Clermonte Getman Tennant (1880-1955), Claremont Rennison Smith (1859-1948), Clermont Colfax Smith (1868-1939)

  Officially plucked from the depths of obscurity, Clermonte Getman Tennant was a leading attorney in Cooperstown, New York, a town known more for baseball than for yielding oddly named political figures. A practicing lawyer for nearly fifty years, Mr. Tennant was an unsuccessful candidate for the New York State Senate in 1908, running on the Democratic ticket. In addition to his Senate candidacy, Tennant would also serve as Deputy Attorney General of New York for several years.

  Born in Richfield Springs, New York on September 19, 1880, Clermonte G. Tennant was the son of Judge Albert Clermonte and Lizzie Harter Getman Tennant. Clermonte attended the Albany Academy as a youth and went on to enroll at the Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, graduating in the class of 1904. Following his graduation, Tennant studied at the Albany Law School and after the death of his father in 1905 returned to Cooperstown to establish a law practice. He married in that village on September 5, 1908, to Florence S. Bundy (1885-1961), with whom he would have one son, Robert Clermonte Tennant (1909-1972). Shortly after establishing his career as an attorney, Tennant was named to the position of Deputy Attorney General of New York, serving in this post for "a number of years", according to his 1955 Otsego Times obituary. In 1908 he was nominated by the Democratic Party to represent the 37th District in the New York State Senate, and the Hamilton Literary Magazine, Volume 43 took note of Tennant's candidacy, remarking that: 

"Next to Willis S. Mills '94, Mr. Tennant holds that best record for memory tests made in the College. His tenacious memory may assist him in handling the intricate and diffuse problems of a political campaign. All success to the Hamilton man in politics."

  Tennant's Republican opponent in that year's election was another oddly named man, Jotham Powers Allds (1865-1923) of Chenango County. A seasoned politician, Allds had served in the state assembly from 1896-1902 (including three years as majority leader) and had been the senate incumbent since 1903. Despite a spirited contest, Tennant came up short in the vote count, losing to Allds by a vote of 14,623 to 18,775. Despite his defeat, Tennant continued in his public career for many years afterward, while Jotham Allds' political career was derailed in 1910 by his resignation from the senate on account of bribery. An electoral result from the 1908 Tennant-Allds Contest appeared in that year's New York State Red Book and is shown below.

  While coming out on the losing end in his state senate candidacy, Tennent continued to be politically active, serving as a  member of both the New York State Democratic Committee and the Otsego County Democratic Committee. He would hold a seat on the New York State Tax Commission as a representative for the county of Otsego, and in 1937 formed the law firm Tennant and Tennant with his son Robert, which continued until the senior Tennant died in 1955. In addition to this partnership, Clermonte Tennant served as village attorney for Cooperstown for over two decades.

   Busy as an attorney and with local political affairs, Tennant was also active in several local fraternal organizations, holding memberships in the Oneonta Lodge of Elks, the Otsego Lodge #134 of Free and Accepted Masons and the Cooperstown Rotary Club. He was a past president of the Otsego County Bar Association and is noted by his Utica Observer obituary as being "widely known as a stamp collector and had a valuable collection including many commemorative U.S. issues on which he concentrated in recent years." Clermonte G. Tennant continued an active schedule well into his 75th year until illness took a toll on his health. He died at his home in Cooperstown on October 28, 1955, after "an illness of six weeks" and was later interred at the Lakeview Cemetery in Richfield Springs, New York.

From the Utica Observer, October 30, 1955.

From the Indianapolis News, January 13, 1925.

   A one-term member of the Indiana House of Representatives from Marion County, Claremont Rennison Smith spent a good majority of his 88 years as a Hoosier but was not born a resident of that state; his birth instead occurring in Fairfield County, Ohio on December 17, 1859. The son of Seneca A. and Nancy Ellen (West) Smith, Claremont Rennison Smith married in Morrow County Ohio in December 1881 to Eva May Bennett (born 1859) and later had two sons, Harry Crawford (1882-1962) and Frank Clairville (1885-1960). 

  Prior to 1891, Smith suffered the death of his wife Eva and in May 1891 remarried to Agnes V. Murphy (1860-1927) in Morrow County. This marriage would see the birth of a third child, Nellie Mildred, in 1895, and by this time Smith and his family were residents of Shelby County, Indiana. By 1910 the family had resettled in Marion County, where Smith is recorded as a "master mechanic in Indianapolis." 

  Acknowledged by the Indianapolis News as a "Republican worker for over forty years", Smith launched his political career in 1924 at age 64 when he won the primary vote for state representative from Marion County. He would win the election that November and after taking his seat at the start of the 1925-27 session made note that he was:

"Prepared to support legislation in favor of the farmer's co-operative marketing plan, for a better school program, for economy in taxation, for the abolishment of useless state boards, and for the re-establishment of local self government so far as possible."

From the Indianapolis News, January 13, 1925.

  Smith proved to be busy as a first-term legislator, chairing the House Committee on Statistics and Immigration, as well as serving on the committees on the Affairs of Indiana, Benevolent and Scientific Institutions, Public Printing, and Rights and Privileges. Smith's term in the legislature concluded in January 1927 and was widowed for a second time in February of that year with the death of his wife Agnes. Little else could be found on Smith's life after 1927, except mention of his removal back to Ohio, where he died aged 88 on January 25, 1948, in Columbus. He was later interred at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. 

From the Indianapolis Star, November 6, 1924.

Portrait courtesy of the Iowa Legislative Database.

   Hailing from the county of Butler in Iowa, Clermont Colfax Smith represented the aforementioned county in the Iowa State Senate for three terms in the late 1930s, dying in office in December 1939. The son of Josephus and Elizabeth Lambert Smith, Clermont Colfax Smith was born in Adair County, Iowa on November 28, 1868. He attended the public schools of that county and graduated from high school in the city of Harlan, Iowa. 

   During his adolescence, Smith taught school for a time and after a short period at college assumed the superintendency of the Fontanelle, Iowa school system. He would later resign from this post and begin the study of medicine, attending the Northwestern Medical School, and graduating in the class of 1904. Smith would later marry Ms. Rachel C. Corrough (1871-1944) and the couple would become parents to two daughters, Selma Louise (1899-1984) and Marian Elizabeth (1904-1970).

  After spending a good majority of his life as a practicing physician, Claremont Smith won election as a Republican to the Iowa Senate in the 1934 election year, serving during the session of 1935-37. He was reelected to the Senate in 1936 and 1938 and was a sitting senator at the time of his death on December 5, 1939, several days following his 71st birthday. Following his death, Smith was interred at the Lynwood Cemetery in Clarksville, Iowa.

Waterman Ellsworth (1797-1849)

   In keeping with the local history theme established with the previous article on Sextus Hungerford, today's profile centers on Waterman Ellsworth, a resident of the town of Stockton, New York who served a term in the New York State Assembly. While his name may not be as odd as the man who preceded him here, Ellsworth is an unjustly forgotten Chautauqua County resident who should be remembered not only for his service in the state government, but as a pioneer physician and man of affairs in the village of Stockton. 

   I first discovered Ellsworth's name while doing research on Sextus H. Hungerford, whose article was published a few days ago. While perusing Andrew Young's 1875 work History of Chautauqua County I noticed the odd name of Waterman Ellsworth listed among the names of men who had previously served in the state assembly. Intrigued, I managed to find a small biography on him in said book that mentioned his legislative service as well as his burial location in the Stockton Cemetery! Earlier today I managed to make a visit to the small cemetery to get some photos of his gravesite, which will be posted at the end of this article.

  Waterman Ellsworth was born in the town of Hartwick, Otsego County, New York on December 14, 1797. In an interesting historical connection, Waterman's father was none other than Stukely Stafford Ellsworth (1769-1837), a resident of Otsego County who served as a New York State Senator from 1825-1828. Before his Senate tenure, Stukely Ellsworth married and eventually had five children, of whom Waterman was the youngest. The History of Chautauqua County also mentions that Stukely and the rest of the Ellsworth family were related to quite several eminent Americans, including Oliver Ellsworth (who served as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1796-1800) and William Wolcott Ellsworth (1791-1868), a Governor of Connecticut. 

  Waterman Ellsworth resided in Otsego County until the early 1820s when he relocated to Stockton (which was then called Delanti). After purchasing some land and establishing a home, Ellsworth married on February 26, 1826, to Ms. Rosina Lyon, who also came from a notable family. Rosina was born in Massachusetts in 1799 and was the younger sister of Mary Lyon (1797-1849), a prominent pioneer in women's education as well as the founder of what is now Mt. Holyoke College. It is unknown when Rosina first arrived in Stockton, but research has indicated that both she and her brother Aaron were Stockton/Delanti residents by the time of Waterman Ellsworth's arrival. 

  Waterman and Rosina Lyon Ellsworth were married for only six years, with Rosina dying at age 32 on August 18, 1832. During their short union, four children were born to the couple and are listed by order of birth: Stukely Stafford (born in 1826), Hazelius (born 1828), Franklin (born 1830), and Henry Martyn (born May 1832).

     Mary Lyon (founder of Mt. Holyoke College), whose sister Rosina married Waterman Ellsworth.

   In addition to his notable familial connections, Waterman Ellsworth was truly a pioneer citizen in the Stockton community. He was one of the first physicians to settle in the Delanti/Stockton area and in 1830 was named the first postmaster of Delanti/Stockton. He was later elected to the position of town supervisor for three terms, serving in the years 1827, 1831 and 1832. At some point during the late 1830s, Ellsworth married Sarah Smith Pierce, a Vermont resident who had moved to Delanti/Stockton some years previously. Three children were born to Ellsworth and his new wife, including Rosina Julina (who died two months after her birth), Rosina Manerva (who died at age 2 months), and Clay Waterman Pierpont (born in 1845). Sarah Pierce Ellsworth outlived Waterman by many years and later relocated to Oregon in 1881 to live with her son Clay.

  Waterman Ellsworth's public profile received a significant boost in November 1838 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing Chautauqua County. He took his seat at the beginning of the 62nd session of the assembly on January 1, 1839, and served until sessions end on May 6 of that year. It is unknown what committees he served on during his legislative tenure, but it is known that he served alongside fellow Chautauquans Abner Lewis (1801-1879, from Panama) and Timothy Judson (1801-1872, from Fredonia) who also won assembly seats in the November 1838 election.

  Waterman Ellsworth died at his home in Stockton on January 6, 1849, a few days after his 51st birthday. Young's History of Chautauqua County makes note that a "plain, but substantial monument in the burying ground at Delanti marks the resting place of his remains; all the early settlers of Stockton and many others scattered over this wide country hold him in grateful remembrance." 

  As mentioned in this article's introduction, I made a visit to Ellsworth's gravesite in the Stockton Cemetery earlier today and after some searching discovered its location towards the front corner of the cemetery. Both Waterman and Rosina's stones are (aside from some algae spots) in remarkable condition, with the writing on both stones being perfectly legible.

  

  Although his stone doesn't list his date of birth, Waterman Ellsworth was born in December 1797 in Hartwick, New York. I had initially expressed hope that his oddly named father (the New York state senator) would be buried here as well, but sadly this wasn't the case. As it turns out, Stukely Stafford Ellsworth is buried somewhere in Otsego County, although his exact burial location in the county remains uncertain.

  

  Rosina Ellsworth's stone is on the right in the above picture. Amazingly, the harsh Western New York weather conditions over the past century haven't wreaked more damage on them!