Biography of John C. Pride, 
Richland, N.Y. Town Supervisor

Many thanks to Esther Rancier for sharing her information on the Pride family. Esther is researching in Richland and Mexico the Soul/Soule, Brace and Daniel P. Smith families, and would appreciate hearing from anyone researching these surnames.  Esther Rancier at: [email protected] 

 
             There were several generations of men named John C. Pride.  The use of this name began in Essex Co., MA, then to Falmouth, ME.  A John C. Pride spent a few years in Otsego Co., NY.  He was there in the 1800 census.  Before 1809 he settled in Richland, Oswego Co., NY on lots 77 and 78.  He arrived about the same time as Hiel Richards and Isaiah Holmes.
             Later he moved along the road leading from Salt Point to Holmesville in the southern part of Richland.  This place was an area of unbroken forest with only blazed trees to point the way.  John C. Pride became known as “Squire Pride.”  His hospitality and wisdom he shared with all.  His house, like his neighbors, was a log cabin.  
             Records suggest that the John C. Pride known as Squire Pride and his wife Phebe had the following children:

 John C. b. 1798; m. Sylvia
 Mary b. ca. 1803; m. Worthy Waters
 Bathsheba (Clara); m. _____ Jones.
 Ezra P. b. 1813; m. Octavia who d. 28 February 1872, age 59.

             There may have been children named William and Ruth.  The 1820 Richland census showed a household of 4 males and 7 females.  Both John C. and his wife Phebe were buried in the McClelland Cemetery, Pulaski, NY.  Phebe died 15 February 1824, age 51.  Squire John C. died 9 April 1833, age 59.
             Squire John C. was held in esteem by his fellow townsmen having  been elected a Richland Town Supervisor for 13 years.  He served 1809-16; 1820-21; 1823 and 1825-26.  In 1829 he was named a Justice of Peace for Oswego County. He also became a mason, a member of the Fellowship Lodge no. 288.
             Much more is known about the Squire’s descendants.  His daughter Mary wed Stilworthy Waters.  He was usually referred to as Capt. Worthy Waters (1798-1867). He was a carpenter by trade.  Their daughter Cynthia, born 3 January 1828 in Richland, married Lewis Tubbs (1823-1904). Their children were: 1. Ellvia Alleta Tubbs (1850-74); 2. Elijean Alexis Tubbs (1851-1905); 3. George Germani Tubbs (1853-90; 4. Amble Savage Tubbs (1858-1921).  5. Frank Dean Tubbs (1864-1939).  Cynthia died 23 December 1893 at Mexico, NY.  
             The other children of Mary and Worthy as given in the 1850 census:

 Worthy Waters 52  carpenter
 Mary   47 wife
 Phebe   26
 Abner H.  24
 Marbel  18 
 Emma  14
 Aretus W.  12
 Edwin C.  8  Twins
 Ezra  J.  8      “ 

             Mary and Worthy’s daughter Phebe made notable contribution to the history of South Richland when she preserved a set of the printed annual reports of the Baptist County Association.  She presented them to the Baptist Church, reported Rev. Jesse H. Jones.
 Phebe’s brother Edwin C. Waters wrote letters to the Rev. Jones.  He noted that his father, Capt. Waters had come from Winfield, NY in 1822. Worthy and son Edwin were the Richland town undertakers in the early years.  Yet when the price of the handmade coffins went up to $7 apiece, people became upset and thought the cost too high.  He could also remember Indians going past their home on the Old Salt Road.
             Edwin’s sister Marbel became Mrs. Samuel Lloyd.  The couple lived in New Haven, NY.  She remembered going to the funeral of J. Harrison Dewey with her Aunt Bathsheba Pride.  Mr. Dewey died 22 June 1835.  Her father Worthy prepared the corpse for burying.
             Edwin was listed as Edward C. Waters in the 1880 census.  He, too, was a carpenter.  His entry was given thusly:

 Edward C. Waters  38
 Sarah J.   35
 Mary J.   10
 Hattie E.   7
 Andrew W.   5
 Marble L.   2 months

             Another son of Worthy and Mary was Abner H. Waters.  The following was his listing in the 1880 census in Richland:

 Abner H. Waters   54 farmer
 Marie    43 wife
 Delia Nicholson  18 other

            Ezra P. Pride, son of Squire Pride, married Octavia who died 28 February 1872, age 58.  She was buried at the McClelland Cemetery in Pulaski.  In the 1850 census at Richland this family was listed:

 Ezra P. Pride  37 millwright
 Octavia   39 wife
 Phebe A.   11
 John T.   9
 Ann L.   4
 James W.   3

             John C. Pride’s namesake John C. Pride, Jr., born 1798, married Sylvia.  According to the 1850 Richland census the following was his family:
 John C. Pride  52 cooper

 Sylvia    53 wife
 John C., Jr.   25 music teacher
 Minerva M.   28
 Anna M.   21
 Sylvia A.   17
 Charles    15
 Ezra A.   13

             Ezra A. removed to Akron, Peoria Co., IL before 1860.  In 1880 Ezra was a mail agent in Champaign, IL.  His family was listed in the 1880 Champaign Co., IL census:

 Ezra Pride   43 NY mail agent
 Iantha   40 NY wife
 Ida    19 IL daughter
 Jennie   16 IL     “
 George   7 IL son
 Herbert   5 IL  “
 Leon A.    3 IL  “

             John C., Jr. and his wife Minerva M. went to Chicago, IL by 1852.  John C. continued his musical career by giving lessons, but he also was considered a “phenomenal dentist”.  Nothing in Richland mentioned John C. as a dentist nor was there an account of any educational institutions attended.  In 1852 credentials were not closely checked.  It is possible that this John C. Pride was a “self-taught” dentist.  There is very little available to check.  He did father a child, but the trail was cold until 1861 when he enlisted as a private on 27 September 1861 at age 36 in Co. F, 3rd Infantry Regiment Minnesota.  He was a bugler.  On 25 May 1862 he received a disability discharge.  He was likely hurt or became ill near Murfeesboro, TN, but it was apparently not serious.  Later in 1862 his brother Charles G. joined him.  They both enlisted in the Chicago Mercantile Light Artillery Regiment, Illinois as privates.  John enlisted on 29 August 1862; Charles G. earlier on 7 August. 
             This unit was being organized at Camp Douglass when the Pride brothers joined.  It was ordered into service on 11 November 1862 at Memphis.  They accompanied General Sherman on his first attack on Vicksburg.  Before 16 February 1863 Charles G. was wounded and discharged.  
             John C. continued with the unit throughout most of the rest of the war.  Before the surrender John C. was taken to an insane asylum in Washington, D.C. There on 4 February 1864 he committed suicide.  He had spent much of his fighting days at Vicksburg where conditions were fierce.  Many went mad.  Of the 244 men recruited for the battery only 35 remained 3 July 1865.  
 His wife, Minerva M. Pride, applied for a widow’s pension #147131 which she soon received on 29 April 1865.  A minor’s pension #156335 was also allowed on 24 January 1872.  
             Charles G.’s wounds in early 1863 must have been minor.  On 3 October 1864 he enlisted again as a private in Co. Battery C, 2nd Light Artillery Regiment, Illinois.  This outfit was present at the siege of Knoxville, TN.  Beyond that there was little fighting.  Charles G. was discharged 3 August 1865.
 In the 1880 census for Alton, Waseca, MN Charles G. and his family were listed:

 Charles G. Pride  44 farmer
 Delia A.   44
 Charles   23
 Ruth A.   16
 Emily A.    13
 Nina D.   4

             Charles G. Pride, born 12 March 1835, died 10 January 1890.  He was buried at Janesville Cemetery, Janesville, WI.  His widow Delia M. received a widow’s pension #326928 on 31 March 1899(?).

 SOURCES:

 American Civil War Regiments.  Available [online] http://ancestry.com [24 November 2002]
 American Civil War Soldiers.  Available [online] http://ancestry.com [24 November]
 Andreas, A. T. History of Cook County, Illinois.  Chicago: 1884.
 Churchill, John.  Landmarks of Oswego County.  Syracuse: Mason, 1895.
 Civil War Pensions Index.  Available [online] http://ancestry.com [24 November 2002]
 Civil War Service Records.  Available [online] http://ancestry.com [24 November 2002]
 Johnson, Crisfield.  History of Oswego County, New York.  Philadelphia: Everts, 1877.
 Jones, Jesse H.  Account of the Holmes Family and Their Settlement of South Richland, Oswego County, New York.  Available [online] http://ancestry.com [24 November 2002]
 McClelland Cemetery, Town of Richland, NY.  Available [online] https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyoswego/cemeteries/mcclellandpulaski.html [24 November 2002]
 Minnesota Cemetery Inscriptions Index.  Available [online] http://ancestry.com [24 November 2002]
 Pride GenForum.  Available [online] http://genforum.genealogy.com [23 November 2002]
 U.S. Census Champaign Co., IL 1880.
 U.S. Census Oswego Co., NY 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1880.
 U.S. Census Otsego Co., NY 1800.
 U.S. Census Peoria Co., IL 1860. 
 U.S. Census Waseca Co., MN 1880.
 Virkus, Frederick A. The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, v. 2.  Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1968.
 WorldConnect Project.  Available [online] http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com  [23 November 2002]