My Genealogy Hound

CAPT. COMFORT BIRDSEY, of English descent, and a well-respected citizen of the town of Hanover, was born in the town of Paris, Oneida county, New York, November 23, 1813, and is a son of John J. and Clarissa Ward (Crampton) Birdsey. The first members of the Birdsey family who settled in the new world were two brothers, John and Joseph Birdsey, who came from England to Stratford, Connecticut, in 1639. John, the great-grandfather of Comfort Birdsey, in 1710, removed to Middletown (now Middlefield), Connecticut, where he purchased eight hundred acres of land. His son, Seth Birdsey (grandfather), was born in 1736, and while engaged at work in the woods was killed by a falling tree. He was married and left a widow and family of seven children, five sons and two daughters. One of the sons, John J. (father), was born in Middletown, Conn., in 1774, and in 1811 removed to the town of Paris, Oneida county, N. Y., where he died April 8, 1826. He was an industrious farmer, and married Clarissa W. Crampton, by whom he had two sons and three daughters (see sketch of Phineas Birdsey). Mrs. Birdsey, who passed away in 1857, aged 76 years, was a daughter of Josiah Crampton, an old Revolutionary soldier, who removed from his native State of Connecticut to Genesee county, N. Y., where he died when well advanced in years.

Comfort Birdsey was reared in Oneida county, where he attended the short winter schools of that day. He has always followed farming and, in 1828, came to the town of Hanover, in which he purchased his present desirable farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres of land. During the earlier years of his life he was quite active in the military affairs of the county. He served in 1839 as second lieutenant, was promoted to first lieutenant the following year, and in 1841 was commissioned as captain of a light infantry company in the 9th Regiment of the New York militia. On November 24, 1842, he married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Waxham, a native of England, who came to the town of Hanover, in which he followed farming. They are the parents of four children, one son and three daughters: Abbie G., widow of Samuel Rollins, has five children — Archie B., Hortense, Eugene, Dana and Louis A.; Francilla B., who married Reverdy C. Clothier, an extensive farmer of Hanover, and has two children, Hamilton B. and Frederick B.; Mary, wife of Sheldon H. Burgess, of Silver Creek, and has one child, Cora M.; and Eugene G., married Cornelia Baker, and is a farmer by occupation.

Comfort Birdsey is a republican in politics, has served as commissioner of highways and has assisted in building quite a number of bridges in his community. Capt. Birdsey is well preserved for his years, has always taken an interest in the material and mental development of his community and is one of the substantial and successful farmers of the county.