [GARDNER], and son, Clark, were also pioneers, who 
settled on Garner Hill. The former long since passed away, and 
Clark died about two years ago, aged nearly eighty-eight years, 
leaving no descendants.

Lemuel HUBBELL and sons emigrated from Massachusetts and 
settled in this town soon after 1790, in the locality subsequently 
known as the Hubbell neighborhood.
Lemuel H., Jr., selected a location adjoining that of his father. He 
was twice married. Alonzo, a son by the first marriage, resides in 
Ionia, Mich. Children by the second marriage are as follows: 
Laura, widow of Alfred FIRMAN, and Lucy, wife of Rev. S. S .CADY, 
reside in this town; Harriet married Daniel PARKER, and lives in 
Chenango county, and Maria is the wife of David SOULE, a 
resident of Michigan.
Hiram Hubbell, son of Lemuel H., Sr., was born and married in 
Burlington. A son, L. Fitch Hubbell, lives above the Flats. He 
married Cordelia BROWN, and has two children, Charles and Kate, 
both of whom reside on the homestead with their father.

PARK - It was a source of great gratification to the citizens when, 
in about the year 1847, Avery PARK erected the first gristmill in 
Burlington Green. He, together with his wife and family, came 
from New London, Conn., in about 1808, and located on a farm a 
short distance north of the Green. Here he erected a tannery, and 
operated it until 1820, when he moved it to the village, and continued 
the business until 1862. He died in 1876, and a son, Mr. Daniel Park, 
is conducting the business of farming and milling

Uriah BALCOM came into Burlington from Mansfield, Conn., 
in 1793, and settled on a farm near the Green, upon which he
resided until his death in 1848, aged seventy-six. Two sons are
living in the town, - Eli, south of the Green, and Lyman on the old
homestead.

An early settler was Peter JENKS, who came with his wife and 
family from Massachusetts in 1806, and settled three miles 
southeast of the Green, on the Davis patent, where he remained a 
tiller of the soil until his death. Five children are residents of the 
county, three of whom live in the town, viz., Hawkins, Oney, and 
Peter.

Amasa, Willard, and Cady CHURCH, with their families came 
from Connecticut in 1790. The two latter purchased lands on
which the present village is located. Amasa chose a location
adjoining his brothers on the south, where he resided until his death,
which occurred in 1839, at the age of eighty-five. A son, Origen
Church, subsequently occupied the old homestead. Three of his
children are living in the town, viz., Nancy, wife of Alfred S. 
BOLTON, Mary, wife of Asa W. SPRAGUE, and William, who is 
a Baptist clergyman.

William GORHAM, an honored pioneer, came from Danbury, 
Connecticut, in 1817, and settled in what was then known as 
Otego, on Otego Creek, four miles west of Oneonta village, where
he died in 1863.
Mr. George S. Gorham, a son, moved to Burlington Green in 1830, 
where he now resides, and is a practicing attorney-at-law. He has 
three children residing in the county, - Charles and George in the 
village of Burlington, and a daughter, Mrs. BAYARD, in the 
town of Otsego.
Charles T. Gorham, a son of William Gorham, was clerk in the 
store of E. R. FORD, at Oneonta, and in 1832 emigrated to 
Marshall, Michigan, and engaged in mercantile and subsequently 
in banking business. He served five years as United States 
minister to the Hague, and upon his return was appointed Deputy 
Secretary of the Interior. Rev. Barlow W. Gorham resides in Iowa. 

An honored pioneer was Alexander PARKER, who came to 
West Burlington in 1790, then twenty-two years of age, and 
purchased a piece of land a short distance south of the village, 
where he made a clearing, built a log house, and returned to 
Vermont, where he married, and in the following year came with 
his bride to their wilderness home. It was a marked change from 
the comforts and conveniences of an eastern home, but their hearts 
were strong, and with willing hands they began the battle of life. 
Mr. Parker engaged in farming, which he continued so long as he 
was able to work. He died at the age of eighty years. David a 
son, now occupies the old homestead; Elisha, another son, resides 
in New Lisbon and two daughters in this town.
"I have lived in Burlington seventy years," says Mr. Pitman COOK. 
He came in with the CHAPINS in 1800, and afterwards married a 
daughter of Alexander PARKER, mentioned above.
[See bio for David G. Parker for more family info]

ANGEL - Among the prominent pioneers of the county were Jonathan, 
William, Joseph, James and Thomas ANGEL, who came from 
Connecticut in about the year 1787, all of whom, excepting Joseph 
and James, settled in the locality known as Angel's Hill, in the town 
of Exeter. Joseph and James settled in the town of Burlington, 
about three miles northeast of the Green, on adjoining farms. The 
old homestead is still occupied by Jonathan, Jr. David, a son of 
Jonathan Angel, located in Edmeston in 1829, where he remained 
until 1875, when he removed to West Burlington, and resides with 
his son-in-law, D. A. BATES, Esq. William G. Angel, a son of 
William, was a prominent citizen, and was a member of the 
Nineteenth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-second congresses. He is 
now a resident of Allegheny county, N.Y.

Peleg WOOD, from Rhode Island, early chose a home in the 
wilderness, locating in Edmeston in about 1806. He volunteered 
in the War of 1812, and for his services received a pension, and 
also a warrant for 160 acres of land. In 1814 he became a resident 
of Burlington, where the remainder of his life was passed. He 
married Mary, daughter of Abel MATTESON, and their family 
consisted of seven children, - four sons and three daughters, only 
two of whom survive, and are residents of this town, viz., Adna 
Wood, and a sister, Melissa. Mr. Wood is prominent citizen, and 
was a member of the board of supervisors in 1870.

PECK - Prominently identified with the interests of 
Burlington and Otsego County generally, was Jedediah PECK, of 
honored memory. He came into this town in a very early day, 
and by his character and integrity at once advanced to a commanding 
position among the leading men of the county. He was the first 
supervisor of the town, and officiated in that capacity eight years. 
He was a member of assembly in 1799-1804, and a member of 
the council of appointment in 1805.

MATHER - An honored representative of "ye olden time" was 
Dan MATHER who was born in Lyme, Conn., in October, 1774, and 
came to Burlington in 1811, and located in the southern part of the 
town, in the Butternuts creek valley, on a farm which he occupied 
until his death in 1856. He was an active pioneer, and did much to 
advance the interests of the town; was a tanner; and also engaged 
in the boot and shoe business. Mr. M. was twice married. His 
first wife's name was FROST, by whom he had three children, - 
Jane Eliza, John Frost, and Catherine. The former was the mother 
of Hon. E. M. HARRIS, of Cooperstown. John F. was a physician 
of large practice, residing at Garrettsville. He died in 1874. 
Catherine died in 1838. Mr. Mather married for his second wife 
Susannah ONDERDONK, a cousin of Bishop Onderdonk, of New 
York. They had three children, viz., Andrew A., born Oct. 12, 1812; 
Ezra, born March 20, 1814, died in 1871, and Dan Mather. The 
latter has officiated as supervisor of Burlington and still reside in 
the town. Andrew A. Mather, who occupies the old homestead, 
and lives in the house where he was born, is a prominent man, 
and has officiated in many positions within the gift of his fellow-
citizens. He was supervisor in 1846, member of assembly in 1854, 
and sheriff in 1860. 
[See bio for Andrew A. MATHER for further info on Mather families]

Among the first settlers of this town were the CHAPINs. In 1789 
they left Bennington, Vt., and moved into Burlington, then a howling
wilderness. Captain Gad Chapin was born in Chicopee, Mass., in 
1726. When a young man served in the French and Indian war, 
and received a commission as captain from King George III. His 
son Samuel was born at Chicopee in 1760. He served in the 
Revolution under Captain Robinson in Colonel Warner's regiment 
Vermont mounted troops. He married, in 1781, Susannah, daughter 
of General Stephen WALBRIDGE, who, with his sons, Gustavus 
and Adolphus, bought the land where is now situated the village of 
Burlington Flats. The general build the first tavern and store, and 
the sons built the first grist-mill in the village. Samuel Chapin and 
the Walbridges, however, did not remain long. They sold out and 
moved away in about 1808; Samuel died in Oquwaka, Ill., in 1842, 
where some of his descendants now live.
Charlotte, a daughter, came with her father and brothers, but 
returned to Massachusetts, and died there.
Gad, the second son of Captain Gad, came in at the same time with 
the others and settled just east of the village, and the house he 
built is still standing. He married for his first wife Miss NICHOLS, 
and of their children, Eunice, a daughter, married Allen MILLER, 
and lives in Syracuse with her son Riley V. Miller. Gad married 
for his second wife Anna HUBBELL. They had a son and daughter; 
Elijah H., lived at the Flats, and married Sophia DEWELL. Their 
children, Isaac C., and James H., live below the Flats. A daughter, 
Mrs. Helen BREESE, lives at Garrattsville. Abigail, the daughter 
of Gad, married Sanford SHEPHERD, and lives near Oneonta.
Dan Chapin, the third son of Captain Gad, lived two miles east of 
the Flats, on the old road to Green, and followed farming. He 
married Deborah WRIGHT.
Volney, the oldest son, when seventeen years old, went to Moravia, 
Cayuga county, and learned the furnace-trade; then went to 
Rochester, where he married Chloe SLOAN, and in 1833, with 
his wife and son, Charles A., he moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., and 
there built the first furnace west of Detroit, and during many years 
conducted an extensive business. He died in 1869. His son, 
Charles A. Chapin, now a resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., rendered 
the writer valuable assistance in the compilation of the history of 
this town and various other localities in the county.
Israel Chapin, the fourth son of Captain Gad, was born in 
Bennington, Vt., in 1770. He moved in at the same time with his 
father and brothers, and settled near his father on a farm. He 
married Lucinda HULBERT, who was born in Bennington, Vt., 
in 1779. He died in 1813, and his wife in 1845. Their family were 
as follows: Lucinda married Elijah HUBBELL. Their son Elijah 
lives at Fly Creek village; another son, Israel, lives at Clayville, 
Oneida county. Aaron Hubbell, another son, lives at Ioinia, Mich. 
Ambrose Hulbert, a son of Israel, is now at Burlington Flats. He 
has a son, Volney, living in Massillon, Ohio. Chester G., another 
son of Israel, lived and died in Earlville, Chenango county. Reuben 
R., another son of Israel, lives in Clayville, Oneida county. Amos 
Hollister, another son of Israel, went west. Cynthia T. Chapin, a 
daughter of Israel, married Sheldon FISK; he died in 1870. Their 
son, Rev. W. C. Fisk, born in 1841, died in 1870.

MARCY - Among the settlers of a later day is mentioned the name of 
Abraham MARCY, who, with his wife and children, emigrated 
from West Woodstock, Windham Co., Conn., in 1826, and located 
on a farm a short distance west of the Flats. His family now 
consists of three daughters and one son, viz., Sarah A. married 
A. W. THOMAS, and resides in Ripley, O.; Maria married William 
M. JOHNSON, and occupies the old homestead with her father; 
Esther, wife of John BISHOP, lives one mile north of the Flats; 
Newton A. Marcy married Harriet WALDBY, of Springfield, and 
resides in Burlington Flats, where during ten years he conducted a 
mercantile business. He is now largely engaged in farming.

Edward PRATT was also a pioneer and prominent citizen of the town. 
He was supervisor as early as 1805, and officiated in that capacity 
a number of years. Henry, a son of Jeremiah Pratt, resides on the 
homestead.
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