Person Page - 3657

3893 [sic: 3896]. Frances A. Sackett, 1834–1870, daughter of (1522) Aaron and Huldah Camelia Tanner Sackett, was married, May 11, 1861, to Bruce Baldwin, of Warren, Conn.

3898. Homer S. Carter, 1817–, of Talmadge, O., son of Adoniram and (1523) Orvilla Sackett Carter, was married to Martha Wright.

3899. Flora Carter, daughter of Adoniram and (1523) Orvilla Sackett Carter, was married to Platt Carter.

3903. Homer Sackett, of Avon, Livingston Co., N. Y., son of (1525) Orange and Anna Mariah Sheldon Sackett, was married to Margaret Mckenzie.

Homer Sackett, superintendent of water-works in Avon, N.Y., was born in the town of Mendon, Monroe County, in 1823. He has resided in Avon for more than forty years, and is one of the most widely known and highly respected citizens of this beautiful town, holding an important public office, the duties of which he most ably performs. His father, Colonel Orange Sackett, was a native of Warren, Conn; and his grandfather, Homer Sackett, whose name he bears, was a life-long resident of that State, being a farmer by occupation from first to last.
     Colonel Orange Sackett came to Monroe County, New York, about 1815, and for a number of years followed a variety of callings, such as farming, selling goods in general stores, and school teaching. He is still remembered as one of the most successful teachers in that region. Finally he opened a general merchandise store on his own account at Riga, Monroe County, and after carrying it on for fourteen years sold out, and removed to the town of York, Livingston County, where he bought a farm of six hundred acres, only twenty acres of which were cleared. This was in 1833, or eleven years after his marriage. The first work he had to do on his unimproved farm, which was very nearly a square mile in area, was to repair the old log house; and in this he and his family lived for many years. In 1822 Colonel Sackett was married to Amanda Minerva Sheldon, of the town of Sheffield, Berkshire County, Mass. They reared eight children, four boys and four girls; and at the present writing but one member of this large family has been removed by death. A portion of the original farm still remains in the possession of the Sackett family, it being owned by Samuel, the fifth child born to Colonel Orange and Amanda.
     Their first-born was Homer, the subject of this sketch, who was ten years old when they removed to York. He received the rudiments of his education in the Monroe County district schools, and then attended an academy in Connecticut, and later the Lima Seminary. Like his grandfather, Homer Sackett has always been a farmer; and on April 4, 1853, he came to Avon, and rented one of the Wadsworth farms. After living there for about eighteen years, in 1871 he bought the farm he now occupies. He has erected new buildings, and has improved the property in various ways, it now being considered one of the most desirable estates in this section.
     Very nearly half a century ago, in 1846, Homer Sackett married Margaret McKenzie, daughter of John D. and Catherine (McArthur) McKenzie. Mr. John D. McKenzie's father came from Scotland with his wife and seven children, settled in York, and had three children born to him after his arrival in this country. He took up a farm at York in 1804, and passed the rest of his days there, dying in 1826. Mrs. Sackett's parents moved to Canada, where her mother died. Her father married again, removed to Winnipeg, and there made his home until his death.
     Homer Sackett has five children living—Orange, Edgar G., Charles H., Sarah A., and Cora M. Orange married Ella Briggs, resides in Iowa, and has one child—Irma Sackett. Edgar married Adelaide Brayton, and has two children—Edgar G. and Carrie. Charles married Hattie Robinson, and has two children—Homer and Margaret. Sarah married Charles F. Gwynne, and has two children—Cora M. Ella Gwynne; and Cora M. Sackett married Samuel P. Harman, and has four children—Orange S., Samuel P., Margharita D., and Phoebe A. Harman.
     Mr. Homer Sackett was appointed inspector of the Avon water-works when they were put in, in 1888, and now holds the position of superintendent. He served as Supervisor of the town in 1871, has been Assessor for fifteen years, and has discharged his duties in such a manner as to reflect credit on himself and the town he represents. He cast his first Presidential vote in 1844, for Henry Clay, but has been a Republican since the formation of that party.
     A speaking likeness of Mr. Sackett will be found among the portraits of men of mark in Livingston and Wyoming Counties that illustrate this volume.

—Biographical Review of the Leading Citizens of Livingston and Wyoming Counties, New York, Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston (1895), 322–5.

Orange Sackett, Postmaster of Avon, N.Y., has represented this place most ably, not only in the capacity of Village Trustee and in other civil offices, but also on the field of battle; for he saw three years of service during the Rebellion, service so active that less than half of the company in which he was a commissioned officer survived the war. He was born in the same county, Livingston, in the town of New York, July 11, 1837. He comes of New England ancestry, his grandfather, Homer Sackett, having been a native and life-long resident of Connecticut, in which State he followed the occupation of farmer.
     Colonel Orange Sackett, the father of the subject of this sketch, was also a native of Connecticut, and for a number of years he taught school there; but he came to New York State at a comparatively early age, and for some time settled in Monroe County. He was an active, enterprising, and industrious man, and engaged in different occupations, carrying on a general store and a pottery for a considerable period, until he finally removed to York, and began the improvement of a six-hundred-acre farm which he had bought there. He had no light task before him, as but twenty of the six hundred acres were cleared; and he had to build a log house to live in. But hard work evidently agreed with him, for he lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1877, at the age of eighty-one, just forty-four years after he had begun to improve the farm. He was married in 1822 to Amanda Minerva Sheldon, of Sheffield, Berkshire County, Mass; and they had eight children, four of each sex, their names being as follows—Homer, James, Sarah, Frances, Samuel, Cornelia, Orange, and Minerva.
     Orange was the youngest son. He was educated at Lima and Canandaigua, and did farm work until he attained his majority, when he removed to Avon, and became identified with the butcher's and grocer's business. But a much more important undertaking was soon to occupy his energies, the task of helping to preserve the Union; for in August 1862, he enlisted for three years in the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry. He held a commission as First Lieutenant at the time of enlistment, but did not hold it long; for in six months he was promoted to the rank of Captain. The first battle in which he participated was Chancellorsville. This was followed by engagements at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wohachie, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Knoxville, Atlanta, Savannah, Bentonville, and other points. Lieutenant Sackett went out with one hundred men; Captain Sackett returned with but forty-four, eleven being lost at Gettysburg alone. He was mustered out in June, 1865, and, on returning to Avon, re-entered the line of business in which he had been engaged before he went to the front. After a few years he bought a hotel at Avon Springs, and carried it on for three years, when he sold out and removed to Youngstown, Ohio. He there also carried on a hotel for three years, at the end of which time he returned to Avon, where he has since remained. Farming has been his chief business; but he has also engaged in the improvement and handling of real estate, in the fire insurance business, and in the construction of cement sidewalks. Captain Sackett has served as Village Trustee and Clerk, has held the position of School Trustee, and was appointed Postmaster of Avon, January, 1892. He is a charter member of the Avon Hook and Ladder Company, and has been Chief of the Fire Department. He is connected with the Free Masons, and is a prominent member of the Grand Army.
     Orange Sackett was married in 1867 to Cornelia U. Van Zandt, daughter of Jesse Van Zandt, who at the present writing is one of the oldest men in the county, he being ninety-four years of age. His parents were Garret and Hannah (Doble) Van Zandt, who came from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at an early period, and were among the pioneer settlers in this section of New York State. Two sons have resulted from this union—William V., who is now in the office of the railroad superintendent at Rochester; and John S., who officiates as Assistant Postmaster at Avon. The mother was removed by death in January, 1893.
     Now in the prime of lfe, and holding responsible and important positions, Captain Orange Sackett is a prominent and most useful member of the community in which he has liived so long. He has had a busy and a varied career, has worked hard and diligently to advance the best interests of the town, has proved his devotion to his country as a whole as well as to that section of it in which he lives, and is an honored citizen, who well deserves the popularity he enjoys.

—Biographical Review of the Leading Citizens of Livingston and Wyoming Counties, New York, Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston (1895), 378–9.

3912. Frederick Starr, Jr., 1826, son of Frederick and [1526] Sarah Sackett Starr, was married to Helen S. Mills.

3940. Homer S. Sackett, 1838–, of Warren, Conn., son of (1528) Homer Sackett and Flora Skipp, was married, on Oct. 3, 1866, to Charrie E. Strong, 1839-1890, daughter of Martin B. Strong and Orra M. Curtiss. In August, 1862, Mr. Sackett enlisted in 19th Conn. Infantry, which subsequently became the 2d Conn. Heavy Artillery. He participated, under Sheridan, in the Shenandoah campaign, and was with the Army of the Potomac in the battles of the Wilderness. At Cold Harbor he was quite severely wounded, but remained in active service, participating in many battles and serving with credit in the final campaign which ended in the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, receiving his final discharge in July, 1865.

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3941. Augustine Sackett, 1841–, of Lee, Mass., and New York City, son of (1528) Homer and Flora Skipp Sackett, was married June 8, 1871, to Charlotte Georgiana Rice, daughter of Abner Rice and his wife Nancy Georgiana Reeve.
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Augustine Sackett served during the greater part of the war for the preservation of the Union in the Regular Navy, as an assistant engineer, doing duty as such in the ships Wissahickon, Chippewa, Algeciras, Spain, Ascutuey and Mallabessett. He was with the Gulf Squadron in the blockade of Mobile and capture of New Orleans; was with the North Atlantic Squadron in the sounds of North Carolina; was in the Roanoke River service, and in the conflict with the Confederate ram Albemarle. At the close of the war he resigned from the service and has since resided either at Lee, Mass., or New York City.
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Augustine Sackett
Drywall
US Patent No. 520,123
Inducted in 2017, #547
Born March 24, 1841 – Died May 10, 1914
Military Service: United States Navy

Few modern products have transformed construction as much as drywall. Sackett Board, the prototype for drywall, was patented by Augustine Sackett in 1894, and the evolution of Sackett's invention shaved weeks off the time needed to finish a building. Today, the average new house in American contains over 6,000 feet of drywall. It is a staple of modern structures.
     Sackett's schooling at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was interrupted by the Civil War, during which he served in the Union Navy. He settled afterward in New York City. An earlier Sackett patent—for a product intended as a sheath for walls and ceilings—led to the formulation of Sackett Board. Consisting of a core panel of gypsum plaster sandwiched between two thick sheets of paper, Sackett Board was rigid but soft enough to admit nails, and tough enough not to crack during installation or ordinary use. It replaced the time-consuming and labor-intensive method of wet-plaster wall construction. Sackett Board could be installed in a single day.
     Sackett Board was improved through the years, including its strength-to-weight ratio, durability, and fire resistance. In the 1940s, after wartime rationing limited the availability of lumber, contractors began using drywall instead. The panels became standard in inexpensive housing tracts mushrooming across the country. Drywall's popularity grew in nonresidential construction and high rises as well, including the John Hancock Tower, built in 1976 in Boston, and Chicago's Sears Tower, completed in 1973.
     Since 1930, the American demand for drywall has risen by 6,000 percent, and sales top $3 billion annually.

—Website National Inventors Hall of Fame (http://www.invent.org)

Augustine Sackett
Class of 1862
Inventor of drywall/sheetrock; entrepreneur
(1841 – 1914)

After serving in the Navy during the Civil War, Sackett moved to New York City, working as a paper collar manufacturer. He launched several entrepreneurial efforts involving the use of paper as a building material. He was awarded a patent for a product used as a sheath for walls and ceilings. Over two decades, he improved the product as a replacement for the time-consuming use of wet plaster and slat boards for building walls. The final iteration of his invention, called Sackett Plaster Board, consisted of alternating layers of the mineral gypsum and paper to create a "drywall." This new pre-made, rigid product could easily be nailed to studs in walls and could be painted or accept wallpaper. It also had the added benefit of being fireproof. Sackett received a patent for the product in 1894. As use of the product increased, Sackett sold his Sackett Plaster Board Company to the United States Gypsum Company.

Use of Sackett drywall continued to grow during the early 20th century and exploded in the post-World-War-II years. By 1955, half of all new homes and buildings in the country were constructed using drywall. He was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2017. The organization noted that 97% of construction projects used drywall. They went on to say that each year North American drywall companies ship enough of Sackett’s invention to circle our planet in one four-foot wide strip about 40 times. The average new house in America today contains over 6,000 feet of drywall.

—Website Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (http://alumni.rpi.edu/hall-of-fame)