admin SAMUEL PRATT, JR., eldest son of Capt. Samuel Pratt, invites comparison with his father by his high ideals of citizenship, his military service and business pursuits and his close identification with the material welfare and. the mental and moral interests of Buffalo.
Samuel Pratt, Jr., was born at Hartford, Conn., in 1787. Early in life he went to Westminster, Vt., where he engaged in commerce, and when his parents removed to Buffalo he did not accompany the family, being at that time occupied in mercantile pursuits at Townsend, Vt. In August, 1807, he came to Buffalo with his wife and child, where with his father he engaged in business. However, the son soon retired from commerce that he might be able more satisfactorily to discharge his duties as Sheriff of Niagara County, to which office he was appointed in 1810. Later he formed a partnership with Elijah Leech, his brother-in-law, the firm name being Pratt & Leech.
Upon the outbreak of the War of 1812, Mr. Pratt joined the army and was appointed Adjutant to Gen. Porter. December 13, 1813, when Buffalo was attacked by the British and Indians, Adjutant Pratt removed his family to a place of safety and then went to assist so far as possible in the defense of the town. At the risk of their lives he and Judge Wilson extinguished the fires which had been lighted by the savage foe in many buildings, but only to see them rekindled. Mr. Pratt’s watch in the neighborhood of the village lasted for several days and nights, and some exciting incidents of that perilous time have come down to us. One night during the season of burning and pillage, as Mr. Pratt was going to his mother’s farm on horseback, with a Mr. Tredwell, he caught sight of two Indians skulking behind trees. Mr. Pratt shouted to his companion to run for his life, but before he could obey the Indians fired and Tredwell fell dead. Before the savage marksmen could reload Mr. Pratt made his escape.
In 1806, Samuel Pratt, Jr., married Sophia Fletcher, daughter of Gen. Samuel Fletcher, who was one of the most distinguished of the early residents of Vermont, a veteran of the French and Indian War and the War of the Revolution. He fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, in 1777 marched to the relief of Ticonderoga, participated in the battle of Bennington, and continued to serve in the army till the defeat of Burgoyne. From Orderly Sergeant he rose to the rank of Major General, also serving in many civil offices. The children of Samuel Pratt, Jr., were Samuel Fletcher, born May 27, 1807; Lucius Hubbard, born January 6, 1809; Sophia Charlotte, born January 1, 1811, and Pascal Paoli, born September 15, 1819.
The death of Samuel Pratt, Jr., occurred in Buffalo in 1822. Mrs. Pratt died March 19, 1862.
Samuel Pratt, Jr., was a man of rather delicate appearance, and polished address. He was of a retiring disposition, yet had abundance of the spirit of enterprise. He was greatly esteemed for his integrity, and was a man of marked benevolence and public spirit.
SOURCE: Memorial and Family History of Erie County New York; Volume I