VERITY, Oliver

OLIVER B. VERITY
Our friend and brother Oliver B. Verity was born Schaghticoke, Rennsselaer Co., NY January 8th 1815, he departed this life November 9th 1889 which makes his earth life 77 years. He was first born of nine children; he received the principal part of his education in the county where he was born in the common school which he traveled from 2 to 3 miles daily to attend.
In 1830 he, with his parents, moved to Cayuga County, NY, in 1831 they moved to Lysander, Onondago N.Y. where in the fall of 1835 he entered the school room as teacher and taught during winter term until 1842. On the 28th of February 1838 he was married to Celoma Scofield of Connecticut then residing in Onondago Co., N.Y., happily have they always lived through clouds and sunshine. To them were born six children, four of them having passed on many years since. In 1843 our brother with his wife and 2 children left their homes in the East and came to what is now Fulton County, arriving in Gorham Twps., May 2 and has been a citizen of this county ever since.
He taught school winters until 1858; the first spring after he came here he was elected township clerk of Gorham Township and was successively elected to same office 9 years. He was chosen District assessor and made the assessments in 1853. In 1836 he was chosen School Examiner for Gorham and served until 1852, when he was chosen County School Examiner and served eight years.
In 1856 he was elected Justice of the Peace for Gorham Township; in 1857 he was elected Probate Judge which office he filled until 1870 a period of 12 years. In 1870 he was chosen assistant Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, to tale the census, he was elected Justice of the Peace for Dover Township in 1870 and served until 1876, in April 1874 he was selected as superintendent of the Fulton County infirmary and remained there until March 1, 1880. In 1880 he was again elected Justice of the Peace for Dover Township.
During the War he was on of the Military Committee of this county, he was secretary of the Agricultural Society of Fulton County for 12 years to him are we indebted for many pages of useful history which has taken months and years to compile.
For many years he has been an active member of the Masonic Fraternity and patrons of Husbandry and ?.
And now his active pen lies useless, at the table the chair is empty, his work in Manual form is ended. In the enterprising Days of Modern Spiritualism he became interested and a thorough investigation convinced him of the truthfulness of its teachings , it became an absolute knowledge with him, with him he verily believed that he would enter a higher plane of life and a grander field for the display of his intellectual and spiritual culture.