THE TREMAN FAMILY IN TOMPKINS COUNTY
pp. 15-20

This family, whose name is so familiar to all residents of Tompkins county, and whose members have been conspicuous in the community from its earliest settlement, are of English descent, their direct ancestry being from Sydenham, County Devon in that country. The family derived its designation at a very remote period from the manor of Tremayne, in the parish of St. Martin, on the banks of Helford-Haven. The first one of the name to emigrate to America was Joseph Tremaine who came over in 1666 and settled at New London, Conn. He had five children, two of whom were sons named Joseph and Thomas, respectively. Thomas was the father of four sons named respectively John, Simeon, Nathan and Benjamin. John Tremaine of this family, was a farmer by occupation and lived near Pittsfield, Berkshire county, Mass., a section from whence many of the pioneers of Tompkins county came. He was a man of more than ordinary natural ability and possessed of high character. He was honored with various public offices in all of which he was distinguished for integrity and efficiency. He was the father of eight sons whose names were Philip, Gaius, Julius, John, Daniel, Jared,, Abner and Jonathan.

Of these sons Abner was the one with whom we are most deeply interested in the early pages of this sketch. His father became a resident of Hillsdale, Columbia county, N.Y., and there his children were born. Abner’s birth occurred on the 25th of December, 1761. He passed his boyhood and reached an age of responsibility just as the struggle for freedom by the American colonies was being inaugurated and with four brothers patriotically assumed his share in the memorable contest, although it is recorded that some members of another branch of the family residing in New York city remained loyal to the British king and fled to Nova Scotia on the evacuation of the city by the British. Abner Treman was sixteen years of age when he enlisted in Colonel Van Courtland’s regiment and was assigned to the Fifth Company, serving until the close of the war. His courage, firmness and ability were such that he was selected by General Washington himself, as one of those to assist in the capture of Stony Point, on the Hudson River. General Wayne was in command of the expedition; Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury had the immediate command of the right wing, which was composed of one hundred and fifty volunteers, and these were led by twenty men under Lieutenant Gibbon as a forlorn hope. Of these twenty men Abner Treman was one. He was in General Sullivan’s army and accompanied him on his expedition through the Wyoming Valley and up the Susquehanna. He was successively corporal, sergeant and sergeant-major. It appears from the records at Washington that he was honored with a Badge of Merit for faithful service. He received as bounty for his services in the Continental army six hundred acres of land located in what was then the county of Herkimer. The Indian title had been extinguished, and the State of New York had divided a large tract of land into twenty-eight townships of one hundred lots each, and each lot containing six hundred and sixty acres of land, to pay, as a bounty, to her soldiers who were in the army of the Revolution. Abner Treman’s number drawn was Lot No. 2, Township No. 22. It proved to be a strip of land three-fourths of a mile wide, and about two miles in length, on which is now located the beautiful village of Trumansburgh. He came in 1792 with his wife, three children, his brother Philip and Philips’s son Benjamin and his wife’s brother (John McLallen), with his bounty warrant to take possession of his land. He immediately commenced clearing up his land and gave a man a deed of one hundred acres of it for one year’s service to work on it. In 1794 he concluded to build a grist mill, and went east to Chenango Point, now Binghamton, to purchase the necessary machinery. On his return he stopped all night at Davenport’s tavern, which was located a mile from here on West Hill. It was in the month of February, and there came on a snow storm which covered the ground about two feet deep. He left the tavern at nine o’clock in the morning; after walking all day and until about midnight he arrived at the house of Mr. Wayburn on Goodwin’s Point, and about two miles from home. He could go no farther, he was exhausted, frozen and nearly dead. They kindly cared for him, and as far as they knew did what was for the best, but they imprudently put his feet into warm water; one of them had to be cut off, and it was this that made him a cripple for life. He died August 18, 1823, aged sixty-one years. His brother Philip located in Ledyard, Cayuga county, and there reared a family, the descendants of whom in 1892, celebrated the centennial of their settlement there.

Abner Treman took up land on the site of what is now the village of Trumansburgh. The settlement at this point has had several names, but its present one is derived wholly from the fact of Mr. Treman’s settlement there. It was first called “McLallen’s Tavern,” and it is said that at one time it was known as “Shin Hollow.” Upon the authority of De Witt Clinton it was also, and much more appropriately, known at an early day as “Tremaine’s Village.” Just how or when the final transition to its present name occurred is not known.

Mr. Treman had married Mary McLallen, (John McLallen, then nineteen years old, came with his brother-in-law in 1792 to what is now Trumansburgh, employed by Mr. Treman as a teamster. Obtaining a piece of land from Mr. Treman he built thereon the first public house in the present town of Ulysses. It was this fact which gave the settlement at one time the before-mentioned name of “McLallen’s Tavern.” Several of Mr. McLallen’s descendants were men of character and good repute in this locality.) daughter of John McLallen, several years before his migration westward. For their dwelling he built the first house on a lot opposite the present M. E. Church. It was of course a primitive log cabin, its roof covered with bark. There several of his children were born and on the same lot he eventually erected the house which is still standing.

It has been written of Abner Treman that he was a man of marked characteristics, full of life and animal spirit, of robust physique and powerful voice, brusque and sometimes rough in speech, generous and charitable, yet exacting as to his rights; he was respected by all good citizens and feared by the bad. The blood that flowed in his veins was good and strong and he transmitted to his posterity the sterling qualities which he possessed in so eminent a degree, and his children and children’s children in turn became prominent and representative people wherever they lived.

Mr. Treman’s eldest child was Mary Treman, afterwards Mrs. Leroy Valentine, born in Columbia county in 1788 and died in 1869. His eldest son, Jonathan, was also born in Columbia county, July 17, 1790; married Annis Trembly and died in 1853. Annis Treman, another daughter of Abner, was born June 27, 1792, and became the wife of Gen. Isaiah Smith. Calvin Treman was born September 13, 1794, married Ann Ayers, and died in 1849. Ashbel Treman was born September 1, 1796; married Mary Ayers in 1817 and died in 1837. Lucinda Treman was born August 17, 1793, and married Jeremiah Ayers. Jared Treman was born October 5, 1800; his first wife was Mrs. Louisa Paddock; his second wife was Wealthy, the widow of Dr. S. E. Clark; he died July 11, 1889. Abner Treman, Jr., was born January 12, 1803, and married Jemima Thomas, January 30, 1823. He died January 30, 1883. Charlotte Treman, born June 30, 1806, married Minor King. Alfred Treman was born January 31, 1811, and married Mary Ann Trembly. Erastus Treman was born July 31, 1813, married Mary Buck, who survives him.

Ashbel Treman, son of Abner and mentioned above, was the father of Leonard, Lafayette L. and Elias Treman, three men who have been long identified with the business interests of Ithaca, and two of whom are still active in the affairs of the city. He also had two daughters, Mary C. and Ann F., as will have been seen by foregoing dates. Ashbel Treman died at a comparatively early age and his sons were early made to realize that they must succeed in life, if at all, by their own efforts.

Leonard Treman, the eldest of the three brothers just mentioned, was born at Mecklenburg, then in Tompkins county, June 18, 1819. His early education was obtained in the district schools of his native village, finishing with a term in the Ithaca Academy in the winter of 1834-5. In the latter year he took up his first occupaation on his own account by engaging as clerk in the store of Wood & Nye in Ithaca, where he remained two years, when his father died and he returned to Mecklenburg. His early tastes were wholly turned towards a mercantile career, and with the purpose of making that his life work he again came to Ithaca and entered the employ of Edmund G. Pelton, who was carrying on the hardware trade. From that time onward until near the time of his death he retained his connection with that business. In the year 1844 his brother, Lafayette L. (a sketch of whose life follows this), joined him, and the firm of L. & L. L. Treman was founded as successors of Mr. Pelton. The business prospered as most businesses will when superintended by men of ability, integrity and industry. On the 1st of February, 1857, Leander King, a cousin of the Tremans, who had been long and faithful in their employ, was admitted to the partnership and the style was again changed to Treman, King & Co., and so remains at the present time, though other changes have been made in its membership.

In the year 1849, when Elias Treman came into the firm, they acquired a foundry and machine business then located on the East Hill on the south bank of the Cascadilla Creek. These works were subsequently burned and the business was then transferred to Cayuga and Green streets, and was very successfully conducted under the firm name of Treman & Brothers and distinct form the hardware trade. Under the firm name of Treman & Co., Leonard Treman also established a general hardware business in Watkins, Schuyler county, which was continued until a few years ago.

While these extensive operations would seem to have been sufficient to satisfy the ambition of most men, as well as to employ one’s whole time, such was not the case with Mr. Treman or his brothers. They foresaw the future importance of the village and its needs, and were the builders and owners of a large portion of the stock of the Ithaca Water Works, which has continued in the family ever since, and they took a large share of the stock of the Ithaca Gas Light Company. Mr. Treman was made president of the former company in 1864 and of the latter in 1870 and held the offices until his death. They are now filled by his brother, as noted further on. He was elected president of the village in 1850 and again in 1868-9; was a director of the Ithaca and Newfield Plank Road Company in 1850; of the Ithaca and Athens Railroad Company from 1860 to 1874, and of the Cayuga Lake Railroad from 1871 to 1874. He was a charter trustee of the Ithaca Savings Bank from 1868 and president at the time of his death, and for many years was a trustee of the Congregational church. It hardly need be added that these various important positions were filled and their duties administered with the same faithfulness and ability that had long characterized the conduct of his private affairs. In the business and social life of Ithaca his position was an enviable one and was honored by him in the same degree that it honored him.

Mr. Treman was married to Almira Corley, of Ithaca, on the 20th of October, 1846. They had three children, two of whom died in infancy, and the third is the wife of John W. Bush, of Buffalo.

Lafayette Lepine Treman was born at Mecklenburg, April 3, 1821. He received his education in the common schools supplemented by a period of study in the Penn Yan Academy. In that village he found his first employment away from home as a clerk in the hardware store of James D. Morgan. In the year 1844, when he was twenty-three years old, he came to Ithaca and joined with his elder brother, Leonard, in the hardware trade under the firm name of L. & L. L. Treman, succeeding Edmund G. Pelton.

This young man was possessed of exceptional natural business ability, which he had assiduously cultivated during his clerkship in Penn Yan, and when the two brothers joined their interests in Ithaca it was with a firm determination to accomplish just what they ultimately did accomplish, the building up of a successful and extensive trade in an establishment that would be an honor to the place and bring them a justly earned competence. This determined purpose has governed Mr. Treman ever since, and while other interests have in later years claimed much of his attention, he has never permitted his allegiance to his first legitimate business to falter.

The qualifications before noted soon gave Mr. Treman an acknowledged position among the most enterprising men of Tompkins county, while his reputation for staunch integrity led to his being called to several positions of trust and responsibility. He served for a time as secretary of the Ithaca and Athens Railroad before its consolidation with the Lehigh Valley system. He early became a director in the Tompkins County Bank, and in 1873 was chosen its president, a position which he still holds. Under his skillful financial guidance this sound old institution is known as one of the most successful of the banks in the interior of the State. In 1888 he was made president of the Ithaca Gas Light Company and the Ithaca Water Works Company, both of which position he still occupies. In their management his counsel has always been for enterprising liberality towards the public, a policy that has at the same time been to the interest and prosperity of the companies. He is also a director and one of the principal promoters of the Lyceum Company, which has just completed one of the finest opera houses in the State. He is also one of the original Board of Directors of the Ithaca Trust Company. In all of these positions Mr. Treman has won the entire confidence and respect of those with whom he has been associated. Modest and retiring in his temperament, with unfailing courtesy for all and a broad charity and kindliness for the weaknesses of human nature, Mr. Treman has found a warm place in the community outside of his large circle of business connections.

He is a member of the St. John’s Episcopal church and since 1847 has continuously held the office of warden, contributing cheerfully of his means to the building up of the cause of religion.

Like other members of his family Mr. Treman is a Democrat in politics, but entirely without desire or taste for public office.

On the 9th of April 1849, Mr. Treman married Eliza Ann Mack, daughter of the Hon. Ebenezer Mack, one of Ithaca’s most prominent early citizens. Their children are as follows:

Ebenezer Mack Treman, born December 13, 1850.

Jeannie Mead Treman, widow of John S. Waterman, of Cumberland Hill, R.I.

Anna Louisa Treman, now residing in Ithaca.

Elias Treman, the youngest of the three brothers, was born in Mecklenburg, December 9, 1822, attended school in his native village and finished in the Penn Yan Academy, after which he entered the employ of Morgan & Armstrong in Penn Yan as clerk in their hardware store (where his brother was already engaged) and remained there six years. In 1847 he came to Ithaca and entered the employ of the then well established firm of L. & L. L. Treman, becoming a partner in said firm on February 1, 1849, the style being thereby changed to Treman & Brothers. In this connection he has ever since remained. Uniting his admirable business qualifications with those of his brothers, the foundry and machine shop before mentioned was built up and the hardware trade largely extended. When the building of the water works was taken up he was made one of the directors of the company, and also in the Gas Company, which positions he holds at the present time. He is also a director in the Tompkins County Bank; also in the Ithaca Savings Bank, in the Ithaca Trust Company, and a member of the Board of Education. At the present time a large share of the burden of directing the mercantile business of the firm falls upon his shoulders. He is a Democrat in politics, like his brothers, but also like them has never become an aspirant for public office, though he has capably filled the position of president of the village of Ithaca. Mr. Treman enjoys to the fullest extent the confidence and respect of the community.

Mr. Treman was married on July 6, 1853 to Elizabeth Lovejoy, of Owego. They have three children: Elizabeth, married on December 21, 1882 to Mynderse Van Cleef, one of the leading attorneys of Tompkins county (they have two children), Robert H., born March 31, 1858, now a member of the firm of Treman, King & Co.; graduated from Cornell University in the class of 1888. He is a director in both the Water and the Gas Companies; also in the Tompkins County Bank and is a trustee of Cornell university; married Laura Hosie of Detroit, Mich. June 24, 1885 (they have one child), Charles E., born October 11, 1868, a graduate of Cornell in the class of 1889, and is employed as a clerk in the business of Treman, King & Co.

Ebenezer Mack Treman, the oldest child of Lafayette L. and Eliza Ann Treman, was born in Ithaca, December 13, 1850, and received his education in his native place, entering Cornell in the class of 1872. He became associated with the large interests of his father, though not a member of the hardware firm. He is secretary and superintendent of both the Water and Gas Companies, positions which require executive ability of a high order and fully occupy his time. He is also president of thee recently formed Lyceum Company, and the erection of the new theatre in Ithaca is the realization of plans which he has had under consideration for many years. He is a young man of popular social qualities and highly esteemed in the business circles of his native city. He married first April 22, 1884, Eugenie McMahan, Lyons, Iowa. She died August 17, 1886; he married second on April 23, 1891, Isabelle Norwood, adopted daughter of Mile L. Clinton, of Ithaca.

The other children of Lafayette Treman have been mentioned.