Sarah Ann Fargo, married Harvey S. Col. Ralph T. Reed, late of Watervale.

Reed, a brother of
They reside at De-

troit, Mich., and have two children, Charles F., and Fannie, who reside with their parents.

Maryette Fargo, married Samuel P. Wormley, formerly of Ontario County, but now a resident of Marshall, Michigan. They have three sons--Frank, George and James.

James C. Fargo came to Buffalo, as clerk in the office of Wells & Co's Express, in 1844, and advancing step by step in the Express business, now occupies one of the most responsible positions in connection with the American Express Company. He was made agent of the company in Detroit, in 1848, and was afterwards agent and manager of the lines which center at Chicago. He remained; here until 1866, when he removed to New York city, to accept the position of General Superintendent and Manager of all the business of the company, which he still holds, to the satisfaction of all parties. He is, also, President of The Merchants' Despatch Transportation Company, an organization which has a capital of $3,000,000, and owns and operates more than three thousand freight cars. He is, also, one of the directors of the National Express Company. He has mastered the Express business as thoroughly as any man in the country, and possesses in a marked degree the family characteristics of energy, promptness and decision.

James married Fannie Stuart, of Battle Creek, Mich., and his family consists of three children-William and James, now students in Williams College, and Anna.

Charles Fargo commenced his express education in the Detroit office under the charge of his brother James, and worked his way steadily up. After several years of experience in the Detroit office, he was appointed agent at Toledo. When James C. was transferred to Chicago, Charles took his place at Detroit, and upon the transfer of James to New York, he removed to Chicago, where he still resides, holding the important position of Assistant General Super

intendent of the Western Division of the American Express Company, and, also, that of director in the company.

He married Mary Jane Bradford, of Cooperstown, N. Y. They have four children--Irene, Livingston, Ada and Flor

ence.

It should be said of the brothers James C., and Charles, that they have grown up in the Express business, and have given it their close and undivided attention. In its general scope and in the most minute details, they are equally at home. They deserve and have won the confidence and respect of all the Express managers in the country, as gentlemen of marked ability and conspicuous exactness and trustworthiness. Their relations with the railroad companies and other transportation lines extend over a period of nearly thirty years, and they are probably acquainted with a greater number of railroad officials and business men in the country, than any other two men of their years. To these brothers may justly be given a large share of credit for the perfect organization and successful working of the American Express Company.

Thomas B. Fargo, married Miss Lou Winfield. They reside in Detroit, Michigan, and have one daughter.

Emeline Fargo, married Frederick Deese, of Syracuse, who was for fourteen years passenger conductor on the New York Central Railroad, and is now engaged in the Express business. They have two daughters, who reside with their parents.

Willett H. Fargo died at Decatur, Ill., on Monday, Feb. 14th, and was buried in Detroit. He married Emeline Caldwell, of Chapinville, N. Y. They have nochildren.

Mortimer H. Fargo, the youngest son, married Mary Drake, of Painsville, Ohio. He is now agent for the American Express Company, at Green Bay, Wisconsin, where his father nearly sixty years ago guarded the construction of a fort to protect the pioneers of civilization. During the

summer of 1875, the veteran Fargo, at the ripe old age of eighty-four years, visited his son at Green Bay.

This is a hasty and condensed biography of a family that, as much as any other from Pompey, has been and is identified with the growth and progress of the present century.

THE VAN BROCKLIN FAMILY.

Nicholas Van Brocklin, late of Pompey, although not a pioneer, resided in Pompey over fifty years, and mostly reclaimed the land on which he settled in 1821. He was born May 26th, 1786, in Johnstown, Montgomery county, N. Y.. at a place called Sammon's Hollow, about four miles west of the village of Johnstown. A brief mention of his ancestors will show that his father's name was Gilbert Van Brocklin, and he had three brothers, Malachi, Nicholas and Harpet, all of them patriots in the revolutionary war, and engaged in the cruel contest which occurred in that eventful period, upon the borders of civilization, with the remorseless tories and Indians. One of the brothers, Nicholas, was taken prisoner by the tories and Indians, transported into the wilderness and was never heard of more. This vicinity was the theatre of the operations of Brant and the Johnsons whose baronial mansion was near Johnstown.

The grand-father of the subject of this sketch, emigrated from Holland about the year 1730, with two brothers and a sister. The names of two of the brothers were Nicholas and Alexander, the other is thought to have been Harpet and the sister Barbara. Only two of the brothers who came from Holland were married and from them have sprung probably all the Van Brocklins in the United States. The maternal ancestry of Mr. Van Brocklin was Scotch and his mother's ancestral name was Wilson.

In early life he was surrounded by a settlement remarkable for its independence and patriotism, including the Sammons, the Fondas, the Vedders and others of revolutionary

fame. The political contests in the early days of the Republic waged in his native county, which but a few years before had been the witness of a ferocious savage warfare by patriots on the one hand and tories and Indians on the other, made a lasting impression on his mind and closely allied him to that party which opposed the Federalist, and always through the subsequent years of his life, he was a zealous supporter of the Democratic party.

At about the age of twenty-four he married Margaret, a daughter of John and Mary Shields, who with their family one son and seven daughters emigrated from Ireland about the year 1800. Mrs. John Shield's maiden name was Mary White and three of her brothers were Presbyterian ministers. Mr. Shields first landed in Delaware, but soon came north to Montgomery county, and in 1820 to Pompey, where he resided till his death. Of his children, Mary married a Mr. Newkirk and after his death a Mr. Dawson. Jane married Bela Farr, late of Norwich, N. Y.

Isabella married Jeremiah Van Epps, late of Homer, N.Y. Martha married James Gilmore, late of Manlius, N. Y. Elizabeth married a Mr. Frazier and her husband died soon after, and she ever after lived with her sister Sarah, who married Henry Barber a son of Elihu mentioned on another page of this volume. Patrick Shields, the only son, married Mrs. Sherwood a widow of one of the Pompey pioneers, and lived near Delphi in Pompey, till his death. As before stated Margaret married Nicholas Van Brocklin. From these seven sisters have sprung a numerous progeny and among them were several men of influence and eminent ability. Among them may be noted Hon. Joseph Farr, late of Norwalk, Ohio, James Farr, late of New York, Drs. James and John Gilmore of Nunda, N. Y. Mrs. Van Brocklin was a remarkable natural mathematician, being prompt and accurate in mental computation of all the business transactions of her husband, often correcting the errors of merchants who used pen and paper. Mr. Van Brocklin was a farmer but always evinced a lively interest in public affairs.