250 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



a general merchandise store, which he continued, however, 

 only some three years, and returned to New York. While 

 a resident of Michigan, in 1842, he married Sarah, daugh- 

 ter of Adam Willis, of Bethany, Genesee Co., N. Y., and 

 after his return settled in Le Roy, and engaged with his 

 brother in the grocery business. He was successful in 

 Le Roy in this business, in the hardware trade, and as 

 a farmer, until 1861, when he removed to the town of Co- 

 hocton, and in company with Thomas Warner, now a lead- 

 ing and enterprising business man of that place, entered 

 into a partnership with his brother, Franklin N. Drake, in 

 the lumber business and general merchandise. This busi- 

 ness had been established in Cohocton by his brother in 1854. 

 Prior to settling in Cohocton, in 1847, his wife died, 

 leaving him one son, Davii S. Drake, who is now associated 

 with his uncle, Franklin N. Drake, of Corning, in business, 

 and is superintendent of the Blossburg Coal Company ; and 

 one daughter, Mrs. John White, of Volga City, Iowa. For 

 his second wife he married, in 1849, Harriet, daughter of 

 Abial Lewis and Nancy P. Roberts, of Le Roy, Genesee Co. 

 Of this union were born Mrs. Myron W. Harris, Louis F., 

 Herbert W., and Charles P., of Cohocton. Mr. Drake re- 

 mained in business in the town of Cohocton, attending to 

 the mercantile part, until 1866, when he assumed the entire 

 mercantile interest of the firm, and in 1867 he disposed of 

 this to his son-in-law, Mr. Myron W. Harris, who is now a 

 prominent and successful merchant at Liberty, and the same 

 year disposed of his lumber interest to Thomas Warner. As 

 early as 1865 he had taken an interest in the Bloss Coal- 

 Mining and Railroad Company, with his brother, which 

 interest was retained until 1871, one year after his death, 

 which occurred April 27, 1870. His wife died in the fall 

 of 1868. He never took an active interest in political 

 matters, but gave his whole attention to a business life. 

 Mr. Drake was a man of remarkable business capacity, pos- 

 sessed of social and marked characteristics that made him 

 esteemed by all with whom he came in contact. He was 

 known as a man of strict business integrity, and interested 

 in all matters of local improvement, good society, and the 

 education of the young. 



TlIOxMAS C. ARMSTRONG 

 was born in Charleston, Montgomery Co., N. Y., March 

 22, 1801). His grandfather, Nathan Armstrong, was a 

 soldier of the Rtvolutionary war, was a resident of Mont- 

 gomery County for a few years, removed to Otsego County, 

 town of Cutternuts, where the faftiily lived until the year 

 1815, and came to Steuben County, town of Cohocton, ac- 

 companied by his sons, Martin and James. The previous 

 year (1814) one son, Jonathan, and two sons-in-law, Flint 

 and Elliott, came here ; the former died the same year, the 

 latter resided in the town until their death. 



The grandfather and two sons settled on one hundred 

 acres of land on the Robert L. Bound's tract. The whole 

 township at that time was almost an unbroken wilderness. 

 The next year (1816) the families of Nathan Armstrong 

 and his son Martin removed to their new home in this 

 county. The grandfather died in 1841, caused by a fracture 

 of his hip, his wife having died several years before. 



Martin Armstrong, father of Thomas C, purchased the 

 same year he came here eighty acres of timbered land, 

 where his son and daughter now reside, the land having 

 been the homestead of the family for some sixty-four years. 



Most of this land was cleared by Mr. Armstrong, Sr. 

 He took a deep interest in all local improvements in the 

 pioneer days of the town, built the first school-house in his 



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si^^^M^^ 



THOMAS C. ARMSTRONG. 



own district, and also the one in the district north of him. 

 He was a Democrat, but took no active part in politics. His 

 wife was Margaretta Onderkirk, to whom he was married 

 Jan. 28, 1798. She died April 17, 1799, leaving one son, 

 Nathan. His second wife was Ruth Sawdy, born Feb. 8, 

 1783 ; married March 5, 1805. Their children, born in 

 Montgomery County, are Hiram, Margaretta, Thomas C., 

 James, Lucia ; and in this county, one daughter, Rhoda. 

 Only four are living, and of this family of children, only 

 one son, James, ever married. 



The father was an active, thorough-going man, a repre- 

 sentative farmer, a man of sterling integrity and large 

 benevolence. He was one of the pioneers of the town, and 

 met the obstacles to settlement, law, and order with manly 

 courage. He used to market his wheat by taking it in 

 wagons to Albany, and bringing loads back for some mer- 

 chants of Bath, — in striking contrast with the means of 

 conveyance for marketing produce in 1878. He died Sept. 

 30, 1824 ; and it is a singular coincidence that two other 

 brothers died on the same day of the month, in different 

 years, and all of typhus fever. His wife died June 15, 1846. 



Mr. Thomas C. Armstrong, with his sisters Lucia and 

 Rhoda, still occupy the homestead settled by their father. 

 Mr. Armstrono; was one of the first advocates of the free- 

 school system in his town, was a Democrat prior to the 

 formation of the Republican party, and is now an unswerv- 

 ing supporter of Republican principles. He took strong 

 ground against human bondage, and was* a supporter of the 

 Union cause during the late Rebellion. 



