BIOGRAPHY

BENJAMIN COWLES - OF OAKFIELD, NY

Among the patriotic soldiers who served under Gen. Washington during the Revolutionary war, and who was a participant in the battle of Ticonderoga, was Benjamin Cowles, of Sheffield, Mass. In 1796 he came to Lima, N. Y., where he died in 1828, aged 84 years. His wife was Hannah Bardman, of Massachusetts, and their children were James, Pliny, William, Sylvester, Annie, Cynthia, Pina, and Polly. James, born in Sheffield, Mass., came with his father in 1796 to Lima, from whence, in 1830, he removed to Oakfield, where he died in 1859, aged 73 years. He was colonel in the State militia, and participated in the War of 1812. His first wife was Temperance Brockway, of Lima, by whom he had two children, Emily and Osmer K. His second wife was Elsie, daughter of Ichabod and Mercy (Tripp) Dickinson, and his children by her were Norman B., Harriet L., James A., Temperance E., Mary A., and E. Payson. Harriet L., born in Lima, and at present a resident of Rochester, married William C. Wilford, son of John C. and Eunice (McCrillus) Wilford, of Elba. Their children are John C., A. Maud, M. Louise, Cola, and Sarah E.

FROM: Gazetteer and Biographical Record of Genesee County, New York, Edited by: F. W. Beers, J.W. Vose & Co., Publishers, Syracuse, N. Y. 1890