374 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



the town of Prattsburgh, and has ever been interested in 

 all matters leading to local improvement and the general 

 welfare of the citizens of the town. (A view of his resi- 

 dence, built by his grandfather, Capt. Joel Pratt, in 1817, 

 with its surroundings, may be seen on another page of this 

 work.) He was formerly a member of the old Whig party, 

 but in 1859 became a member of the Democratic party, the 

 principles of which he still -adheres to. From 1863 to 

 1868, inclusive, he represented his town as supervisor, 

 and (which is a fact worthy of note here) in 1864, while 

 acting as supervisor, he did the town very efficient service 

 under the call of July, for ninety-two men for the army. 

 In this matter, with the support of intelligent citizens, he 

 is said to have saved the town some seventy-five thousand 

 dollars. 



For some fifteen years he was a member of the board of 

 trustees of the Franklin Academy, and has ever been a 

 liberal supporter of educational interests, and was largely 

 instrumental in making the public park. 



Mr. Pratt has engaged earnestly in the advocacy of the 

 '' Patrons of Husbandry," giving his time and money for 

 its support, believing as he does that the farmer is the 

 " golden goose," from which others pluck feathers of profit ; 

 that he is largely the unequal tax-payer of the country, and 

 hence is entitled to a representation in all matters affecting 

 local. State, or national interests ; and in behalf of this 

 movement, and many others, he has written many articles 

 for the press that have claimed the attention of the think- 

 ing public. 



Mr. Pratt has been married three times : first, to Mar- 

 tha Jane McNair, of West Sparta, Livingston Co., in 

 1847 (she died Nov. 14, 1848) ; second, to Mrs. Hester 

 A. Carr, daughter of Deacon Babcock, of Prattsburgh 

 (she died in 1852, leaving one son, Joel, who also died, at 

 the age of 13) ; for his third wife he married Cornelia P., 

 daughter of Henry and Mary Ann Brother, of Bath, Sept. 

 16, 1852. Of this union have been born eleven children, 

 of whom nine survive. 



OTIS WALDO 



was third son and fourth child of Jesse and Martha Waldo, 

 pioneer settlers in the town of Prattsburgh ; was born Dec. 

 28, 1794, in Connecticut, prior to the removal of the fam- 

 ily to this county. The line of descent of the Waldo family 

 here is traced back to Cornelius Waldo, the emigrant who 

 settled in Ipswich, Mass., in 1650. The descent is through 

 (1) Cornelius ; (2) John ; (3) Edward ; (4) Shubael ; (5) 

 Jesse ; (6) Jesse second, father of the subject of this nar- 

 rative. 



About the year 1815, Mr. Waldo, with youthful vigor 

 and a resolution to succeed, commenced life for himself, 

 settled on some fifty acres of timbered land, built a saw- 

 mill, and began lumbering and clearing off the original 

 forest and preparing his land for tillage. He afterwards 

 made additions to his original purchase, so that his farm 

 comprised two hundred and ninety-four acres, now owned 

 and occupied by the only surviving son, James A. Waldo. 



In 1820, Sept. 28, he married Fanny, daughter of Dea- 

 con Aaron and Miriam Cook, of Prattsburgh. She was 



born Oct. 21, 1798. Their beginning was in a house built 

 about 1816, a view of which may be seen in the same pic- 

 ture with a view of the second residence erected by Mr. 

 Waldo, as shown on another page of this work. For about 

 a half-century, Mr. and Mrs. Waldo lived on this home- 

 stead, made various improvements, erected commodious 

 buildings, and cleared almost the entire farm of its original 

 forest ; the result of a life of labor and toil. 



His life was one of activity. Possessed of that force of 

 character common to the family of Waldo, yet he was un- 

 ostentatious and plain in his ways, a valuable citizen, and 

 known for his integrity of purpose in all his business rela- 

 tions, characterized for his consideration, firmness, and 

 honesty. 



He took no active part in political matters, further than 

 to cast his vote, which he did intelligently, first with the 

 Whig and afterwards with the Republican party. 



In early life he became a member of the Congregational 

 Church of Prattsburgh, and with his wife, both remained 

 consistent to their religious faith until their death. Mr. 

 Waldo was very fond of the study of the Scripture, and 

 discussed with force and intelligence the various topics 

 therein contained. He died July 15, 1870. His wife died 

 Feb. 24, 1870. They had the following-named children : 

 Otis H. Waldo, received his academic instruction in 

 Franklin Academy, and graduated at Union College in 

 1843. In 1844 he advocated the interests of Clay 

 and the Whig party, and after the election went South 

 and studied law with Gen. John A. Quitman, of Natchez, 

 Miss. In 1849 he settled in Milwaukee and entered upon 

 the practice of the legal profession, soon rising to the front 

 rank. He pursued his cherished avocation with vigor, was 

 possessed of strong natural endowments, improved by much 

 reading and study, an intense worker, and ambitious beyond 

 his strength. As a lawyer he was successful, professionally 

 and financially. He served as president of an important 

 railroad leading from the city of Milwaukee, to whose energy 

 that enterprise is said to be largely indebted. He was the 

 unsuccessful candidate for the mayoralty of the city and for 

 the. United States Senate, the city being of adverse politics. 

 His death occurred Oct. 30, 1874. Martha Miriam (died 

 in infancy) ; Abigail F. (died young) ; and James A. Waldo, 

 the youngest and only surviving member of the family, re- 

 sides on the old homestead. 



JOSEPH M. HOPKINS 



was born in the town of Prattsburgh, on the farm where he 

 now resides, April 19, 1815. His grandfather, Capt. Con- 

 sider Hopkins, was born in West Hartford, Conn., in June, 

 1723, and died in August, 1795. He married Lydia Gil- 

 bert, born in the city of Hartford, in 1731, and died in 

 September, 1800. Their children were as follows: 



Consider Hopkins, born in New Hartford, July, 1752, 

 died 1838; Hannah Hopkins, born in New Hartford, April, 

 1754, died February, 1813 ; Roderick Hopkins, born in 

 New Hartford, April, 1756 ; George Hopkins, born in New 

 Hartford, February, 1758 ; Elias Hopkins, born in New 

 Hartford, Jan. 4, 1760 ; John Hopkins, born in New 



