1897 Biography - Elizabeth Barnum

Barnum, Mrs. Elizabeth. - David L. Barnum was born in Brighton, Monroe county, N. Y., July 30, 1825, a son of Richard and Electa (Lloyd) Barnum. Richard Barnum was born in Danbury, Conn., in 1789, and came to Rochester, N. Y, when only three houses were there. and bought land where the Powers Block now stands. He settled in Penfield in 1812, thence to Brighton, where he lived until his death in 1863; his wife died in 1862. David L. Barnum was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools; the homestead where he was born is now called the Barnum Terrace, being one of the suburbs of Rochester, N. Y. He learned the cooper's trade and spent six years in Racine as a tight barrel carpenter. June 16, 1851, he married Elizabeth Dygert, born in Herkimer county, January 27, 1831, and descended from one of the old pioneer families. Her grandfather, George Dygert, was killed by the Indians in the French and Indian war. Mr. and Mrs. Barnum had eight children, only two are now living: Carrie E., Delia S., Cora A., George R., Nellie J., David C. (deceased), and John E. and Charles O. now living. In 1851 he removed to Monroe county, where he remained six years on a farm, and in 1857 moved to Oil Springs, Can., where he was a successful oil producer for some years. In 1863 he came to Wilson, where he lived until his death, which occurred January 30, 1894. He bought a foundry in Wilson village, which his widow now carries on. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Village Board and Board of Education and a member of the Presbyterian church, and always took a lively interest in the welfare of the village and filled important positions. His maternal grandfather, David Lloyd, was killed in the war of 1812 and buried at Lewiston, N. Y. This family is related to the late P. T. Barnum, who was the greatest of showmen. Charles O. Barnum, oldest son living, is a resident of Buffalo; John E. is a traveling salesman for a New York firm and David C. (deceased) was a prominent attorney in Rochester and had many friends in Monroe and Niagara counties.

Extracted from Landmarks of Niagara County, New York