My Genealogy Hound

DEACON MANLEY HOBART. The great Empire State in its development and early settlement incurred a debt it can never adequately repay to its sister states of New England. New England! What a place for the birth of great men, and the rearing of true men, firm in the advocacy of liberty and ever constant for what they deemed right! The town of Brimfield, Mass., contributed many of the early settlers of the town of Homer, this county. Among these settlers, who did so much to shape the destiny of this section were Samuel and Dorothy “Hoar” or Hobart, the grandparents of our subject. They were of the same family from which are descended many of the influential and leading men of Massachusetts to-day, among whom we might mention Senator Hoar, the venerable representative of the Bay State in the Upper House of Congress.

In the summer of 1798, Samuel Hobart had visited the locality of Homer, located his farm on the place now owned by John Scott, and put up a log cabin to accommodate the large family he was preparing to remove to this place. In the ensuing winter, with snow on the ground, he moved with oxen and sled from the old home in Massachusetts, intending to settle down upon their arrival in Homer in the log cabin he had built. When they arrived, it was found that the weight of the snow had broken in the roof, and so they accepted shelter with Deacon Peter Hitchcock, whose log house was the only habitation that lay between Mr. Hobart’s place and the site of Homer village.

Of the children of these pioneers, Gideon, the father of Deacon Manley Hobart, was nineteen when the family came to Homer. In 1806 he married Electa Wadsworth of the well known Wadsworth family, than whom there is no better known family in Central or Western New York. In the veins of this family coursed the blood of kings, and from the various branches have come some of the famous and great men of America. The children of this couple were: Amos; Sophronia; Manley, our subject; Horacel Orrin; Euretta; Celinda; Mary M.; and Clark E.

Deacon Hobart was born on the home place in Homer, May 7, 1810, and from that time until his death, September 7, 1883, he was mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits. There are men who seem born to succeed no matter where their fortunes are cast. Deacon Hobart was one who rarely took a false step, whose every action would bear the closest scrutiny, and whose undoubted success in life was only second to his splendid record as an upright Christian gentleman. He never sacrificed his honor or integrity to gain a worldly advantage, no matter how trifling the principle at stake. When a young man, Deacon Hobart made public profession of his faith in Jesus Christ, and united with the Congregational Church of Homer. As a church member, he was positive in his attitude toward sin, and was wonderfully active in all church affairs. He was faithful to all his covenant vows, and was not a man to shirk one of his duties, which he performed with equal cheerfulness and zeal. He was very prominent in the Homer Church, and served as deacon from his election to that dignity in 1856 until he entered into his reward, and was received with the welcome plaudit of “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” For a number of years he was president of the County Bible Society, and was foremost in the support of its interests. Although his ability and talents shone brightest in the service of the church, his worth was also recognized and his services utilized in other fields. He was a director of the Homer National Bank, and was elected as one of the town’s supervisors a number of times.

Deacon Hobart was united in marriage June 22, 1840, with Caroline A. Bries, a daughter of Captain Rufus Bries of Homer, who was a prominent man in religious circles, and one who took a keen and intelligent interest in all affairs of local moment. Four daughters were born to our subject, who were named in order of birth: Ellen F.; Clara A.; Alice B.; and Mary S. The eldest daughter married George D. Daniels of the firm of O. B. Andrews & Co. Clara A. became the wife of the late Lyman H. Heberd, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume. Alice B. became the wife of Charles A. Skinner, a prominent and well-to-do druggist of Homer village. The youngest daughter married J. N. Knapp of Syracuse, N. Y.