233 VIII. HORACE, b. August 26, 1810; m. Mary Dexter and died s. p. 234 235 IX. ORIGEN, b. May 6, 1812; m. Ann Leffingwell. They lived in Connecticut. He d. X. DENNIS, b. April 26, 1814; m. Sally Thornton. He d. in 1856, f. 84. NATHANIEL STEERE, son of Jeremiah Steere (28), grandson of Samuel (10), was born May 3, 1779. He married Patience Bussey, born August 17, 1782. She was the daughter of William and Thankful (Arvine) Bussey. He lived at Harmony, then at Greenville, also seventeen years at Georgiaville, R. I. He died in Chepachet January 10, 1858, aged 79; she died February, 1873, aged nearly 91. 236 237 238 239 240 241 Children: I. MARY, b. February 1, 1806; m. William Page. He d. 1843. II. WILLIAM B., b. December 17, 1807; m. Saralla Ann Paine; d. April 13, 1877, ƒ. IV. JOHN, b. April 29, 1811; m. Ann Eliza Roberts. He d. July 20, 1871, f. V. SCOTT, b. January 25, 1813; m., 1st, Mary Madison. Living in the West in 1885. VI. ELIZA, 6. May 31, 1815; m. Harris Aldrich of Providence. 244 She d. October 11, 1884. Children: George N., Mary Low, Oscar A., William B., Maria, Sarah, and Ella. Child: Edna A., m., 1st, Adelbert Lothrop; 2d, James E. Brown. 86. RUFUS STEERE, Esq., son of Samuel Steere (30), grandson of Samuel (10), was born in Glocester November 15, 1759. He married Martha Thornton, who was born in Scituate June 11, 1758. In 1788 he sold the one half part of a lot "going in Providence and the west side of the Great Bridge, formerly the property of Stephen Olney and before that of Meshack Potter." * In 1796 he removed from Glocester to Hartwick, N. Y., where he was amongst the pioneers in the then far west. The "History of Otsego County" says that he was elected town clerk at the first town meeting (held March 6, 1804) in Hartwick of which there is record in the town books. He was for more than a score of years elected magistrate, and was familiarly known as "Squire Steere." Squire Steere." In 1806 he represented his county in the General Assembly of New York. He engaged *Prov. Records, vol. 20, p. 202. in the tanning of leather, and afterwards became interested in cotton manufacture, building up a lucrative business in which his sons became partners. He was noted for his strict integrity and his kindness to the poor and suffering. He died March 12, 1849, at the advanced age of 90. His wife died September 30, 1836. 245 246 I. CYRUS, b. in Glocester February 24, 1783; m., 1st, Mrs. Betsey Williams; 2d, Mrs. II. ESEK, b. in Gloucester June 21, 1785; m. Mary Morris of Otsego, N. Y. They had no 246a III. MINERVA, d. young. 247 248 IV. JAMES, b. in Glocester February 19, 1792; m., 1st, January 6, 1814, Phebe Cook of Hartwick. They had no children. He m., 2d, Sally W. Lippitt of Hartwick. He d. May 25, 1865, f. V. RUFUS, b. in Glocester November 17, 1793; d. in Hartwick January 6, 1797. 87. JOSEPH STEERE, son of Samuel Steere (30), grandson of Samuel (10), was born January 3, 1762, and lived in Glocester. He married Mary Brown, daughter of Elisha and Huldah (Arnold) Brown, born October 29, 1768. He was a farmer. He died March 22, 1829. In his will, made May 2, 1827, he refers to his wife Mary, appointing her his executrix, and leaving to his two brothers Samuel and Robert one half of his homestead. The will was probated April 11, 1829. They had no children. 88. NICHOLAS STEERE, son of Samuel Steere (30), grandson of Samuel (10), was born in Glocester May 5, 1764. He married, first, about 1792, Martha Harris, daughter of Elisha Harris of Rhode Island, who died April 11, 1813, of “the great fever" so widespread that year, aged 43 years. She was a member of the Society of Friends. Soon after his marriage he removed to the State of New York. He had visited New York two or three times before his final removal. The first time, he went afoot from Rhode Island to Otsego County with three companions, the party carrying their own provisions. This journey cost them "two shillings and sixpence each in money, paid out for lodging five nights on the route. He settled upon and cleared up a farm in the township of Hartwick, six miles south of Otsego Lake and Cooperstown, and two and a half miles north of Hartwick village. Upon this farm he spent the remainder of his life and reared his family. The old homestead is still held by a descendant, his grandson, Elizur Steere. Nicholas Steere was a man of strict integrity, conscientiousness, and honesty, frugal and industrious in his habits, being esteemed as a man of sound sense. and good judgment, though at times blunt in his demeanor. He had a very strong sense of justice. In the cold summer of 1816, when crops failed generally, he was the only man in that section who had corn to sell. The price of corn was two dollars a bushel, and wheat was still higher; but Mr. Steere sold his corn for one dollar a bushel, and would let none but poor men have it. He refused to sell to those who were able to buy elsewhere. His charitable aid was extended in various directions, and he was respected as a Christian and a member of the Baptist Church of Hartwick. He married, second, about 1819, Mrs. Naomi Pettibone (whose maiden name was probably Thornton), who died in Bath, N. Y., December 30, 1853, aged 78 years. He died January 17, 1845, aged 80 years, 8 months, and 12 days. They had no children. Children of Nicholas and Martha Steere: I. IRA, b. in Rhode Island in 1793; m. 1815, Lucy Bliss. He d. July 18, 1861, f. III. HARRIS, b. in Hartwick January 21, 1799; m., 1820, Betsey Bliss, f 249 250 251 252 IV. JOSEPH, d. young. 254 VI. MARY, b. April 4, 1804; unmarried; d. in Hartwick April 24, 1842. She was a teacher. She excelled in her life vocation, ranking high as an educator, and her influence left a deep and lasting impression upon her pupils, her friends, and her wide circle of relatives and acquaintances. Though admired for her talents, she was also greatly beloved for her goodness of heart, her high moral excellences, and her religious liberality and freedom from sectarianism. She was a member of the Society of Friends. 255 VII. ELISHA, b. April 19, 1809; m., 1st, May 12, 1836, Fanny Burlingham; 2d, April 15, 1861, Sophronia Smith, dau. of Warren Smith. He d. January 4, 1866, f. 256 VIII. RACHEL, b. December 7, 1810; m., May 13, 1830, Lawrence V. Church of Hartwick, N. Y. He d. August, 1876; she d. December 8, 1887, f. Besides these, two children of Nicholas and Martha Steere died young and are buried in the Fields Cemetery in Hartwick. Their names are not given. SAYLES. 89. LILLIS STEERE, daughter of Samuel Steere (30), granddaughter of Samuel (10), was born August 17, 1766. She married, January, 1786, Ahab Sayles, son of Israel Sayles, who was born October 17, 1760. He died April 17, 1849, aged 88 years and 6 months; she died March 9, 1854, aged 87 years, 6 months and 22 days. Children: I. AZUBAH, b. December 11, 1786; m. John Willing of Glocester. II. LUCINA, b. February 5, 1789; m. Benjamin Bowen. III. MERCY, b. April 13, 1792; d. July 10, 1794. IV. NICHOLAS, b. September 18, 1794; m. Asenath Cooke. V. CLARK, b. May 18, 1797; m. Mary Ann Olney of Pawtucket. VI. WELCOME, b. April 22, 1800; m. Maria Sayles. 90. CAPT. WANTON STEERE, Son of Samuel Steere (30), grandson of Samuel (10), was born February 13, 1769. He married Charlotte Burgess, daughter of Gideon Burgess, and removed, first, to Johnston and afterwards to Providence, where he bought, September 6, 1794, for £60, one half of a lot on the west side of Weybosset Bridge and in the same lot on the half part of the same lot that Meshach Potter sold to Stephen Olney and Thomas Salisbury, Jr., the whole lot having a frontage of forty feet and being one hundred and ten feet in depth. He died in Providence September 22, 1819. His will, made August 23, 1819, names his four children, to whom he gave his estate, and appoints his brothers Samuel and Robert Steere his executors and also the guardians of his daughter Charlotte and his son James till they should reach lawful age. It was probated November 8, 1819. Wanton Stuere Children: 257 I. RUTH, m. Amherst Kimball. 258 II. MARY, b. March 8, 1799; m. Clovis Steere. 259 III. CHARLOTTE, m. Elisha Buck of Putnam. 260 IV. JAMES, m. Eliza Quackenbush. He lives in Syracuse, N. Y. 92. HON. SAMUEL STEERE, Son of Samuel Steere (30), grandson of Samuel (10), was born June 24, 1774. He married, May 11, 1800, Phebe Smith. He was known as "Judge Samuel." He was for many years a justice of the peace, and was elected by the Democratic party as state senator in 1843, 1844, and 1845, and as representative to the General Assembly in 1823, 1849, and 1850. He was also judge of the Probate Court. He lived for the most of his life upon the farm which descended to him from his father, but finally sold it (on January 29, 1829, for $2,950) to Paris Irons, whose daughters, the Misses Betsey and Ruth Irons, now occupy it. He removed to a farm south of the old place, which is now the residence of his son Samuel Steere, Esq. Judge Steere was a man of solid judgment, who took very practical views of life, and exerted a wide influence. He was not only a public man, but a consistent church-member. He is remembered as being an excellent singer, and generally took the lead of the congregation going down to the water when baptismal ceremonies were performed. With his portly person, weighing about one hundred and seventy pounds, — and his white broad-brimmed hat, and his solemn, dignified air, he made an imposing figure at the head of the procession, singing from his red psalm-book. His house was the home of ministers, and especially of those of the Free Baptist persuasion. On March 4, 1819, he sold to Amasa Irons, for $450, a lot of fifteen acres in Glocester on the southerly part of Asa Steere's homestead farm, being the westerly part of a lot of land that Asa Steere purchased of David Vallet. The deed was signed by Samuel and Phebe Steere. On January 4, 1839, he deeded to his sons, Smith, Clark, and Joseph C., one half or an equal moiety of the farm whereon his brother Joseph Steere, late of Glocester, deceased, last dwelt, situated on the highway from Chepachet to Scituate, formerly devised to him by his brother Jeph Steere. He died January 23, 1865, aged 91; she died February 16, 1839. Children: 261 Samuel Sture I. NANCY, b. November 6, 1800; d. unmarried, March 5, 1875, a. 75. She was an exemplary member of the Free Baptist Church of Chepachet for nearly fifty years, and was noted for her generosity and large-heartedness. |