Jefferson County NyArchives Biographies.....Flower, George Walton 1830 - 1881 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ny/nyfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 10, 2008, 7:24 am Author: R. A. Oakes (1905) COLONEL GEORGE WALTON FLOWER, the subject of the following memoir, was of English descent, his ancestors, known by the name Floier, holding large possessions in Devonshire at the time of the Conquest. One of the ancestors, Captain William Floier, was born near the city of Exeter in 1450 and accompanied the army of King Edward IV in the descent on France in 1490. He married Phillipa Crooke and became later a resident of Willston, Dorsetshire. Of his three sons, William, born 1530, married Elizabeth Kirk. I. From this marriage descended Lamrock Flower, the progenitor of the American branch of the family. He was born in Whitwell, Rutlandshire, England. The date of his emigration is not known, but he settled in 1685 at Hartford, Connecticut, where he died in 1716. He was the father of eight children. II. Lamrock, the second child and eldest son of Lamrock (I) Flower, was born at Hartford, March 25, 16S9. He had a daughter and a son. III. The son, Elijah, was born April 15, 1717, at Hartford, where, in 1742, he married Abigail Seymour, by whom he had six children. IV. George Flower, son of Elijah, was born at Hartford, April 26, 1760. He married Roxeline Crowe and soon after the birth of his son George moved to Oak Hill, Greene county, New York. He was the father of ten children. V. Nathan Munroe, the seventh child of George Flower, born at Oak Hill, December 14, 1796, was married in Springfield, New York, to Mary A. Boyle, daughter of Philip Boyle, of Cherry Valley, New York. Mr. Boyle was a native of Ireland, coming to this country in his childhood, where in due time he engaged in extensive contract work, being one of the contractors of the first water works in New York city. After his death the family moved to Springfield, New York. Soon after his marriage Nathan M. Flower took up his residence in Theresa, this county, where he erected a cloth mill, and the business prospered under his intelligent management. For many years he was a justice of the peace at Theresa, and during his residence there one of the most active members of the Presbyterian church. He died April 4, 1843, in his forty-seventh year. Of the nine children born to Nathan and Mary Ann Flower seven were living at the date of his untimely death, the eldest being but fifteen, the youngest. Anson R., having been born in June, 1843, two months after the death of his father. Mrs. Flower made a brave and successful struggle to rear her young family into meritorious manhood and womanhood. Her children were all born in Theresa. Caroline, the eldest, January 21, 1821; Roxaline, March 15, 1826; Nathan Monroe, January 21, 1828: George Walton, August 5, 1830; Orville Ranney, January 21, 1833; Roswell Pettibone, August 8, 1835; Marcus, August 11, 1837; John Davison, April 16, 1839; and Anson Ranney, June 20, 1843. VI. Colonel George W. Flower spent the first thirty years of his life at Theresa. At the age of sixteen he left the district school and entered the employ of his brother-in-law, Silas L. George, who kept a country store. Later he established a mercantile business in his own name and in addition commenced the manufacture of butter tubs and cheese boxes. Always an ardent politician, he took an active part in the Fremont and Lincoln campaigns and, at the breaking out of the Civil war, at once recruited a company from among his schoolmates and acquaintances at Theresa, of which he was elected captain. Colonel Flower came to Watertown in 1865, with a splendid record as a soldier during the Civil war. At the commencement of the struggle he had laid aside important business interests, which were promising of a bright future, and left at home his young wife with her babes, to take his place in the ranks of the nation's defenders. Having recruited what became in service Company C, Thirty-fifth Regiment, New York Volunteers, he was unanimously elected to the captaincy and led his men to the front. Duty held him for a time to a season of inactivity at Falls Church and Falmouth, and this was an experience under which he chafed, for he was possessed of that intense patriotic spirit and restlessness which, to use a phrase of General Sherman's, "marks the enterprising soldier." He was soon, however, to engage in the arduous campaign under General McClellan, which culminated in the hard-fought battle of Antietam. In this engagement, in which his regiment suffered severely, he was disabled by a fragment of shell from one of the enemy's batteries. While at home on sick leave, his physical disability resulting from his wound and his desire to engage in a business by which he could provide for his family, determined him to resign his commission. Of this a biographer and personal friend said: "He had then served nearly two years, had begun as a captain, and was yet a captain. He had seen other men, his inferiors in ability, in moral worth, in previous business conditions, and, in social standing, rise above him in rank, and as his own regiment had acceptable men in office, promotion there was unlikely. His ambition was unsatisfied, for he had every quality for making a good soldier and courageous commander. He resigned his captaincy and left the regiment, bearing with him the sincere respect and affectionate regard of all his comrades." The same authority speaks of his unfaltering courage, his fortitude under unexpected reverses, and his unfailing regard for the welfare of his men, adding, "He had a feeling heart, a high sense of soldierly honor and an undying faith that in the end all would come out right." Following his retirement from the army, Colonel Flower was connected with successful business enterprises prior to his removal to Watertown. There he soon won recognition as a valued citizen and an honorable business man, and his popularity became so pronounced that he was elected the first mayor of the city under the city charter in 1869, and re-elected. During his terms his administration was practical and progressive and, in this as in other positions, he was ever found worthy of any public trust reposed in him, and, while his energy and ambition sought the field of business activity rather than that of politics, he was nevertheless known as an unfaltering champion of the principles in which he believed and as one whose loyalty to duty was ever above question. Here he engaged in various mercantile pursuits, finally concentrating his fine business qualifications in building operations. He put up two fine residence flats, built the Watertown & Sackett Harbor Railroad and the State Armory at Watertown. Owing to some oversight in the work of the architect, the last named building was erected at a serious financial loss. From the time of his arrival in Watertown until his death, Colonel Flower continued to make that city his home, although his business interests frequently called him elsewhere. He became prominent as one of the enterprising railroad builders of the state and as a promoter of various internal improvements. He was also contractor for the retaining darn, that monumental work which holds back the water supply of New York city. He handled mammoth enterprises with ability, building sections of the Chicago & North-Western Railway and New York and New England Railroad, and in the conduct of business affairs his judgment was rarely if ever at fault. On December 18, 1855, Colonel Flower was united in marriage with Miss Mary Elizabeth Putnam, born February 1, 1836, in Auburn, New York, daughter of Lansing and Sarah Ann (Chrysler) Putnam. Since her husband's death she has continued to reside in Watertown. Their son, Frederick S. Flower, is a member of the firm of Flower & Company, New York city. Their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born February 10, 1857, in Theresa, and was married October 2, 1879, to John Sterling Robinson, second son of Dr. Samuel M. and Maria B. Robinson, all of Watertown. One son was born to them January 23, 1881, in Watertown, and named Anson Flower Robinson. His marriage took place October 22, 1902, in Watertown, the bride being Miss Marguerite Williams, daughter of Hon. Pardon C. Williams. (See Williams.) John Sterling Robinson died September 19, 1896. Colonel Flower, having contracted a serious cold, died of acute pneumonia in the Union Square Hotel of New York city, May 4, 1881. A friend of long standing said of him: "He was a lovable man, as shown in his respect and enduring affection for his parents; by his quick response in sympathy and material aid for anyone in distress, especially for those whom he knew in his youth. His affectionate regard and attention to his wife and children, and to the young wards who were placed in his charge, marked him as a man of fine sensibilities, possessing a high sense of personal responsibility." The following tribute to his memory comes from the survivors of his command, who were tenting on the old camp ground: "WASHINGTON, D. C, Dec. 9, 1903. "At a meeting of the members of Capt. George W. Flower's Company C, Thirty-fifth New York Volunteers, who now reside at or in the vicinity of Washington, D. C. and held at Falls Church, Va., on December 5, 1903, and when were present Robert Dewar, H. N. D. Parker, Lewis Tooley, Lyman Ballard and John Jay Beardsley, the following officers were chosen: Chairman, Comrade Parker; secretary, Comrade Beardsley. "The following motions were unanimously adopted: First, to send a mesage of respect and affection to the widow of our beloved first commander, Captain (afterward Colonel) George W. Flower. Comrades Beardsley and Ballard were appointed a committee to draft and forward such message. " 'Mrs. George IV. Flower, Watrrtown, N. Y.: " 'DEAR MADAM.—Referring to the above resolution which was unanimously adopted and most heartily approved, permit me to discharge the pleasant duty of expressing to you our respect and high esteem and of thanking you for the interest which you ever showed in the welfare of our dear old Company C. Of much that has been written as to the influence of women in the Civil war, perhaps the most positive was that of a war correspondent, who stated that "if the men of the south had been as determined as were the women the south could not have been conquered." Be that as it may or may not be, we credit you, and the mothers, wives and sisters of the members of our company with the most hearty, loving and loyal support, and we recall with feelings of pride and genuine reverence your visit to our camp, Falls Church. " 'Captain Flower was one of the first in our midst to catch a glimpse of the tremendous conflict which awaited us. To him belongs the credit of organizing the first company sent from Theresa, and which consisted largely of his neighbors and their sons, and by his energy and indomitable will, and early grasp of the idea of a true soldier, transformed alike the men taken from the plow and the office desk and from the school into efficient, active soldiers. Many of the company gave up their lives from disease contracted in the line of duty, from wounds and in the shock of battle. At Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg, their bodies are mingling with the soil of Virginia and Maryland. " ' "On Fame's eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread, And glory guards with solemn sound The bivouac of the dead." " 'And now, Dear Madam, after forty years five of our (of your) old Company C have had a little reunion of our own at this historic place. We deeply regretted that you were not present. Old memories were revived, old acquaintances renewed, anecdote and camp stories, some grave, some gay, interspersed the evening, and we forgot for the time that we had reached the three-score mark. We find as we grow older that our memories revert more and more to our boyhood days, and among the most pleasant of the recollections of our soldier life are those of the time when we were under the command of your husband. Captain Flower, the esteemed citizen, the courteous gentleman, the gallant officer. With best wishes for your health and happiness, we are " 'Very truly yours, " 'JOHN JAY BEARDSLEY, " 'LYMAN BALLARD.' " Additional Comments: Extracted from: Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson New York Compiled Under the Supervision of The Late R. A. Oakes Volume I New York Chicago The Lewis Publishing Company 1905 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ny/jefferson/bios/flower2nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/nyfiles/ File size: 13.1 Kb