Person Page - 4226

J. Lucius Seymour, the only son [of Alva Seymour & ___ Cowles], was born in Turin, March 31, 1831. His early years were passed on the farm close by his present home. He was educated in the district schools of his town and at Lowville Academy, and followed for some years the occupation of teacher, going West in the spring of 1847 for that purpose, and teaching successfully in Iowa and Minnesota. In the spring of 1863 he returned home, and in the following winter went to Virginia, in the service of the Christian Commission to care for the sick and wounded soldiers. He afterward became engaged in farming, and has also been quite extensively interested in lumbering and real estate trannsaction in Minnesota. Mr. Seymour since the age of fourteen has been an active worker in the religious feld, following in this respect the footsteps of his worthy father. He is an elder in the First Presbyterian church of Turin, in which, and in the community at large, he is regarded as a conscientious christian and an honorable man. On the 5th of February, 1866, Mr. Seymour married Lydia Sackett, daughter of G. Sheldon and Elmina Sackett, of Turin, who was born January 11, 1839. Their children are seven in number, as follows:—Arthur T., born December 17, 1866; Alva C., born December 14, 1868; Edward Lucius, born August 16, 1871; Mary Estelle, born July 23, 1873; Dwight Sheldon, born March 27, 1876; Theodore Lyman, born December 30, 1877; Eugene Howard, born July 4, 1880.

—Franklin Benjamin Hough, History of Lewis County, New York, D Mason & Co, Syracuse, NY (1883), pp 538–9

Martin J. Sackett.
The subject of this sketch is of New England parentage, and was born in the town of Turin, September 15, 1832.
     His parents were Gad Sheldon Sackett and Elmina Miller. Their other children were Lucina, born April 27, 1835, married A.L. Kellogg, October, 1856; Lydia, born January 11, 1839, married J. Lucius Seymour, February, 1866; George S., born May 7, 1842; Alson C., born August 27, 1844; Charles K., born March 26, 1848.
     About 1830, the elder Sackett bought a farm in the woods on the western part of the town, on which there was a small clearing and a log cabin, in which Martin was born.
     Those were the rude days of pioneer life, when the dwellings and the school houses were of logs; when stoves were unknown, and the roaring blaze went crackling up the broad fire-place, and men and women sturdily battled with the privations of such a life to insure their children the future days of more comfort, and a higher place of prosperity. In a few years, the elder Sackett built a framed house, and here on the farm, Martin passed his early life.
     He received his education in the common schools, and in Lowville Academy, and taught school seven years, three of which were passed in the schools of Long Island.
     Relinquishing that profession, he became interested in farming and produce dealing, in which business he is now engaged. He is the owner of two hundred and seventy-five acres of land, and has under his control a total of four hundred and seventy-five acres. Mr. Sackett is most fortunate in the location of his farm, as it is situated in one of the pleasantest and most fertile portions of the town, deriving on this account a much enhanced value over lands less favorably located. He has always taken great pride in improving to the best of his ability, the lands in his possession, and the beneficial results of his labors are to be seen in every portion of his estate. The following article, written by the editor of the Lowville Journal and Republican, shows the writer's appreciation of the locality in which Mr. Sackett resides:—
     "A ride at this season of the year on the East road, from the old Sheldon tavern, beyond Martinsburgh, is positive luxury. The road is smooth and hard, while the landscape, even to the hills west covered with verdure and noble trees, is pleasant to the view. The fine, large farm with its nice buildings, of Martin J. Sackett, attracts attention of the passer by; next come the fine farms of Charles J. Phelps, Almon Miller, Walter Miller, Albert Miller, Stephen Silvernail, James Kilham, John Strong, Charles Bush, Cadwell Dewey, and others whos names we do not now recall, many of them having beautiful and commodious farm buildings, handsome barns, with all the appurtenances and conveniences necessary for successful farming. Beyond Deweyville, and on the road to Collinsville, we noticed the large and comfortable farm house of Albert Foster, and further on the rich farms of F.J. Newman and his father, William C. Newman, who lives near Collinsville. From the latter place direct to Constableville, the beautiful and extensive places of Emory Allen and Henry McVicker, are especially attractive."
     He has been assesor of his town three years, but has in general been more content to quietly follow his business than to identify himself too much with politics.
     Mr. Sackett has been for the past twenty years one of the most liberal supporters of the Houseville Methodist Episcopal Church.
     He was married September 15, 1859, to Susan E. Bush, by whom he had two children, Estella M., born December 13, 1864, died June 30, 1878; and Jennie May, born November 18, 1869.

—Franklin Benjamin Hough, History of Lewis County, New York, D Mason & Co, Syracuse, NY (1883), pp 524-526

Personal Statistics
Sackett, Martin J., p o Houseville, grain and dairy farmer, owns 275 acres land, controls 475, born in Turin, September 15, 1832, has been assessor three years; wife, Susan E Bush, married September 15, 1859; children two—Estella M., and Jennie M. Father, Sheldon Sackett.

—History of Lewis County, New York, p xxv