The Kellogg family is buried in Glenwood Cemetery and is descended from Daniel Kellogg, who was born November 5, 1774, in Sheffield, Massachusetts. He settled in Champlain, New York, in 1800 and became a farmer. Daniel married Polly (Mary) Kellogg, daughter of Elijah Kellogg, on April 20, 1797, in Shoreham, Vermont. Elijah Kellogg was noted in the Vermont Gazette as being among the first three men into Fort Ticonderoga during its capture, following Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. Polly was born on October 11, 1776, and died on April 11, 1851, in Champlain. Daniel Kellogg died on April 27, 1848, in Champlain. Their children included Lorenzo, Daniel, Pamela (died young), Sylvester, Pamela (second of the name), Mary, Eli C., Jane M., and Daniel Alonzo.
Lorenzo Kellogg, the eldest child of Daniel and Polly Kellogg, was born September 8, 1798, in Shoreham, Vermont, and was an infant when his family moved to Champlain. He became a farmer and lived there until his death on July 5, 1882. A staunch member and deacon of the Presbyterian church, Lorenzo enlisted in the army at the age of fourteen and fought in the War of 1812, for which he later received a pension. Lorenzo married twice. His first wife, Sarah P. Moore, daughter of Asa Moore, was born in August 1805. Together, they had four children: Sarah Rebecca, Olinda Clementine, Norman, and Augustine Moore. After Sarah's death, Lorenzo married Roxana Burdick, who was born September 18, 1800, in Chazy, New York, and died September 12, 1881, in Champlain. They had five children: Henry Martin, Brainard, Sylvester Alonzo, Theodore Burdick, and Cyrus Hudson.
Sylvester Alonzo Kellogg, the son of Lorenzo and Roxana Burdick Kellogg, was born May 15, 1838, in Champlain. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, practicing in Plattsburgh, New York. In 1860, he moved to what was then the Utah Territory (later Nevada), where he began his legal career. In 1864, he was elected one of the first state senators of Nevada, serving as a leader of the Republicans in the Senate. During his time in Nevada, he also became involved in mining ventures. Sylvester made two trips to the West—first via the Isthmus of Panama and later overland from Chicago by stage. In 1866, he returned to his native Champlain, where he continued his law practice. He was elected District Attorney for Clinton County in 1876, served as County Judge from 1882 to 1891, and was elected Justice of the New York State Supreme Court in 1891. He was later appointed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Part Four.
In addition to his legal career, Sylvester was one of Champlain’s early venture capitalists. He partnered with his brother-in-law, James Averill Jr., to invest in an ironworks factory and boatbuilding yard. The ironworks later became Sheridan Iron Works in 1887, which operated for 100 years and employed thousands of workers.
Sylvester married Susan Elizabeth Averill on September 5, 1866, in Champlain. Susan, born June 26, 1847, in Plattsburgh, was the daughter of James and Julia Jeannette (Evans) Averill. She was a descendant of Zephaniah Platt, the founder of Plattsburgh. Susan died on August 12, 1899, at Kellogg’s Island in Keeler’s Bay, Vermont. The couple had four children: Ralph Averill, who became a lawyer and practiced in Buffalo, New York; Henry Theodore; George Casper; and Augusta, who married William Bowditch Rogers of Boston, Massachusetts.
In the late 1800s, Sylvester purchased an island off South Hero, Vermont, which became known as Cro’nest Island or Kellogg Island. He used it as a summer retreat, and it remained in the family for nearly 100 years. Notably, Augusta married on the island in 1896.
Sylvester left a significant mark on the Champlain area, including his inscription of an epitaph about the dead on a stone tablet at the entrance to Glenwood Cemetery, likely written by an unknown author of his era. He passed away on February 18, 1903, leaving behind a legacy as a lawyer, judge, entrepreneur, and community leader.
Credit: Google Books. Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation, Volume 1. William Richard Cutter, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910. Page 141.