Surnames: Dockstader, Ecker, Fox, Lotridge, Near,
Schuyler, Smith, Stenton, Stoller
Variations: Neer, Nhare, Shuyler
Towns and Villages: Amsterdam, Glen, Mohawk, Tribes Hill
County: Montgomery
Source: History of the Mohawk Valley - Gateway to the
West - 1614-1925
Covering The Six Counties of Schenectady, Schoharie,
Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer and Oneida.
Volume IV, Illustrated; Page 720
Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925
With the exception of a few years spent in mercantile pursuits William Lotridge Hanson has devoted his life to agriculture and it is not surprising that success has followed all his undertakings, as he thoroughly understands all the problems of the farmer. He was born December 6, 1864, in Sammonsville, New York, his parents being Henry D. and Sarah (Lotridge) Hanson. Henry D. Hanson was born near Tribes Hill on May 27, 1839, and died in the town of Glen, New York, on April 23, 1918. He was a farmer by occupation, and a superintendent of highways. His parents were Daniel and Gertrude (Stoller) Hanson. Daniel Hanson, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Mohawk, New York, and died in the same place. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits and was also a superintendent of highways. His wife, Gertrude was born in the town of Mohawk, and died in the same place. Peter Hanson, the great-great-grandfather of William Lotridge Hanson, was governor of New Amsterdam. The early settlers came from Holland and took part in the Revolutionary war. Sarah Lotridge Hanson, mother of William Lotridge Hanson, was born in Samsonville in 1845. She was the daughter of William and Evline (Schuyler) Lotridge. William Lotridge was born in Samsonville, March 1, 1774, and died in the same place on January 18, 1810. His father, Robert Lotridge, was born in 1714 and died July 11, 1795. He was in the War of the Revolution and was captured three times and taken to Canada by Sir William Johnson and his men, and each time he made his escape and walked home through the forests.
William Lotridge Hanson received his early education in the district school at Tribes Hill and at the age of nineteen went to farming with his father and remained with him until after he was married at the age of twenty-five. He then went to farming for himself at Albanybush and remained eight years, after which he went into the general mercantile business at Tribes Hill and conducted this business for a period of eight years. He then purchased the E. O. Case farm of about sixty acres, where he has resided for the past eighteen years.
On January 30, 1890, in Johnstown, New York, Mr. Hanson was united in marriage to Miss Minnie L. Fox, who was born May 27, 1868, the daughter of Charles and Margaret (Ecker) Fox, who were married on January 30, 1851. Charles Fox was born in October, 1827, and died on April 6, 1894. He was a farmer in Fulton county, town of Johnstown, and was the son of Matthew and Catherine (Dockstader) Fox. Matthew Fox was born on the old Fox homestead on the Mohawk river, three miles from Fonda, in the town of Mohawk, on August 29, 1797, and died on January 1, 1867. He was a farmer. His wife, Catherine (Dockstader) Fox, was born in the town of Palatine on February 11, 1805, and died at the old home on the turnpike on August 7, 1868. Margaret (Ecker) Fox, mother of Mrs. William Lotridge Hanson, was born January 11, 1831, in Stone Arabia, New York, and died on November 14, 1906. She was the daughter of George Ecker and Alinda (Near) Ecker and was one of eight children, six daughters and two sons. George Ecker was twice married, his second wife being Katherine Van Deusen. They had no children. Mrs. Hanson is a member of the Tribes Hill Presbyterian church.
David Lee Hanson, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. William L. Hanson, was born November 14, 1896, in the town of Mohawk, New York. He attended the district school in Tribes Hill, then the Albany Business College and afterward graduated from Reynolds Business College in Amsterdam, New York. After his graduation he taught for one year in the Reynolds Business College, then became associated with the Schuttleworth Rug Manufacturing Company of Amsterdam, doing clerical work for about one and one-half years, and then went to Glendale, California. On April 25, 1918, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Smith of Glendale, daughter of Gordon L. and Anna (Stenton) Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Smith formerly resided in Johnstown, New York, but had been living in California for fourteen years. Mrs. Hanson received her education in the public and high schools in Johnstown. For a year Mr. Hanson was a partner of his father-in-law, Gordon L. Smith, in the grocery business, he then sold out his interest and took a position with the Standard Oil Company in the same place, where he remained two years, after which he resigned and took up the study of landscape gardening. Becoming proficient in this line of work, he went into business for himself in Glendale, specializing in naturalistic work, private bridges, pool and lawn work and sprinkling systems, and had the contract for beautifying the extensive grounds of Mrs. T. C. Cleveland in the Wilshire District in Los Angeles, California.
The work of Mr. Hanson has been endorsed by the American Landscape Architecture Gardening Association of New York, of which he is a member. Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Hanson are the parents of two daughters: Bettie May Hanson, born in Glendale April 2, 1920; and Marion Lee Hanson, born in Glendale, September 2, 1923.
William Lotridge Hanson took an active part in the Liberty Loan campaigns and was also connected with the Draft board of the town of Mohawk during the World war. He was commissioner for for the town of Mohawk for four years and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 773 of Fonda, and of the Oriental of the same place. In politics he is a republican and for diversion engages in fishing and hunting and has also enjoyed auto trips from coast to coast. Mr. Hanson is a man of keen foresight and executive ability and has many friends in the town where he makes his home.
