HORACE HAWKS was born in the town of Hawley, Franklin county, Mass., November 19th, 
1795.  His parents, ZADOCK and RHODA (PARKER) HAWKS, were natives also of 
Massachusetts. The former was born September 15th, 1770, and died January 30th, 1863; 
the latter was born January 1st, 1775, and died in 1824. They were married January 1st, 
1795, and had eleven children born to them, namely: HORACE, born as above; ARUNAH, 
born January 22d, 1797, died young; EMILY, born November 22d, 1798, died in 1879; LEVI 
P., born April 6th, 1801, died in infancy; OLIVE and ORRA, (twins,) born June 4th, 1802, 
both now dead; a daughter born [no date]; ZADOCK, born August 8th, 1805, died in October, 
1865; CONSIDER P., born October 16th, 1807, died in February, 1839; JEREMIAH L., born 
April 21st, 1810; and ISRAEL C., born, March 6th, 1816, still living. 
 HORACE lived at home and attend the district school until he was ten years old; he never 
attended school after that age.  He then went to the town of Deerfield, Franklin county, 
Mass., to live with his uncle, and learned the trade of tanner and currier, and followed that 
occupation until he came to Georgetown in 1814.  The entire distance from Massachusetts 
was made on foot.  He followed various occupations here for about a year, and then went 
back to Massachusetts and remained another year.  He then came back to Georgetown in 
company with his parents.  They settled on Lot 58, and lived there until they died, -the father 
aged ninety-four years, and the mother forty-nine years.  HORACE lived on the old home farm 
until he died, December 6th, 1876, and the same is now owned and occupied by his son 
Austin. 
 In 1820, HORACE married HANNAH, daughter of GIDEON BORDWELL, of the town of 
Shelburne, Franklin county, Mass. She was born March 12th, 1799.  By her he had nine 
children, namely: GIDEON BORDWELL, born February 26th, 1821, died September 17th, 
1823; a son, died in infancy; POLLY, born February 24th, 1823, died May 22d, 1872; JOHN 
Q., born March 31st, 1825, married PALMYRA C. NILES, August 31st, 1848; RHODA, born 
January 26th, 1827, married BENJAMIN FLETCHER, of Georgetown, in 1847; ELI, born 
January 15th, 1829, married first, FLORA DOUGLASS, and for his second wife, ELIZABETH 
PORTER, both of Wisconsin, where he is now residing in Dodge county; a daughter, born 
January 24th, 1831, died in infancy; AUSTIN, born January 30th, 1833, married SUSAN S. 
WADSWORTH, January 3d, 1855, she died May 1st, 1855, -his second wife, ARVILLA A. 
AMSBRY, he married June 1st, 1859; and SALLY B., born January 19th, 1835, married JOHN 
FLETCHER, in January 1857, and is now residing in Lake City, Minnesota. 
 Six years after the death of his first wife, Mr. HAWKS married Miss TRYPHENA BORDWELL, 
a cousin of the former.  By her he had no children. 
 Mr. HAWKS is remembered by the people of Georgetown as one of the most prominent and 
useful citizens of the town during a long and busy life.  He was chosen by them to fill some of 
its most important and responsible offices, and served the town in all these places with a fidelity 
and honesty of purpose that won for him the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens of all 
parties. 
 In the second year of his residence in Georgetown, he was elected to the office of Constable 
and Collector, which was the start in his long and honorable career.  He was elected Justice of 
the Peace, and held that office about twenty years.  He was also elected Supervisor of his town, 
and held that office a number of years.  In 1840, he was appointed Enumerator in taking the 
United States Census that year.  In 1844, he was elected to the Legislature, and took his seat in 
the following year.  He was appointed Appraiser of lands taken by the Syracuse & Utica Railroad, 
now the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.  He was also elected President of the Eaton 
and Georgetown Plank Road Company, and held that office until he died; and during the twenty-e
ight years he held the office he never missed the annual meetings of the Company but twice.  In 
1870, he was appointed by Judge KENNEDY to the office of Railroad Commissioner.  In his early 
years he took up the study of surveying, and during the first year of his residence here he engaged 
in all parts of the surrounding country making surveys of lands. 
 In politics, Mr. HAWKS was a staunch Democrat, frank and fearless in advocating the measures 
and principles of his party. He possessed strong common sense and uncommon sagacity in 
business affairs.  He was a good neighbor, and kind friend, an affectionate husband, and loving 
father.  In religious sentiment he was a Congregationalist, and united with that Church in George-
town in 1831.  He helped to build the Church in that village, and was Trustee and Clerk of the 
Society several years, and was liberal of his means in aid of the same.  He was a member of the 
American Bible Society more than forty years and until he died, and made all of his children life 
members of the same. 
 
From "History of Chenango and Madison Counties, NY" starting on page 586.
Transcribed by Sandy Goodspeed