Historical And Descriptive Review Of Dunkirk Chautauqua County N Y Classic Reprint PDF Download

Excerpt from History of Chautauqua County, New York, and Its People, Vol. 2 Reuben Eaton Fenton - Upon the board of supervisors for Chautauqua county, N. Y., in 1846, representing the town of Carroll, there sat a young man, to the manner bom, already identified with the politics of his county, but destined to become a still more important factor in county politics and to attain congressional, gubernatorial and senatorial honors, Reuben E. Fenton, Chautauquas most distinguished citizen. He was a son of one of the earliest inhabitants, George W. Fenton, of New Hampshire birth, one of those adventurous pioneering spirits, advanced guards of civilization, who began the work of subduing the forests, established homes, and blazed the trail for the school, church, and improved conditions. George W. Fenton is credited with teaching the first school in Warren, Pa., during the winter of 1805-06, but in 1807 he settled on the Chadokoin, an outlet of Lake Chautauqua, near the confluence with the Cassadaga, there built a cabin and made his home until 1809, when he settled in what is now the town of Carroll The mother of Governor Fenton was Elsie Owen, daughter of John Owen, another of Chautauquas early settlers, and a veteran of two wars. He served under Gen. Wolfe in the attack on Quebec during the French War, and was also a soldier, fighting for the liberty of the Colonies. He settled in the town of Carroll in 1808, upon the State line road leading into the State of Pennsylvania. He died at the remarkable age of 107 years. It was from such honorable pioneering blood that Reuben E. Fenton sprang. He was intensely ambitious, and at first intended to become a lawyer, but prior to reaching his majority he adopted a business career, and as merchant and lumberman gained fortune, and fairly started himself along the road to fame, a road he trod so successfully. The marked executive ability, diligence, and sagacity which he displayed in his first business enterprise were but indicative of the qualities that so strongly characterized him in his later years. They marked him in youth as a man of superior quality, and compelled recognition at a very early age. He became a colonel of militia when barely twenty-one, and received at the hands of the voters of the town, district, and State, the highest political honors they could bestow. He combined the qualities of the successful politician with the loftiest ideals of the statesman, and at one time his name was mentioned in connection with the presidency. His rise was not through happy circumstance or favoritism, but he literally fought his way upward, Western New York not lacking in able, aspiring men to oppose him in both his own and the opposing party. He was originally a Democrat, but later became identified with the Republican party; he received his first congressional election from the Democratic party. The Fentons came to New England from England in 1635, and settled in Connecticut, Roswell Fenton, a descendant, moving from that colony in 1769, and settling in Hanover, N.H. He was then thirty-four years of age, and later in life moved to New York State. The founder of the family in Chautauqua county, George W. Fenton, son of Roswell Fenton, was born in New Hampshire, Dec.30, 1783, but the greater part of his youth was spent in New York State. Upon reaching his majority in 1804 he left home, drifted westward from Philadelphia, finally reaching Pittsburgh. For two or three years he traded in a canoe along the Allegheny river and French creek, furnishing goods and provisions to hunters and settlers. He taught school in Warren, Pa., in 1805-06, the first in that settlement. The following year, 1807, he ceased his wandering, built his cabin on the Chadokoin, and in 1809 moved to a farm in Carroll. He married Elsie Owens, daughter of John Owens, of previous mention, and his after life was spent in farming. He was a man of intelligence and education, fearless and upright, a.