"N" Surname Family Sketches

From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

Samuel Nagel was born in Germany Sept. 15, 1855. He came to America at twenty-one years of age and located in Seneca Falls, where he worked as a mason. He tried farming for a time and other occupations, but eventually removed to Geneva and resumed his calling of mason in which he has made an enviable reputation for himself. He built the Masonic Temple (Hofmann Block), Schnirel Building, Dwyer Block, Hill Block, old Prospect Ave. School, Electric Light Plant building, Nagel Block and more than two hundred other buildings. Mr. Nagel is still one of Geneva's substantial and respected citizens.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

John W. Nellis, Geneva, was born in Oppenheim, Fulton county, May 4, 1857, and was educated in the common schools and Rochester Commercial College. He resided in Montgomery county seven years, and later came to Western New York, locating in Geneva, where his is a farmer and dairyman. March 13, 1883, he married Ettie D. Fonda, of Montgomery county, and they have one son, Edward Guy, born March 11, 1884. Mr. Nellis's father was born at the old home in 1809, and married Eva Wilson, of this native place. They had nine children, of whom seven survive: Eleanor, Margaret, Lena, James W., Emily, Martha and John W. Mrs. Nellis's father, Dow H. Fonda, was born at Fonda, Montgomery county, in 1809. In 1832 he married Ann Veeder, who belonged to one of the representative families of his native town and had seven children. Mr. Fonda was a son of General Fonda, a soldier of the War of 1812. Fonda, the county seat of Montgomery county, was named in honor of this family. They owned slaves at an early day, and when a son or daughter married it was a custom to give them a slave.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Melvin H. Nelson, Gorham, a native of Wisconsin, was born August 7, 1858. His father was James W., a son of Lester, a son of Calvin, who was a native of Vermont and there married Ruth, a sister of old Colonel Remington of Canandaigua. They had nine children. In 1819 Calvin came to Canandaigua. He died in 1847, and his wife in 1845. Lester Nelson was born in Rupert, Vt., in 1798. At the age of twenty-one years he walked to Canandaigua where he married Polly Hanchett, a native of Onondaga county. Her mother was a Miss Bush, whose father came from Scotland and settled in Onondaga county. He served in the Revolutionary war and for his services drew a section of land on which he spent the remainder of his life, living to be about 100 years of age. Mr. Nelson and wife had five children. He died in 1884, and his wife in 1882. James W. Nelson was educated in Canandaigua Academy and followed teaching several years, and then went to Terre Haute where he remained five years. He returned to Gorham and married Lydia Herrington, a native of Hoosick, Rensselaer county, born in 1829. He again went West and invested in property, but after thirteen years he returned to Gorham and purchased his father's farm. He now owns 140 acres on which he has put many improvements. He is a Republican and held the office of town clerk in Wisconsin. Melvin was educated in Canandaigua and Cook Academies. He followed teaching several years and is now a farmer. In 1887 he married Jean F., daughter of William Thomson, sr., and they have two children: Eva J. and Edna L. Mr. Nelson is a Republican. In religion he is a Baptist and his wife a Presbyterian.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Nelson, Omri, Victor, was born in Rupert, Vt., November 27, 1814, and came with his parents to Henrietta, Monroe county, when less than two years old. Sometime afterward they moved to Centrefield, in the town of Canandaigua, where he was educated in the district schools, but has always been a farmer until the year of 1885, when he retired. He has married twice, first on December 6, 1838, Jemima Boughton of the town of Victor. They had six children: Irene, Harriet, Julia, Ruth, Ann, and Wilbur. His first wife died May 2, 1884, and he married second, April 30, 1885, Mrs. Mary (Cronk) Benson of Victor. She has two children, both daughters: Mrs. Ella Rawson and Carrie E. Benson. Mr. Benson was killed in the late war. Mr. Nelson's father, Calvin, was also born at Rupert, Vt., and married Ruth Remington, sister to the original inventory of the famous Remington rifle, and they had nine children: Ruth, Lester, Calvin, Sally, Diantha, Melton, George, Thomas and Annie. Mr. Nelson has been an active member of the Methodist church since he was fourteen years old and of the Methodist church of Victor since 1838, class reader and steward as long as he was able to attend to the duties. His first wife was a member until she died, so is also his present wife. In politics he is a Republican.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

George N. Nethaway, Canandaigua, was born in Canandaigua, February 7, 1846, a son of Francis and Rosana (Prouty) Nethaway. George, sr., was born on Long Island, August 27, 1799, and came with his parents to Ontario county, when seven years old, and settled on the farm adjoining their present one. George was a Democrat and held many offices in the town. He married in 1839 a daughter of Ezra Prouty, of Canandaigua, and they had four children, two of whom survive: Melissa, wife of C. M. Sanford, a farmer of Canandaigua, and George N. The latter was educated in the common schools, and assisted his father on the farm til his majority, when he worked the farm on shares. At the death of his father, November 26, 1871, the farm was left to the two children, who conducted it for eight years, when George N. bought out his sister's interest. The farm now contains over one hundred acres, the principal crops being grain and wool. Mr. Nethaway has always been active in political work, and was but twenty-one years of age when he was elected to office; when thirty-two years of age he was elected commissioner of highways on the minority ticket, and after three years re-elected by a large majority, holding the office six years. He married, December 25, 1873. Adelia M., daughter of Alonzo B. Lucas, of Canandaigua, and they have one son, Henry Fay, a student of Canandaigua Academy. Mrs. Nethaway died June 29, 1892, at thirty-six years of age.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Algernon S. Newman, Canandaigua, was born in Bloomfield, May 1, 1837, a son of Willis, a native of New York, born at New Paltz on the Hudson, January 18, 1798. When he was about ten years of age his father, Elijah, moved to Gorham. Willis lived a number of years on the farm, and conducted a woolen mill until 1834, when he moved to East Bloomfield. He married in 1822 Sarah Sawtelle of Gorham, and they had four children; Sidney A., a retired merchant of Rochester, and our subject being the only ones living. Willis died in 1876. The early life of Algernon was spent in East Bloomfield, where he lived on the farm till nineteen years of age. He spent one year in a dry goods store in Canandaigua, and two years in his brother's drug store in Rochester. December 2, 1859, he established a drug store in this town, which he has ever since conducted. This is, with one exception, the oldest drug store in Canandaigua. Mr. Newman has never taken an active interest in politics, but has held a membership in the village council. He married in 1860 Augusta R. Denton of Havana, Schuyler county, and they had six children, five of whom survive: Willis D., manager of the drug store; Louisa, a distinguished musician of this town; Horace B., an assistant in the drug store; Frank S. and Gracia A. They are members of the Congregational church. Mrs. Augusta Newman died January 17, 1893. After her death her husband, who had been ill since early in the fall of 1892, began to decline, and died April 2, 1893. Both died intestate. Horace B. Newman and O. S. Bacon were appointed administrators of the estate of Augusta R. Newman, and Louise M. Newman and Edward O. Smith were appointed administrators of the estate of Algernon S. Newman. Both estates are in the process of settlement. Horace B. Newman, on the 31st of July, entered the employ of James Hawley of Kinderhook, Columbia county, N. Y., where he has charge of a drug and grocery store, as his employer is a traveling man.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

John Nicholas, Geneva, was a native of Virginia, and settled in Ontario county in 1803, at what is now known as White Springs. He was a lawyer by profession, and was the first judge elected in Ontario county. His son, Robert C., was but a year old when his father moved here. He engaged in farming, representing his county several times in the Legislature. He was one year State Senator, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1846. He married Mary Selden Rose, daughter of Robert S. Rose, about 1826, and they had four children: John C., George W., Robert R., and Jane. John C. is dead; Jane married Z. S. Claggett, and lives at Hagerstown, Md. Robert C. died in 1854 and his wife in 1837. Hon. George W. Nicholas was born October 12, 1830. He graduated from Hobart College in 1850, read law with Judge David Buel in Troy, and attended law school at Ballston Spa. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1852. He practiced in Chicago two years, then returned to Geneva, where he has since resided. In 1855 he engaged in the farming and nursery business, and was supervisor of Geneva during the war and for five years. In 1870 he was elected member of the Legislature, and has been justice of the peace since 1881. In 1854 he married Olivia M. Gallagher, daughter of George Gallagher, of New York.

From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

Philip Norborne Nicholas, one of Geneva's best known lawyers and a citizen of distinction, was a descendant of John Nicholas who early in the last century came to Geneva from the South to occupy the White Springs Farm, being his grandson. P. N. Nicholas was born in 1845 and died in 1919 and had a most distinguished career as a lawyer, farmer and nurseryman. Being a graduate of Hobart College in the class of 1866, he was always most earnestly interested in the growth and welfare of that institution and was from 1872 to 1874 secretary of the Associate Alumni of the College. In 1884 he was elected a trustee of the College, remaining in that capacity 35 years until his death. He was secretary of the Board for a period of 34 years and in 1917 was chosen college treasurer and bursar, having served as assistant in that capacity for several years previously. In addition to his legal work with the firm of Hawley, Nicholas and Hoskins, Mr. Nicholas took a most active interest in civic and community affairs in general. He served as a member of the Board of Education, was a member of the Humane Society and served as president of the local branch, and for the first eight years of its existence member of the Board of Control of the New York State Experiment Station. His church affiliations were with Trinity Episcopal church and here he served as a vestryman for 25 years. For 35 years until his death he was a member of the Geneva Cemetery Commission; was police commissioner for two terms and was most active in organizing the Geneva police department. In 1887 he was elected Supervisor and was re-elected for four successive terms. Mr. Nicholas was one of Geneva's early advocates of an adequate park system for the city, and his efforts were in 1916 directed toward urging that the city acquire the abandoned canal lands and the strip south of them for public park purposes, a thing which has only lately been brought about, however.

When the World War broke out Mr. Nicholas was appointed by President Wilson to membership on the Appeal Board of the Second District, meeting in Rochester and representing seven counties. No decisions of this board were reversed by the President, to whom all determinations were forwarded. Of him it was said that he "for many years served efficiently and gratuitously in many positions in public life" and the he "was constantly helpful to the poor and those in trouble."

In 1869 he married Miss Emily E. Jackson, whose father had formerly been a president of Hobart College and who then was serving as president of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. Mr. Nicholas died in 1919, but Mrs. Nicholas is still living on Washington street, this city. Mr. Nicholas was a member of the Bar Association, of the University Club, Kanadesaga and Country Clubs and of the Sigma Phi Society.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

The late Edward H. Nichols, Farmington, was born June 6, 1819. He was educated in the common schools and was a merchant. He married twice, first on January 1,1843, Mary A. Adams of this town and had one son, George E., who married Mary Gue on December 24, 1868. Mrs. Nichols died April 4, 1844, and he married second, November 14, 1852, Ann E., daughter of George and Eliza (Wright) Stevens of this town, formerly of England. They had one daughter, Lillie A., who has charge of the store with her mother. George E. Nichols died September 2, 1885, aged forty-one years. His father, Charles H., was born in Boundbrook, N. J. April 15, 1788. He married Rhoda Lish and had seven sons and one daughter. His grandfather, Benjamin Nichols, was born in New Jersey in 1754. Mrs. Nichols's father, George Stevens, was born in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, Eng., in 1799, and married Eliza Wright of his native place. They had eleven children, who grew to maturity. Mrs. Nichols and daughter are members of the M. E. church. The ancestry of the family is Scotch on the paternal side, and English on the maternal.

From The Story of Geneva; compiled by E. Thayles Emmons; 1931;

Elnathan Noble manufactured and sold hats, his store being on the south side of Seneca Street, some distance west of Exchange Street. In 1817 he was one of the incorporators of the Bank of Geneva.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Levi Noble, Richmond, was born where he now lives, on the west side of the lake April 17, 1828. His father, Levi, was born in Blanford, Mass., in 1792, and came with his father, Medad, first to Pompey, N. Y., and in 1804 to this town. Medad died before his grandson Levi was born. He was a shoemaker, while his son, Levi, was a carpenter, but he early engaged in farming. The children of Medad were: Mercy D., Harriet, Pamelia, Levi, Clarissa, Bohan, Phinneas, Loren, and Jonathan F. Levi was educated in the district schools, and married in 1865 Harriet Batchellor, daughter of Perrin Batchellor. She died in 1891. Their children were: Horace, Lydia, John, Levi, Mary, George, and Harriet. Mr. Noble has been a farmer all his life, and has now about 420 acres, part of which is in Canadice. His grandfather, Medad, was a Revolutionary soldier for seven years.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

J. Carlton Norris, M. A., Canandaigua, was born in Palmyra on the farm settled by his grandfather, Silas, and owned at the present time by his father, Jacob. The early life of our subject was spent in the town of his birth, where he received his first education in the district school and at the Marion Collegiate Institute. In 1866 he entered Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., where he remained two years. In 1873 he became principal of Walworth Academy, and filled that position until coming to Canandaigua Academy in the fall of 1885. The patronage of the academy has greatly increased under his management and he has now over 100 students under his care. Prof. Norris married in 1872 Julia Helen, daughter of J. D. Bennett, Esq., of Walworth, by whom he has one son, now in his eighteenth year. Prof. Norris is one of the board of police commissioners of Canandaigua, a deacon in the Congregational church, and a member of Walworth Lodge, No. 254, F. & A. M.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

The late James B. North, Victor, was born in East Bloomfield July 24, 1825, was educated in the public schools and followed farming. February 20, 1856, he married Jane E., daughter of Henry and Isabella (Bennett) Ellis, of Victor. The Ellis family is one of the oldest families of the town. They had four children: Nettie E., Frank A., Harry E., and Lydia J., all residing at home, the sons running the farm. Mr. North's father, Edwin, was born in Goshen, Litchfield county, Conn., and came with his father to East Bloomfield when he was sixteen years old, and October 9, 1827, married Lydia M. Cooley, of Canandaigua. They had five children: James B. Elisha, Lyman C., Horatio B., and Ellen M., who died April 9, 1840. James B. died December 27, 1891. His father, Edwin, died April 20, 1873. The family are members of the Universalist Church. The ancestry of the family is English, Scotch and Welsh.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Lyman C. North, Canandaigua, was born in East Bloomfield, September 19, 1832, a son of Edwin A. North, a farmer of that town. He was educated at East Bloomfield Academy under Prof. Kellam, and after leaving school engaged in the blacksmith and machine business, which he followed until about 1875. In 1867 Mr. North went to Nashville, Tenn., following his trade, and in 1872 went to Niagara county, where he remained until he removed here in 1875. He is the superintendent of the Canandaigua Gas Light Company, which position he has held since 1875, and he, with one exception -- the president of the company -- is the only one of the officers living that were of the board when Mr. North came here. In 1882 Mr. North was elected trustee, and in 1883 the president of the village and again in 1891, which office he now fills. Mr. North and wife are interested in the Universalist church of Victor. He married in 1859 Susan A. Crandall, of Niagara county, and they have one child, Stanley C., a gas engineer of New York.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

North, Robinson D., Canandaigua, was born in Goshen, Conn., August 14, 1818, a son of Israel, who came to Ontario county in 1820 and settled on a farm in East Bloomfield, where he died in 1843. He had eight children, four of whom survive: Nelson H., a retired merchant of Syracuse; John D., a manufacturer of Denver, Col.; Eliza J., wife of Charles Higby of Syracuse; and Robinson D. The early life of the latter was spent in East Bloomfield. He was educated in the common schools and Canandaigua Academy, and after leaving school he followed farming until 1880, when he established the manufacture of grape boxes, which business he now conducts. The factory is located in lower Main street, where it at one time employed a number of hands, but the innovation of grape baskets has caused a falling off of the trade in boxes. Mr. North is a prominent figure of the business men of this town, and it is said of him he has many friends and few enemies. He has been a member of the Canandaigua Board of Health and has always taken an active interest in church work, and is now an elder in the Presbyterian church of Canandaigua. While in Bloomfield he was a trustee of the Congregational church. Mr. North married in 1839, Ora, daughter of Josiah Chatfield, a native of Massachusetts, who followed farming at Auburn, N.Y. They have two children: Charlotte Elizabeth, widow of Philip Vandenburg of Canandaigua, and Lydia M., wife of David S. Willyr of Canandaigua. At his death in 1878 Philip Vandenburg left two daughters: Ora H., a student of Detroit Normal School; and Mabel L.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

John M. Norton, East Bloomfield, was born at East Bloomfield, December 5, 1842, a son of Moses and Rhoda (Merwin) Norton. The grandfather, Medad, was a son of Miles, who was a son of Ebenezer, son of Samuel of Durham, Conn., who descends from Thomas S. Norton, who came from England in 1639 and settled near New Haven. Miles was born March 30, 1759, and was three times married. His eldest son, Medad, was born May 30, 1759, and entered the continental army for his father, who was drafted. He came to Bloomfield in 1802, where he died August 17, 1837. His wife was Martha Rice by whom he had ten children: Anson, Harmon, Uri, Moses, William R., Sarah, Clara and Ora, and two who died young. His wife died August 12, 1841. Moses was born August 31, 1802, in Bloomfield, where he lived until his death, July 18, 1878. He had two brothers who served in the War of 1812. He reared four children: Harley, Mary A., William R., and John M. His wife was born in Hudson, N. Y., a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Guthrie) Merwin, natives of Connecticut and New York respectively. She died June 28, 1870. John M. Norton was raised on a farm and had a district school education, supplemented by a course at the Academy of Fine Arts, LeRoy, N. Y. His principal occupation in connection with farming is animal portraiture, making a specialty of sheep. He owns a farm of fifty-eight acres, and takes an active interest in politics.

From the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

Theodore M. Norton, Victor, was born in the town of Ogden, April 4, 1839. He was educated in the public schools and Macedon Academy, and has been a contractor and builder, also has conducted a lumber and coal trade until his partner, John J. Snyder, died in 1889. He then sold out the business to Loomis & Woodworth. He married twice, first on March 30, 1865, Chloe, daughter of Calvin and Perces Payne. She was a member of one of the oldest families of the town of Farmington, and they had one daughter, Hollis E. Mrs. Norton died June 19, 1884, and he married second, December 14, 1886, Mrs. Minerva Snyder, daughter of George Johnson, formerly of Montgomery county. They had two children: Everett J. and M. Marie. Mrs. Norton had four children by her first marriage: Catherine J., who died at the age of thirteen years; Anna E., George J., and Jennie E. Mr. Norton is a member of Milnor Lodge No. 139 F. & A. M. and Newark Chapter No. 117 R. A. M., is also one of the trustees of the Cemetery Association, and has been justice of the peace for ten years. His grandfather, Eber, was born at Goshen, Conn., and came to East Bloomfield about the year 1787. Mr. Norton's father, Alfred, was his youngest son, was born in that town in 1799, and married Emeline Deming, daughter of the late Simeon Deming, of Stockbridge, Mass. Mrs. Norton is a member of the Universalist church, and he of the society.

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