My Genealogy Hound

DOCTOR SQUIRE WHITE, the subject of this sketch, was born in Guilford, Vermont, November 20, 1785, and died at Fredonia, New York, April 2, 1857. He was a son of William C. and Eunice (Rogers) White. Major William White earned his title in the Revolutionary war. He was a line officer at the battle of Bennington and received a wound. At the close of the war he was awarded one thousand acres of land lying adjacent to the Susquehanna river, near where the city of Binghamton now is.

Dr. Squire White secured an early education and then applied himself to the study of medicine, continuing it for seven years. In 1808 he came to Chautauqua county and taught its first school. In 1813 he married Sallie Barker, a daughter of Hezekiah Barker, who was a native of Rhode Island. The latter, too, was a Revolutionary soldier and pensioner, and built the first saw-mill in this county. The machinery used in operating it was brought from the east by cattle. Mr. Barker came to Canadaway in 1806 and one year later brought his family. He owned large tracts adjacent to Fredonia and gave to the village the beautiful park that adorns the centre, and he also donated them lots for their churches. He died in 1834 and was reputed to be among the wealthiest men of that day, and, although a farmer, was one of the most liberal and public-spirited men in the country.

For his second wife Dr. White wedded Lydia Cushing, one of that family who made the name famous. She was related to ex-president John Adams. When Squire White began practicing he settled at Fredonia, and made that village his home for fifty years, and his practice extended for a radius of thirty miles. Politically he was an old-line whig, and for four terms he held the office of surrogate and served in the legislature in the years 1830, ‘31 and ‘32, and there secured the friendship of many of the leading men of the State. At his death Dr. White owned two hundred acres of land within the corporate limits of Fredonia. Dr. White’s popularity was almost phenomenal; he was probably as thoroughly known throughout the length and breadth of Chautauqua county as any other man and every acquaintance was his friend. He stood at the head of his profession and was much sought for in severe or desperate cases. Although highly educated, he never stopped studying and he kept
himself fully abreast of the times, and up with the advancements of his profession, through his books and journals.

Twice married, he had three children by each wife, three of whom are now living. Although more than a third of a century has elapsed since his demise, he is yet fondly remembered by many of the older people of this community, and tradition has handed his memory down to those who are yet children. A truly good man lives long after the breath leaves his body and the heart ceases to pulsate.