Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Dewey, Sylvester H 1821 - 
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Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com March 25, 2006, 4:04 pm

Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900

Sylvester H. Dewey

Sylvester H. Dewey is a representative of one of the pioneer families of 
Grundy county and is descended from sterling Puritan ancestry, of the same 
family to which belongs the famous Admiral Dewey. It is believed that the 
family is of French origin, tradition declaring that ancestors lived in 
Flanders and that the town of Douai, France, was named in their honor.  When 
William the Conqueror journeyed into England he was accompanied by 
representatives of the name, who located in Lincolnshire, northeast of London. 
There is also a tradition that the family is of Welsh origin. In Burk’s 
Heraldry, however, it is said that the name Dewey was originally De la Wey, 
and it is believed that the ancestors who went to England with William the 
Conqueror bore that name, which finally was changed to its present form, Dewey.

The line of descent in America is easily traced back to Thomas Dewey, who 
sailed from Sandwich, England, and this fact leads to the further belief that 
he was of French Huguenot extraction. His descendants even in the second 
generation were millers, carpenters and millwrights. In the second generation 
the sons of Israel were weavers and tailors, which is strong evidence in 
support of the opinion. As a family the Deweys were sober, honest, industrious 
and long-lived people, and were ever in the van of progress, and were 
particularly noted for their loyalty and bravery. Many representatives of the 
name served in the Revolutionary army and have been leaders in the work of 
settling the wild and unimproved regions of the west. At a later date many 
have attained prominence in professional life. Thomas Dewey, the founder of 
the branch in America to which our subject belongs, was a dissenter from the 
Church of England, and with the Puritans came to the colony of Massachusetts 
between the years 1630 and 1633. He first located in Dorchester, 
Massachusetts, where he was enrolled and took the oath of a freeman May 14, 
1634. He owned land, a record of land granted to him being made February 28, 
1640. His property comprised a tract of seven acres and additional lots, and 
to these he added by purchase. He died intestate, and an inventory of his 
estate is given in the genealogy of the Dewey family. He was married March 22, 
1639, at Windsor, Connecticut, to Frances, widow of Joseph Clark, and after 
his death Mrs. Dewey was married again, her third husband being George 
Philips. Their children were: Thomas E., born February 16, 1640; Josiah, who 
was baptized October 10, 1641; Anna, who was baptized October 15, 1643; 
Israel, born September 25, 1645; and Jedediah, born December 15, 1647. The 
children were all born in Windsor Connecticut, and all were married.

Thomas Dewey, the representative of the second generation in direct line to 
our subject, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, December 16, 1640, and died 
April 27, 1690, at the age of fifty years. He was a miller and farmer in 
Little River district, and resided at Windsor, Connecticut, as late as January 
8, 1660. As he had there paid six shillings he was seated in the long seats in 
the meeting-house. According to the old records he removed to Northampton, 
Massachusetts where, on the 12th of November, 1662, he was granted a home lot 
of four acres upon the condition that he make improvements upon it within a 
year. He was also granted another tract of twelve acres in the same place, and 
at his new home he engaged in the milling business. In August, 1666, he 
removed to Waranock, then a part of Springfield, where he was a landholder and 
one of the leading citizens. He was instrumental in building a dam and mill at 
that place and took an active part in public affairs. He served as a cornet in 
a New Hampshire troop, was a representative to Boston in 1677-9 and a 
selectman from 1677 to 1686.  He was also licensed by the court to keep a 
public house or hotel.  At Dorchester, Massachusetts, he married Constance 
Hawes, daughter of Richard and Ann Hawes, who came to Massachusetts in the 
ship Freelove, under command of Captain Gibbs, in 1635.  The children of 
Thomas and Ann (Hawes) Dewey were:  Thomas E., born at Northampton, 
Massachusetts, March 26, 1664; Adijah, born at Northampton, March 5, 1666; 
Mary, born at Northampton, January 28, 1668; Samuel, born June 25, 1670, in 
Westfield, Massachusetts; Hannah, born in Westfield, February 21, 1672; 
Elizabeth, born in Westfield, January 16, 1676, and died February 27, 1682; 
James, born in Westfield, July 3, 1678; Abigail, born in Westfield, February 
14, 1681; James, born November 12, 1683, and died May 5, 1686; and Israel, 
born in Westfield, July 9, 1686.

Captain Adijah Dewey, the son of Thomas Dewey, 2d, was born at Northampton, 
Massachusetts, March 5, 1666, and died March 24, 1742, in Westfield, at the 
age of seventy-six years. He was a very influential man of that locality, as 
is shown by various town records. He was a surveyor of the bridge at 
Millbrook, county surveyor in 1693, constable in 1697 and tithing man in 1702. 
He commanded a company of fifty men in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and 
saw eight weeks’ service, being ordered to the relief of Deerfield and other 
towns. From 1730 until 1740 he filled the office of selectman. He was married 
in 1688 to Sarah, a daughter of John and Mary (Ashley) Root, and his children 
were: Thomas, who was born January 9, 1691; Adijah, September 30, 1693; Sarah, 
March 17, 1696; Esther, January 20, 1698; Mary, September 18, 1701; Abigail, 
January 28, 1703; Bethiah, August 11, 1706; Ann, March 22, 1719; and Moses, 
January 6, 1715. All were married.

Adijah Dewey, son of Captain Adijah Dewey, was born in Westfield, 
Massachusetts, September 30, 1693, and died there January 31, 1753, at the age 
of fifty-nine years. He was a saddler by trade. On the 11th of January, 1733, 
he wedded Mercy Ashley, a daughter of David and Mary (Dewey) Ashley, and their 
children are: Ashbel, born April 23, 1734; Medad, November 18, 1736; Bethiah, 
September 22, 1739; Mercy, born April 11, 1743, and died December 28, 1764, at 
the age of twenty-one; and Hadley, who was married in 1761 to Stephen Goodman.

Medad Dewey, son of Adijah Dewey, 2d, was born November 18, 1736, in 
Westfield, Massachusetts, and there died December 31, 1760, in the twenty-
fifth year of his age. He was a farmer, and in 1751 he settled a few miles 
south of Westfield, on a place owned by Charles Dewey. He was married December 
8, 1738, to Elizabeth Noble, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Root) Noble. They 
had two children: Solomon, who was born November 7, 1758; and Medad.

Medad Dewey, son of Medad Dewey, Sr., was born in Westfield, December 20, 
1760, and died April 15, 1849, at Leyden, New York, when nearly ninety years 
of age. He followed farming in Little River district, near Westfield, and in 
1800 removed with his family to the Mohawk valley, arriving in Leyden, New 
York, after a journey of two weeks. His goods were hauled on an ox sled. He 
was one of the patriots of the Revolution, serving as a private in the command 
of Captain Preserved Leonards and Colonel Elijah Porter, and was in the 
defense of New London, Connecticut, when it was attacked by the British army 
commanded by Benedict Arnold. He married Tryphena Roberts, who was born in 
1769, of Welsh parentage, and died in Leyden New York, January, 1839, at the 
age of seventy years. Their children, born in Westfield, Massachusetts, were: 
Bethiah, born November 19, 1789; Elizabeth, August 1, 1791; Almira, August 11, 
1793; Harvey, February 17, 1795; and Edmund, October 14, 1799; and in Leyden, 
New York, Lemuel, in October, 1804.

Harvey Dewey, a son of Medad Dewey, 2d, and the father of our subject, was 
born in Westfield, Massachusetts, February 17, 1795, and died July 17, 1876, 
at the age of eighty-one years. He was only five years old when his parents 
removed to Leyden, New York. He made farming his life work and became the 
possessor of his father’s old homestead, to which he added until he owned two 
hundred and forty acres, becoming one of the prosperous men, as well as one of 
the influential citizens, of his day. For several years he was assessor of 
Leyden, and for many years he served as a deacon in the Boonville Baptist 
church. He became a soldier in the war of 1812, and was in the action at 
Sackett’s Harbor. About 1820 he married Jerusha Jenks, a daughter of Joel and 
Lucy (Holbrook) Jenks. She was born in Leydett, New York, June 27, 1803, and 
there died June 14, 1873, when nearly seventy years of age. Their children 
were: Sylvester Harvey, born August 14, 1821; Lester Scott, March 27, 1823; 
Samantha, March 26, 1825; Alexander, August 16, 1828; Chester Gay, February 2, 
1831; Eli Judson, July 17, 1835; Angeline Lodice, January 4, 1839; Madison 
Medad, who was born January 30, 1843, and died February 12, 1848; Cassius 
Delos, who was born November 2, 1845; and Caius Carlos, born on the same day, 
a twin brother of Cassius Delos. The family has always been celebrated for its 
marked loyalty and valor, and both Cassius and Caius were soldiers in the 
civil war. The latter, who was a fifer of Company I, One Hundred and 
Seventeenth New York Infantry, died September 11, 1863, at the age of 
seventeen years, his death occurring at Foley island, Charleston harbor, from 
fever brought on by exposure in the long march. Two of Samantha’s sons, Walter 
and Marius, were also numbered among the “boys in blue”, and three of the sons 
of Lemuel Dewey were soldiers in that war.

Sylvester Harvey Dewey was born at Leyden, New York, August 14, 1821. He 
received the usual common-school education and afterward attended an academy 
at Lowville for one and a half terms. Subsequently he spent a year in the 
Freewill Baptist Seminary, in Clinton, and his studious habits and close 
application gained him broad general knowledge. His interest in educational 
matters, his extensive reading and his experience in the practical affairs of 
life have greatly added to his wisdom, and he is to-day one of the best 
informed men of the county. For a number of years in early life he engaged in 
teaching, entering upon that work in Lewis county, New York.  After coming to 
Illinois he taught for two winters, and during the civil war he spent three 
winters as an instructor in the school-room. He had the ability to impart 
clearly and concisely to others the knowledge that he had acquired and was 
numbered among the leading educators of that time.

While in his native town Mr. Dewey was married, December 30, 1847, to Melissa 
Porter, who died February 19, 1849, at about the age of twenty-four years. Mr. 
Dewey was afterward married, an the 28th day of May, 1851, to Melissa A. Fisk, 
of Boonville, New York, a daughter of James and Eleanor (Pitcher) Fisk. She 
was born November 23, 1828, in Boonville, New York. Her father, James Fisk, 
was born in Scituate, Rhode Island, his father being Job Fisk. The Fisks were 
of English descent, the family having been founded in Rhode Island prior to 
the Revolutionary war. Job Fisk made farming his life work and he was married 
in early manhood. His children were:  Jemimah, James, Thomas Althea, Job and 
Rebecca. The father of these children died at the home of his son James in 
Boonville.

James Fisk, the father of Mrs. Dewey, was born in Scituate, Rhode Island, 
February 3, 1771.  He was married December 25, 1800, to Rhobe Leach, who was 
born December 25, 1781.  She died April 18, 1802, leaving a daughter Rhobe, 
who was born March 11, 1802, was married in 1818 and died in November, 1824. 
After the death of his first wife James Fisk was married, in 1803, to Frances 
(Blackmore) Leach, who was born in 1786.  Their children were: John Leach, who 
was born January 9, 1804, was married February 6, 1825, and died in March, 
1867. Elvira, who was born November 6, 1805, was married January 23, 1825, to 
Noah Nelson, and died August 12, 1870. Charles Blackmore, born September 1, 
1806, died at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, in 1876; and Louisa, born 
September 19, 1808, was married March 11, 1827, to Erastus Franklin. In 1813 
James Fisk was a third time married, his union being with Eleanor Pitcher, who 
was born February 2, 1795, and died January 15, 1849. Her father, Daniel 
Pitcher, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, January 30, 1762, and died 
April 18, 1844. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eleanor Burt. was born 
in South Springfield, Massachusetts, October 20, 1762, and died October 20, 
1849. Their children were: Elijah, who was born March 11, 1787, and died 
January 9, 1842; Chloe, who was born October 30, 1787, and died July 31, 1863; 
Clarissa, who was born September 3, 1790, and died March 6,1859; Daniel, who 
was born February 18, 1792, and died May 7, 1854; Noah, who was born June 12, 
1793, and died November 24, 1874; Eleanor, wife of Mr. Fisk, was born February 
2, 1795, and died January 15, 1844; Aruna, who was born June 11, 1796, and 
died December 27, 1871; Achsah, who was born June 27, 1798, and died July 3, 
1878; Bethuel, who was born March 11, 1800, and died February 17, 1848; 
Conklin who was born October 27, 1801, and died May 8, 1875; Samuel, who was 
born December 30, 1803, and died April 30, 1804; and Spencer, who was born 
July 20, 1805, and died April 11, 1877. Daniel Pitcher, the father of these 
children, was a resident of Westfield, Massachusetts, and a farmer and 
landholder. His life was an industrious and upright one, and he was highly 
respected by all who knew him.

In the year 1803 James Fisk had removed from Rhode Island to Boonville, Oneida 
county, New York, making the journey with an ox sled, and spending between 
four and five weeks on the way. He settled on new land in the midst of the 
forest, and made there a good home. It was after his arrival in New York that 
he was a third time married, Eleanor Pitcher becoming his wife. The children 
of their union were: Chloe, who was born February 6, 1814, and was married in 
1835 to Fordice M. Rogers, her death occurring May 22, 1859; James, born 
January 13, 1816, married Barbara Belanger, and after her death was married to 
Betsey Pool, on the 15th of January, 1845, his death occurring April 9, 1849; 
Rebecca Ruth, born July 5, 1818, was married in January, 1838, to Benjamin 
Nelson, and died April 29, 1847; Job W., born October 4, 1819, was married to 
Emily H. Pitcher, and after her death wedded Sarah E. Pitcher; Achsah O., born 
October 15, 1821, was married in January, 1841, to Horace Pitcher, who died 
May 27, 1844 and she afterward wedded Stephen Murphy, whose death occurred in 
April, 1885, while she survived until June 30, 1899; Elijah Pitcher, born 
September 20, 1823, was married February 28, 1865, to Harriette P. Jackson, 
who died August 1, 1898, and he passed away January 15, 1890; Jeremiah, born 
September 17, 1825, was married June 8, 1852, to Margaret Comstock, and died 
December 26, 1878, his wife’s death occurring April 8, 1867; Melissa A., born 
November 23, 1828, is the wife of Sylvester H. Dewey, whose name begins this 
review, and Milton Eri, born December 3, 1830, was married September 17, 1860, 
to Anna S. Traffurn, and died June 9, 1876.

After his marriage Sylvester H. Dewey, whose name heads this sketch, located 
on a partly improved farm of two hundred acres three miles west of Boonville, 
New York. About four years later he sold that property and in 1855 came by 
rail to Illinois, leaving home on the 15th of June. He also visited Wisconsin 
and then returned to New York, and in October of the same year brought his 
family to this state, reaching his destination on the 27th of October. He 
purchased eighty acres of land where Verona now stands, paying four hundred 
and fifty dollars for the same. It was a wild tract, but with characteristic 
energy he began its cultivation and erected good buildings thereon. After 
living on his farm for four years he removed to Mazon township and purchased 
two hundred and twenty acres, which he placed under a high state of 
cultivation. He has prospered, as a result of untiring industry, economy and 
capable management, and as his financial resources have increased he has 
extended the boundaries of his farm until it comprises five hundred and forty 
acres. He was actively identified with agricultural interests until 1873, when 
he removed to Morris and engaged in the agricultural implement and grain 
business. There he remained for four years, after which he returned to the 
home farm, but two years later he removed to the village of Mazon and once 
more began dealing in agricultural implements and grain. He has always been a 
very energetic and active business man and has handled farming land quite 
extensively. He now has a very liberal patronage and makes extensive deals in 
both branches of his business. He has always been noted for his 
straightforward and honorable course in life, and his integrity in all trade 
transactions is above question. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dewey have been born the following children:  Ellen Melissa, 
born in Leyden, New York, May 30, 1852, was married in Morris, Illinois, 
November 26, 1874, to Horace H. Overocker, whose birth occurred in Oneida. 
county, New York, September 28, 1849. They had one child, Burton H., who was 
born in Mazon, December 16, 1865. He was married in his native town, on the 
1st of June, 1897, to Ivy Rigall, whose birth occurred in Mazon, June 15, 
1879, and by whom he has two children, Vernon, born December 19, 1897; and 
Veda Overocker, who was born in Mazon, December 27, 1898.

Alice Eliza Dewey, the second child of Sylvester and Melissa Dewey, was born 
in Leyden, February 8, 1854 and was married in Mazon, December 12, 1878, to 
Daniel Webster Francis, whose birth occurred in Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
December 12, 1848. Their children are: Arthur D., born in Cedar Springs, 
Michigan, April 24, 1880; Laura D., born August 18, 1881, in Mazon; Myrtle D., 
born in Mazon, March 28, 1883; and Harry D., born in Mazon, January 13, 1885.

Milton Sylvester Dewey, 3d, was born in Leyden, New York, June 1, 1855. He was 
married in Wauponsee, February 27, 1878, to Margaret Dewey, who was born in 
Washington county, New York, March 16, 1858.  Their children are:  Sarah 
Melissa, born in Mazon, December 7, 1879; Henry Eugene, in Mazon, September 2, 
1882; Mable, in Mazon, November 9, 1884; Flora Mary, June 28, 1886; William 
Arthur, May 30, 1888; Alice Estella, February 21, 1892; and Ernest Albert 
January 15, 1896.

Mary Jerusha, the fourth of the family, was born in Vienna, Illinois, May 15, 
1857, and was graduated in the Morris Normal and Scientific School, June 16, 
1881.  Lester Scott, born in Vienna, December 6, 1859, was married in Morris, 
Illinois, December 31, 1879, to Asenath Eudora Smith, whose birth occurred 
April 11, 1861. Their children are:  Jessie, born in Mazon, October 5, 1880; 
Charles, born in Mazon, November 6, 1881; Walter, born in Bentora, Nebraska, 
April 28, 1883; and Flora May, born in Bentora, December 18, 1884. Flora 
Angelina, the youngest member of the Dewey family, was born in Mazon, August 
21, 1863, and was graduated in the Morris Normal and Scientific School on the 
16th of June, 1881. The two youngest children are both deceased.

In his political affiliations Mr. Dewey, whose name introduces this review, 
was formerly an Abolitionist and voted for John P. Hale, the first Abolition 
candidate for the presidency. When the Republican party was formed to prevent 
the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks, supporting John C. 
Fremont and Abraham Lincoln. He has always been a strong advocate of the cause 
of temperance, and was one of the organizers of the Prohibition party in 
Grundy county. He voted for William J. Bryan and free silver in 1896, but 
otherwise supported the candidates of the Prohibition party. He is one of the 
valued and esteemed residents of Grundy county. In an early day he served as 
the clerk of Vienna township and as the supervisor, and for many years was the 
supervisor of Mazon township. In 1872 he was elected a member of the state 
board of equalization, and during his four years’ service proved an efficient 
and capable member of the board. He was the chairman of one of the principal 
committees controlling its laws in the division which included Chicago. He was 
also a member of the committee on tangible taxable property of railroads, and 
at an early day he served as the chairman of the Republican congressional 
district for two years. He is a man of strong mentality, who has made a close 
and thorough study of economical, political and governmental problems.  He has 
also been an extensive reader and is very familiar with historical and 
standard works of the best current literature. In early life he took a very 
active interest in promoting literary lyceums and debating societies, and was 
a member of several of those organizations. While in Morris he served as 
president of the Public Library Association, and at all times he has 
endeavored to promote the intellectual welfare of his community. His wife is a 
very prominent member of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Mazon and 
one of its efficient workers, having filled the office of president for some 
time. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dewey were for many years members of the Baptist 
church. He joined the church in Boonville, New York, when about sixteen years 
of age, and later served as the superintendent of the Sunday-school. His wife 
joined the church when about twenty-three years of age, and they were both 
active workers in the organization, Mrs. Dewey serving as teacher during the 
superintendency of her husband. They have both become much mote liberal in 
their religious views, their opinions on such questions being in harmony with 
the Unitarian doctrine. About 1866 Mrs. Dewey and her oldest girls, Ellen M. 
and Alice E., joined the Baptist church in Morris. They took their letters 
when they wished to join elsewhere, Mrs. Dewey hers when the family moved back 
to their old home in Mazon in 1877. There is no Baptist church in Mazon, so 
Mrs. Dewey has attended the Methodist Episcopal church since the family moved 
to the village of Mazon, in March, 1880. They contribute liberally to all 
movements which are calculated to advance humanitarian principles and which 
will prove a benefit to the intellectual, social and moral welfare of the 
community.

Additional Comments:
Source:  Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy Counties 
Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, pages 537-545

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