I am always looking for more information. THe following is from my blog at: http://congdonfamilies.blogspot.com/2009/03/rev-lafayette-co...

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LaFayette5 Congdon (Phineas4 - Thomas3 - John2 - Joseph1)

Father: Congdon, Phineas Spring
Mother: Thatcher, Julia Ette

I have not even scratched the surface on LaFayette so far. I have over a hundred source-citations for him that will take me awhile to fully vet. The short of it is described well in this obituary from the Batavia Daily (2/23/1927 p.1):

FORMER SEMINARY PRESIDENT IS DEAD AT THE AGE Of 81

The Rev. La Fayette Congdon, D.D., Ph. D., Suffered Uremic Poisoning

CLERGYMAN MANY YEARS.

Served Eleven Methodist Episcopal Pastorates Between 1867 and 1903.

The Rev. La Fayette Congdon, D.D., Ph.D., formerly president of Genesee Wesleyan SEMINARY at Lima, died at 7 o’clock last evening at the hoe of his daughter, Mrs. Charles B. Peck, No. 31 Ellicott avenue, with whom he had made his home for the past two years. He had been in failing health for several years and was confined to his bed for the past three weeks. Death was due to uremic poisoning.
Dr. Congdon was well known throughout Western New York and had served in 11 pastorates in the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church. He retired from active life in 1914 and had resided in Batavia since that time.
Dr. Congdon was born at Ellington, Chautauqua county, on October 21, 1845, being the only child of the late Phineas T. and Julia Thatcher Congdon. He prepared for college at the East avenue, collegiate institute in Rochester and at the age of 14 years passed his entrance examinations for the University of Rochester. Because of his age he was not permitted to enter the university for two years, during which he taught district schools.

Served in the Civil War.
At the end of his sophomore year in the University of Rochester, Dr. Congdon enlisted in the Union army. He served through the last year of the Civil war, being sent for a few weeks to a clerkship at an Elmira prison camp where 2,000 Confederate prisoners were held. He was then transferred to Sheridan’s troopers, 21st New York cavalry.
At the close of the war Dr. Congdon went to Cincinnati, O., where he taught for a year in a public school. The next year he attended Genesee Wesleyan college, which later became Syracuse university and was moved to that city. He was graduated with the class of 1867 and received his Ph.D. degree. He later received an honorary D.D. degree from Syracuse university. He joined the Genesee conference immediately after his graduation and was called to his first pastorate at Pittsford.
On September 20, 1871, Dr. Congdon married Miss Frances Kingsley, daughter of the late Daniel Kingsley
of Pittsford. He went to the Pittsford church in the fall of 1867. In the following years he served at Walworth, Geneseo, Lima, Newark, Geneseo, Wolcott, Towanda, Pa., University avenue in Syracuse, Penn Yan, the First church of Bradford, Pa., and in Batavia. He came to Batavia in 1900 and was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church here until 1903, when he was elected to the presidency of the Lima seminary. He held that position for 11 years and retired in 1914. He had done little active work since his retirement. Three times he was a delegate to the general conference, in 1900, 1904 and 1908. he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa honor society, the Grand Army of the Republic and the Sons of the American Revolution.

Two sons in the Orient.
Besides his wife and his daughter, Mrs. Peck, Dr. Congdon leaves four sons, Fayette K. Congdon of Northampton, Mass., Dr. Randolph T. Congdon of Potsdam, Dr. Edgar D. Congdon of Bangkok, Siam, and Wray H. Congdon of Tientsin, China, and eight grandchildren, four in this country and four in the Orient.
Funeral services for Dr. Congdon will be held from No. 81 Ellicott avenue Friday afternoon at 2 o’clock with the Rev. J.H. Olmsted of Niagara Falls officiating, assisted by the Rev. E.P. Hubbell, D.D., of Rochester and the Rev. Ernest W. Collings of Batavia. The bearers will be men who were closely associated with Dr. Congdon at Lima seminary. The body will be placed in the Elmwood cemetery vault and burial will be made later at Pittsford. Flowers are gratefully declined.

Individual Facts:

Name: Congdon, LaFayette [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Title: Rev.
Sex: Male
Birth: 21 Oct 1845 in Ellington, Chautauqua, New York, USA [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11]
Census: 1850 in Marion, Wayne, New York, USA [4]
Occupation: 1859 in Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA; taught in district schools [10]
Education: 1860 in Rochester, Monroe, New York, USA; Univ. of Rochester (interupted, civil war) [10]
Census: 1860 in Springwater, Livingston, New York, USA [3]
Military Service: 31 Aug 1864; Entered Service (21st NY Cavalry, Sheridan's Command) [10]
Military Service: 31 May 1865; Mustered out
Occupation: 1866 in Cincinnati, Madison, Ohio, USA; Taught at the city schools for one year [10]
Graduation: 1867 in Genesee, New York, USA; Genesee Wesleyan College, A.B.(became Syracuse University) [10]
Census: 1870 in Pittsford, Monroe, New York, USA; first pastorship [1, 10]
Occupation: 1871 in Walworth, Wayne, New York, USA; Reverend [12, 13]
Census: 1880 in Newark, Wayne, New York, USA [5]
Graduation: 1883 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Syracuse University, PHD
Graduation: 1885 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Syracuse University, Honorary DD
Fact 1: 06 Dec 1886 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Gave lecture on Rome and the Vatican at the Brown Memorial church [18]
Residence: Aug 1890 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; term of pastorshipending within a few weeks [19]
Census: 1900 in Hornellsville, Steuben, New York, USA [6]
Destination: 1900 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA; Member of the General Conference ME in Chicago
Occupation: Bet. 1902–1903 in Niagara, New York, USA; Presiding Elder of the Niagara District Methodist Episcopal Church
Destination: 1904 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Member of the General Conference ME in Los Angeles
Occupation: Bet. 1904–1914 in Lima, Livingston, New York, USA; President of Genesee Wesleyan SEMINARY [10, 14, 15, 16, 17]
Property: 12 Jul 1912 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York, USA; Transfered (sold?) "Durston Tract" to Augustus Doyle [20]
Census: 1920 in Batavia, Genesee, New York, USA; 30 Park Avenue [2, 11]
Residence: Bet. 1925–1927 in Batavia, Genesee, New York, USA; home of daughter Edna Emily Congdon Peck (31 Ellicott Ave.) [10]
Death: 22 Feb 1927 in Batavia, Genesee, New York, USA; Died from Uremic Poisoning [10, 21]
Burial: Aft. 23 Feb 1927 in Pittsford, Monroe, New York, USA; Pittsford Cemetery, Lot 151 [10, 21]

Shared Facts:

Kingsley, Frances Anna
Marriage: 20 Sep 1871 in Pittsford, Monroe, New York, USA [8, 10]

Children:

1 Congdon, Fayette Kingsley (b. 1872, Walworth NY, m. Mildred A. Ingraham, Superintendent of Public Schools in Northampton MA)
2 Congdon, Daniel Edgar (b. 1874, Geneseo NY, died at 1 year old)
3 Congdon, Edna Emily (b. 1875, Lima NY, educated at Syracuse, m. Charles B. Peck)
4 Congdon, Randolph Thatcher (b. 1877, Newark NY, educated at Harvard and Syracuse, m. Marion Diefendorf, Vice Principal and Principal of Schools in Potsdam NY)
5 Congdon, Edgar Davidson (b. 1879, Walworth NY, educated Syracuse, Harvard, and Vienna, m. Edith Dana Jones, Professor at Stanford, in China and Thailand, and then Long Island College of Medicine)
6 Congdon, Wesley Benton (b. 1880, Newark NY, died at 1 year old)
7 Congdon, Clarice (b. 1887, Syracuse NY, died at 1 year old)
8 Congdon, Wray Hollowell (b. 1892, Bradford PA, educated Syracuse, m. Anna Mae Stuart, Missionary in China and Dean of Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA)