Reunion of Pupils of Dr. Timothy M. Cooley

Benjamin Root Spelman (seated 3rd from the left) and his brother, Ralzamon Lucas Spelman (seated to his left) co-owned a Fancy Goods Store located at 35 State Street in Albany, New York. Biographical sketches and pictures of both men can be found in the book, "Spelman Genealogy: The English Ancestry and American Descendants of Richard Spelman of Middletown, Connecticut, 1700", on pages 260-262. The library has a copy of this book. The book was written by Fannie Cooley Williams Barbour, who was the grand-niece of both men. In the preface of the book, Mrs. Barbour wrote that it was the genealogical record compiled by Benjamin R Spelman that became the nucleus of the "Spelman Genealogy". 

Pictured in the top, right corner is Onslow Gross Spelman who was a distant cousin of Benjamin and Ralzamon. He was born in Granville on 11 Sep 1821 and moved to Williamsburg, Massachusetts at a young age. He owned a button factory there that was completely destroyed when the Williamsburg Resevoir Dam burst on 16 May 1874, flooding the Mill River and the towns of Williamburg, Skinnerville, Leeds and Haydenville. The flood killed 144 people and caused a million dollars in damage. Onslow Spelman never rebuilt his business. He died in Williamsburg on 12 Feb 1905. He appears on page 337 of Spelman Genealogy.

Seated on the far left is Rufus Henry Barlow who was born in Granville on 25 Jan 1813. He was the son of James and Deborah (Spelman) Barlow. His second wife was Clarissa Cornelia Spelman (his first cousin). They were married 13 Nov 1849. No children together. He died in Westfield on 21 Mar 1887, less than a year after this picture was taken. He appears in "Spelman Genealogy" on page 267. 

Andrew Jackson Marvin (top row, far left) was born 16 Mar 1815 in Granville. He married Emeline Gillett. He moved to Westfield where he worked as a farmer, peddlar and whip manufacturer. He died of heart failure in Westfield on 6 May 1893.

John Howard Barlow (top row, 2nd from left) was the brother of Rufus Henry Barlow. He was born in Granville 7 Dec 1806. He married the much younger Mary Matilda Elmendorf in New York City on 16 Sep 1856. She was born 6 Dec 1831. He was co-owner of the iron foundry Barlow, Condit and Morris on 28 Orange Street in Newark, New Jersey. He died in Newark on 28 Oct 1894. He appears in "Spelman Genealogy" on page 266. 

Phineas Lyman Buell (top row, third from left) was born in Granville 20 Feb 1809, the son of Martin and Naomi (Spelman) Tinker. His father died when he was only 3 years old and his mother later married Asa Seymour. In 1838 Phineas and his brother, Martin legally changed their names to Buell. In 1837, Phineas became interested in Phrenology. 

phrenology definition the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as supposed indication of character and mental abilities. 

For the next several years Buell toured around the country giving lectures on Phrenology, including in his hometown of East Granville. In Oct 1851, he bought half of the Westfield News Letter, which he published for the next 30 years. A month later, on 10 Sep 1851, he married Phoebe Gilman in Hartland, Connecticut. He died in Orange, Massachusetts 17 Nov 1893. He appears in "Spelman Genealogy" on page 256, and a detailed biographical sketch and picture can be found in, "The Phrenological and Life Illustrated" (1892) on pages 259-262.

Edwin Riley White (bottom row, second from left) is the only man in the picture who was not born in Granville. He was born 15 Oct 1810 in Litchfield County, Connecticut, the son of Brainard and Eliza (Steadman) White. Though a native of Litchfield County, the 1820 census shows that Brainard White did briefly live in Granville. Edwin White married Julia Westlake on 22 Apr 1836 in Winsted, Connecticut. Later he moved to Canastota, New York where he served as  postmaster, mayor and coroner. He died in Canastota on 15 Jul 1899. 

William Henry Ames (top row, fourth from left) was born 23 Oct 1817 in Granville and was baptised by Reverend Cooley in 1824. He was the son of Dr. Horace and Sophia (Lloyd) Ames. He married Lucy Bartlett 6 Feb 1838 in Lee, Massachusetts. He died 2 Oct 1891. It was his grandson who donated the picture and wrote the accompanying letter. The grandson's name was also William Henry Ames and he was born 17 Jul 1863 in New York City. He was a sucessful lumberman in Cincinnati, Ohio and died 4 Apr 1936 in South Bend, Indiana.