Leffert Lefferts Buck

Leffert L. Buck

Source: Cutter, William Richard, A.M., ed. Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York, Vol. III. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1910.

St. Lawrence Plaindealer July 9, 1868

St. Lawrence Plaindealer May 17 1877

St. Lawrence Plaindealer May 16, 1883

Ogdensburg Journal 1904

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Genealogy: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/c/h/Carolyn-J-Schneider/GENE9-0013.html

and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hubbard/NNY_index/buck.html

Leffert was born Feb 5, 1837 - died 1909, (Evergreen Cemetery, Canton NY Leffert L Buck, Civil Engineer, Captain Co A 60th NY Vol In; 1837-1909 (Section B) )one of 9 children - Father Lemuel Buck, mother Elizabeth Baldridge - married in Madrid in 1822. He married later in life, his wife was Mira Rebecca Gould. He is Interred at Evergreen Cemetery, Canton, N.Y.

LEMUEL⁹ BUCK (ISAAC⁸, ISAAC⁷, JOSEPH⁶, JONATHAN⁵, EZEKIEL⁴, EMANUEL³, WILLIAM², JAMES¹) was born October 09, 1792 in Addison, NY, and died August 26, 1869 in Canton, NY. He married ELIZABETH BALDRIDGE 1822 in Madrid, NY.

Children of LEMUEL BUCK and ELIZABETH BALDRIDGE are:

	10		EDWIN BUCK.
			ADELAIDE OLIVE BUCK, m. FREDERICK HUMPHREY.
			DE AZRO BUCK.
			HARRIET RICHARDS BUCK.
			ELIZABETH PALMER BUCK.
			EUGENIA CHARLOTTE BUCK.
			CORDELIA VICTORIA BUCK, b. January 19, 1829, Canton, NY; m. GEORGE K. ROBINSON.
			CORNELIA ANGELICA BUCK, b. January 19, 1829, Canton, NY; m. CHARLES FREDERICK BRAINARD; b. Of Washington D.C..
			LEFFERT LEFFERTS BUCK, b. February 05, 1837, Canton, NY; d. July 17, 1909, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

His father was Lemuel Buck (War 1812), Sherriff of SLC in 1832. They moved to Buck Street by the Circus Grounds from Buck's Bridge by Madrid and Morley when Leffert was a boy. Isaac Buck - 1806, AG Buck, Owen Buck) He was early a student of the Canton academy which his father founded, and later served an apprenticeship under Alva C. Sawyer in a machine shop. His relatives buried at the cemetery in Buck's Bridge: http://stlawrencecountycemeteries.org/Potsdam/buckbrstonecensus.htm

Canton 1850 Census (listed next to Ebenezer Miner) pg 19: Lemuel Buck (age 57?) farmer Vt, Cordelia 21, Harriet 15, Leffert 13, Elisabeth 11, Eugenia (age 1 0r 7?), Ellen McCarter 26,Ireland, John Barry 21, Sawyer, John Jebo? 19, Laborer, Canada

Leffert was the grandson of a bridge builder. Isaac, Lemuel's father, was born May 23, 1763, in New Milford, Ct., . During the Revolutionary was he was listed as living in Pittsford Vt. He later settled at Addison, Vermont. Isaac was a soldier under Ethan Allen, and participated in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775. He married Sarah Hall, and their children were: Orren, Lemuel (Leffert's father), Mina and Ezra. He moved to Potsdam around 1803-04 and built a bridge across the Grass river, where the hamlet of Buck's Bridge grew up. In 1809 he built a saw mill and about the same time opened a store. He became an extensive landholder. Isaac retired in Canton, where he died Oct. 27, 1841.

Leffert’s grandfather Isaac Buck and grandmother was Sarah Hall. He may have been married twice because I also have records of him marrying Elizabeth Waters. Isaac was born in 1735 in New Millford, Ct. He moved to Pittsford, Vt. around 1770. He is listed on the Ethan Allen list of Green Mountain Boys as living in Pittsford. Isaac was a Revolutionary War soldier under Ethan Allen and participated in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. By 1790 he is on the Addison, Vermont Census. Isaac, along with AG Buck and Orren Buck and other family members, settled in Bucks Bridge in 1806.

Here Isaac would build a bridge across the Grass River giving the hamlet the name Buck’s Bridge. When the first town meeting of Potsdam was held in 1807, Isaac was elected as one of the Overseers of Highways according to “A History of St. Lawrence & Franklin Counties by Franklin Benjamin Hough. In 1809 he built a saw mill on the Grasse River, operated a store and built a potash factory.

Leffert was in the first class at St Lawrence University but left before he was finished to join William Bingham Goodrich's 60th New York Infantry. Goodrich was killed at the first battle at the first battle at Antietam. To fully appreciate his service in the Civil War I will provide links to Civil War web sites & some photos that will give you a better appreciation of where Leffert Buck served the Union at the following battles:

Antietam (Sharpsburg), Md - where Buck was wounded - shot in both thighs. He fought with the New York 60th Infantry.

http://www.usa-civil-war.com/Sharpsburg/sharpsburg.html

Photos of Antietam:

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/v?ammem/cwar:0126-0156:T8

See William B Goodrich for Photos & Maps of the New York 60th at Antietam, Col Goodrich was killed during this battle.

Chancellorsville, Va. (Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania)

http://www.usa-civil-war.com/Chancellorsville/chancellor.html

Order of Battle:

3rd Brigade BG George S. Greene See picture Below	60th New York: Ltc John C. O. Redington (enlisted at Ogdensburg, NY) 78th New York: Maj Henry R. Stagg, Cpt William H. Randall 102nd New York: Col James C. Lane 137th New York: Col David Ireland 149th New York: Maj Abel G. Cook, Cpt Oliver T. May, Ltc Koert S. Van Voorhis

Gettysburg, Pa.

http://www.civilwarhome.com/gettysbu.htm

Write up on the 60th NY at Gettysburg: http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/60thInf/60thInfHistSketch.htm

Photos of Gettysburg:

http://www.civil-war.net/searchphotos.asp?searchphotos=Gettysburg,%20PA

and

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/v?ammem/cwar:0185-0209:T11

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Battered trees

Culps Hill - Battered Trees - Gettysburg - Union Right Flank

View of Culp's Hill from East Cemetery Hill

Photo of 'Gettysburg - 3rd Day, Culps Hill...', 1863

The Union defenses on Culps Hill were unsuccessfully attacked by Johnston's Confederate Division early on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. One of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, over 50,000 men were killed or wounded during three days of fighting.

From: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10436055

From Wikipedia - Order of Battle:

John White Geary in the Civil War -
BG - 2nd Division

Third Brigade (1,424)

Brig. Gen. GEORGE S. GREENE

60th New York, Col. Abel Godard (273)(from Richville, NY)
78th New York, Lieut. Col. Herbert von Hammerstein (198)
102d New York, Col. James C. Lane, Capt. Lewis R. Stegman (230)
137th New York, Col. David Ireland (423)
149th New York, Col. Henry A. Barnum, Lieut. Col. Charles B. Randall (297)

General George Sears Greene
(Reported to John W Geary)

Greene at Antietam, Chancellorsville & Gettysburg: http://www.rocemabra.com/~roger/tagg/generals/general34.html

Greene at Culp's Hill, Gettysburg:

http://www.137thny.com/greene_on_culp.htm

"George Sears Greene (May 6, 1801 – January 28, 1899) was a civil engineer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He was part of the Greene family of Rhode Island, which had a distinguished military record for the United States. His greatest contribution during the war was his defense of the Union right flank at Culp's Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg.

As a civilian, he was a founder of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects and was responsible for numerous railroads and aqueduct construction projects in the northeastern United States. Greene built railroads in six states and designed municipal sewage and water systems for Washington, D.C., Detroit, and several other cities. In New York City, he designed the Croton Aqueduct reservoir in Central Park and the enlarged High Bridge over the Harlem River. " Note that Leffert Buck also worked on the Croton Aqueduct.

Croton Reservoir (where NY Public Library now stands, 42nd st, Manhattan)

Croton Reservoir, 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, about 1900

Croton Reservoir, 5th Avenue and 42nd St.

Ogdensburg Advance 1913:

Ringgold Gap, Ga (Chattanooga Campaign):
http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/northwest/ringold_area.html

Union artillery battery at drill in Ringgold Georgia.

Battery At Drill

Taken less than a year after the battle, this photograph shows the site of the fighting, with the town of Ringgold in the background

More Ringgold Photos:

http://www.civil-war.net/searchphotos.asp

Resaca, Ga. where Leffert Buck was wounded a second time

http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/northwest/resaca_area.html

Battle of Resaca - May 13 - 15 1864

Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.

http://www.mindspring.com/~robertcjones/khs/kennesaw19.htm

Union Entrenchments near Kenesaw Mt - 1864

Peachtree Creek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Peachtree_Creek

Wooden Headstones - Peachtree Creek - Battle July 20, 1864

Atlanta

Billard Saloon - Peachtree Street

Federal Soldiers & Guns

Gen. William T. Sherman, leaning on breach of gun, and staff at Federal Fort No. 7

Ruin of Hood's Ammunition Train & Schofield Rolling Mill

More Atlanta Civil War Pictures: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/v?ammem/cwar:0688-0709:T19

Lookout Mountain, Tn:

http://www.usa-civil-war.com/West/Lookout_mtn/lookout_mtn.html

History of St. Lawrence County, NY, Philadelphia - LH Everts - 1878 - Durant, Samuel W - pg 479 "(5 killed, 32 wounded), and captured General Walthall's sword, his battle flag, 2 pieces of artillery and about 200 prisoners."

Order of Battle -Chattanooga Campaign - Under Grant:

12th Army Corp:

John W Geary - BG - 2nd Division

Col. David Ireland - Third Brigade

60th New York, Col. Abel Godard. (from Richville, NY)
78th New York, Lieut. Col. Herbert von Hammerstein.
102d New York, Col. James C. Lane.
137th New York, Capt. Milo B. Eldredge.
149th New York:
Col. Henry A. Barnum,
Lieut. Col. Charles B. Randall.

General Grant and Staff - Lookout Mountain, Chatanooga, Tn

Grant Above Bottom Left

Confederate generals held Lookout Mountain, outside the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, following the Union defeat at the battle of Chickamauga Creek, September 19-20, 1863. Union troops continued to occupy Chattanooga, but were surrounded. General Grant sent forces under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman and Fighting Joe Hooker to attack the Confederate army, and Hooker's soldiers seized the summit of Lookout Mountain on November 24, 1863.

Harper's Weekly - Thomas Nast - "Fighting Among the Clouds"

Lulu Falls

Lulu Falls - Lookout Mountain - Chattanooga, Tn

Ogdensburg Advance 1896:

Leffert Buck participated in Sherman’s march through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, being mustered out with the rank of Captain and Brevet Major in July 1865 after nearly four years service.

He received a B.S. degree from SLU "nunc pro tunc" (i.e. retroactively) 1863, and an M.S. 1885 from St. Lawrence. He entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute after being mustered out in July of 1865, graduating in 1868 with a C.E. degree.

Below are links that describe his career as a bridge builder and engineer, pictures of some of his bridges, and articles from various newspapers during his life.

1870 Census:

Leffert Buck, 32, Civil Engineer lived with the family of John Ames, Inspector Customs, 19th Ward, Brooklyn

Links:

RPI Hall of Fame Link:

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/NewsComm/sub/fame/inductees/leffertbuck.html

Genealogy & Biography:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hubbard/NNY_index/buck.html

Rootsweb:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=hom42&id=I43274

and

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3105898&id=I605122388

Williamsburg Bridge links - more photos:

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/BRI/BRI003-WilliamsburgBridge.htm

and

http://www.davefrieder.com/html/will1.htm

Leffert Lefferts Buck

Williamsburg Bridge

Williamsburg Bridge Under Construction 1901

Williamsburg Bridge

New York Times 1895:

New York Times 1896:

Canton Commercial Advertiser 1900:

New York Times Obituary 1909:

Verrugas Viaduct Peru - complete in 1873

1855 Niagara Suspension Bridge - first Niagara bridge built by John A. Roebling - replaced by Buck's bridge below -Niagara Falls, New York, USA and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (Niagara River)

Buck's Suspension Bridge 1886 - 1896

Falls View Bridge Collapse

Falls View Bridge Collapse due to ice - January 27, 1938

Niagara Steel Arch Bridge - Honeymoon Bridge - Falls View Bridge

Niagara Falls - Falls View Bridge Disaster:

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/aschaeff/falls/falls.html

St. Lawrence Plaindealer Feb 1, 1938:

Bridging Queens and Manhattan - 59th Street Bridge or Queensborough Bridge

In the late 1800s, businessmen across the City began thinking about constructing a bridge that would connect Queens to Manhattan, encouraging economic development and travel between boroughs. After several failed plans, Gustave Linderthal, Leffert Buck and Henry Hornbostel created a design for a twin cantilever bridge that would be used by trains to take people across the East River. '

Construction began on July 19, 1901, and during construction it was decided that the bridge should be used for cars. The Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street bridge, opened to traffic on March 30, 1909 and connected Long Island City with lower Manhattan. Construction of the bridge cost $20 million and 50 lives – a portion of the unfinished bridge collapsed in a storm, killing several workers.

Buck also designed the Driving Park Avenue Bridge (Seneca Park Bridge) and the Platt Street Bridge in Rochester, NY:

http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/text/Driving_Park_Bridge.html

New York Times 1909:

Brooklyn Eagle - Aug 3, 1895:

Canton Commercial Advertiser:

Potsdam St. Lawrence Herald 1900

Potsdam St. Lawrence Herald 1902

Ogdensburg Advance 1938:

New York Times - 1988:

Repair the Williamsburg

Published: May 7, 1988

LEAD: To the Editor:

To the Editor:

The Cincinnati, Niagara and Brooklyn bridges, all designed by John Roebling, revealed a weakness in suspended spans that Leffert Lefferts Buck sought to correct when he planned the Williamsburg Bridge.

Suspension bridges are susceptible to the heavy concentrated loads presented by railroad traffic. As the structural failures in the Manhattan Bridge have demonstrated, Buck drew on experience when he placed the subway tracks in the center of his span. Furthermore, he encased the free-water section in an enormous box truss that is far more massive than even Roebling provided for his Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling claimed that if the suspenders failed, his bridge would ''sag but never sink.'' Buck took the idea one step further. He purposely did not suspend the side spans, but rather anchored them to trusses. Such a construction greatly reinforces the suspension.

As a consequence of the early suspension bridge failures, the Williamsburg Bridge was designed to be (and is) the strongest suspension span in the world, and unlike virtually every other structure of cable-hung design, can endure the rigors of heavy rail mass transit continuously.

Before this bridge is replaced at great cost with cable-stayed or conventional suspended designs, the city and state engineers would do well to evaluate what we already have in a neglected and corroded but essentially very sound structure that remedial work can render serviceable for another 100 years. DAVID WUCHINICH New York, April 16, 1988 The writer is an electrical engineer.

Canton Plaindealer:

Note: According the the Canton Plaindealer, DJ Baxter owned this foundry before the Dishaw Brothers. The Baxters were from Brasher, NY. I am not sure who owned the Foundry when Leffert Buck worked there. According to the Plaindealer, Stillman Foote, Nathaniel Hodskin and his son Barzillai and David Jones all operated foundries in the early and mid 1800s.

Canton Commercial Advertiser 1950: