See other formats

Full text of "Genealogical and family history of southern New York and the Hudson River Valley; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the building of a nation;"

Gc 

V.2 
1136098 



fifeNEALOGY COLLECTION 



mmmn 

3 1833 01068 6597 




"d/Uer^ ^^'ff//o 



GENEALOGI CAL 

AND 

FAMILY HISTORY 

OF 

SOUTHER N NEW YORK 

AND THE 

HUDSON RIVER VALLEY 

A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a 
Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation 



COMPILED UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF 

CUYLER REYNOLDS 



Curator of The Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society, since 1898; Director of 

New York State History Exhibit at Jamestown Exhibition, 1907; Author of 

"Albany Chronicles," "Classified Quotations," etc., etc. 



VOL. II 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW^ YORK 

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

19 14 



1136098 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE 

In addition to Mr. Cuyler Reynolds, Supervising Editor, the publishers would 
express their obligations to the various estimable gentlemen who have rendered valu- 
able aid in the production of this work — Mr. William Ruchard Cutter, A. M., His- 
torian of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, of Woburn, Massachusetts; 
Mr. William A. Woodworth, A. B., LL.B., Law Librarian, of White Plains, New York; 
Mr. Edmund Piatt, Editor of the Daily Eagle, Poughkeepsie, New York; Mr. Joseph 
Van Cleft, of Newburg, New York, of the Newburg Bay and Highlands Historical 
Society ; Major John Waller, of Monticello, New York, Editor and Publisher of The 
Sullivan County Republican ; Miss Ida M. Blake, Editor of the Putnam County (New 
York) Republican; Mr. Benjamin M. Brink, of Kingston, New York, former Editor of 
The Leader, publisher of "Olde Ulster" ; Mr. Alonzo Bedell, of Haverstraw, New 
York : Rev. James H. Robinson, D.D., of Delhi, New York ; former Senator Clar- 
ence E. Bloodgood, A. B., of Catskill, New York; Mr. Willard Peck, A. M., LL.B., of 
Hudson, New York. 



OTHER GENEALOGICAL PUBLICATIONS BY THE LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING 
COMPANY : 

"New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial" ; "Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, Massa- 
chusetts," also similar separate works on Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Worcester County, and 
Middlesex County; "Genealogical and Family History of Connecticut"; "Genealogical and Family 
History of Maine"; "Genealogical and Family History of Vermont"; "Genealogical and Family History 
of Northern New York," also similar separate works on Southern New Y'ork, on Western New Y'ork, 
and on Central New York; "Genealogical and Family History of New Jersey," etc., etc. 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



507 



As previously shown, the 
VAN NAME name of Van Name is an 
old and honored one on 
Staten Island, and derives its origin from the 
locality whence came the founder of the family 
to America. The church records of Staten 
Island contain many references to David Van 
Name, and record several marriages, but none 
corresponding to that given in the family rec- 
ords of this branch of the family. There can 
.be no question, however, that it belongs to the 
old family of that name. 

(I) David Van Name, born 1799, on 
Staten Island, died there in 1879, at the age 
of eighty years. He was a builder and con- 
tractor, and operated exclusively on the 
Island. In early life he was a member of 
the Dutch Reformed church, but later affiliated 
with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. 
Politically he is described by his descendants 
as a Whig, and it is presumable that he acted 
with the Republican party, successor of the 
Whigs. He married (first) Catherine John- 
son, and (second) x\bigail Jane Conklin. 
Children of first marriage were: i. Mary, 
wife of William Cuddy, who had a son Her- 
bert Burton. 2. Cornelius, married Nettie 
Tuttle, and had a son Myers Ludington. 3. 
George Edgar, mentioned below. 4. John, 
died at the age of fourteen years. Children 
of second marriage were : 5. William Conk- 
lin. 6. John Frederick. 

(II) George Edgar, second son of David 
and Catherine (Johnson) Van Name, was 
born August 24, 1839. on Staten Island. He 
was a wholesale and retail dealer in oysters 
for many years at Hartford, Connecticut, and 
is now living there, retired. He enlisted in 
October, 1862, as a member of the One Hun- 
dred and Seventv-sixth Reg-iment New York 
Infantry, under Captain William B. Coe, and 
took part in several engagements, receiving 
his discharge in February, 1864, with the rank 
of corporal. He is now a member of Robert 
O. Tyler Post, Grand Army of the Republic, 
of Hartford, and of the Methodist Episcopal 
church of that city. Politically he has always 
sustained the Republican party. He married 
(first! September, T862, Antoinette Bray, 
born in 1844, in Brooklyn. He married (sec- 
ond! Francps McCune. Issue of first mar- 
riage: I. Frances, born 1864; married Dr. 
F. Taylor. 2. Antoinette, born 1866. died 



in infancy. 3. Frank, twin of Antoinette, 
born 1866, died in infancy. 4. George Edgar 
Jr., born July, 1868; married Emma Hewitt. 
5. Holley, born 1871, died in infancy. 6. 
Joseph Mason, mentioned below. Child of 
second marriage : 7. Frank, born February, 
1884, died in childhood. 

(Ill) Joseph Mason, son of George Edgar 
and Antoinette (Bray) Van Name, was born 
May 27, 1874, in Hartford, Connecticut. He 
was placed in a private school in Brooklyn, 
New York, at the age of six years, and two 
years later entered the public schools of Hart- 
ford, where he continued until fourteen years 
old. He was then apprenticed to George Den- 
nison, of Hartford, a builder, and continued 
five years, after which he entered the employ 
of Herman Mohl, a builder and contractor. 
He later formed a partnership with Peter Zyk- 
kie in the building business, which continued 
two years, and after this Mr. Van Name be- 
gan dealing in coal and building materials in 
the City of New York, and later organized the 
firm of Van Name & Company, which con- 
tinued the business five years After selling out 
his interest, he was appointed superintendent 
of construction for the American Tobacco 
Company. This position he resigned to become 
the general manager of the Church Construc- 
tion Company, of New York City, and con- 
tinued in that position six years. Many pri- 
vate and public buildings in and around New 
York City have been erected by this firm, as 
have also a number of Carnegie libraries in 
various portions of the state of New York. 
Under the recent appropriation of twelve mil- 
lion dollars by Congress for improvements at 
West Point, the firm were employed in the 
construction af new buildings at the Military 
Academy. After resigning, he again organized 
the firm of Van Name & Company, which 
engages exclusively in building construction, 
with offices at No. '80 Wall Street, New York 
City. 

Mr Van Name and family still retain mem- 
bership in the Methodist Episcopal church of 
Hartford. Connecticut, and he is a member of 
the American Society of Civil Engineers, and 
the Engineers Club, of New York. Thou.gh 
he has given little time to politics and has no 
desire for official station, he gives consistent 
support to the principles and policies of the 
Republican party. 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



He married, June 6, 1894, at the Dutch Re- 
formed church, in Brooklyn, New York, Net- 
tie AmeHa Hansbrough, born January 22, 
1873, in Woodside, Long Island, daughter of 
Charles Hansbrough. The last named was 
born June 3, 1845, in Manchester, England. 
As a boy he came to America, and served as 
a soldier in the latter part of the civil war. 
Later he became a painter and decorator. He 
married, October 21, 1871, in Red Bank, New 
Jersey, Anne Eliza White, born October 6, 
1849, in Red Bank, daughter of Robert White, 
a native of Birmingham, England, and Mary 
(Coles) W^hite, born at Wadesden, in Buck- 
inghamshire, England. Mr. White emigrated 
to America and settled in Red Bank, New 
Jersey, where he had the following children: 
George, died October 8, 1851 : Harriet Jane, 
wife of Jacob Antonias, of Red Bank; Sarah 
Elizabeth, married (first) George McQueen, 
(second) Thomas Swannell; Mary Hannah, 
married (first) Jeflferson Hillier, (second) 
Oscar Leith ; John R., married Catherine 
Way; Anne Eliza, wife of Joseph M. Van 
Name; William Henry and Lucy Ann, twins, 
the former died October 16, and the latter, 
October 31, 1857; Henrietta, wife of William 
Conklin Van Name. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph 
M. Van Name had a daughter, Edna, born 
May 17, 1896, died in infancy. 



A branch of the Goelet family 
GOELET being Protestants, to avoid per- 
secution, removed from Ro- 
chelle in France in the year 1621 and settled in 
Amsterdam where they remained until 1676, 
and Francis Goelet, the youngest son of the 
family, having lost his wife, with an only child. 
Jacobus Goelet, a boy about ten years of age, 
came to New York. He left his son in the 
care of Mr. Frederick PhilHpse, a merchant 
of New York, and sailed for Amsterdam with 
the intention of returning with his effects, but 
as he was never afterwards heard of, it was 
supposed that he was lost at sea, after which 
Jacobus Goelet married Jannetie, daughter of 
Mr. Coesaar, likewise a Rochelle refugee fam- 
ily, and had six children: i. Jacobus, the 
eldest, married Miss Buller and had children. 
2. James, who died at about twenty years of 
^S^- 3- Jannetie, who married Mr. John 
Dies. They had several children. This family 
moved from New York and settled at Kaats 



Kill. 4. Francis, was a surgeon on an Eng- 
lish man-of-war and was lost in the river 
St. Lawrence in the expedition against Can- 
ada, under Sir Hovenden Walker, a. d. 171 i. 
5. John, married Jannetie Cannon, of a 
Protestant refugee family from France (from 
whom Peter Goelet is descended) and had 
several children : Raphael, married Miss 
Pelse and died without issue. Phillip, married 
Miss Buller, had one son and two daughters. 
The son died in St. Eustatia at about thirty . 
years of age and was not married. Jannetie, 
married Alderman Abraham P. Lott and had 
no children. The other daughter, Catherine, 
married Peter Cartenius and had several 
children. 6. Effe, married Mr. Burger and 
had children. 

It is related, that about 1710, Jacobus Goelet 
went to Amsterdam and was directed by his 
father had built, and that he would know the 
and informed him in what part of the city 
they had lived and also a house his grand- 
father had built, and that he would know the 
house by the family arms being cut in stone 
on the front of it, and to inquire for the 
Spoorinburgh family into which one of his 
father's aunts had married. He found the 
house, it being a very large building and being 
informed where the Spoorinburgh family re- 
sided, he called upon them and found them 
far advanced in life. They had two daugh- 
ters married, and were a wealthy family, 
and one of the Goelets was captain of an 
Indiaman. They were all in the mer- 
cantile business and in the India trade. He 
found that the family in Amsterdam had 
never heard of the family in New York 
since the latter first left Holland, suppos- 
ing them to be lost at sea, there being at 
that time but one American vessel in Dutch 
trade and she very irregular in her voyages, 
sometimes making one in each year, some- 
times one in two years and sometimes one 
voyage in three years. Jacobus Goelet died 
on the 20th of August, 1731, at sixty-six years 
of age, and was buried in the Old Dutch 
Church, about the middle of the left aisle in 
the church when entered from the street, 
called Garden Street. 

John Goelet, the third son of Jacobus Goe- 
let by Jannetie Coesaar, his wife, born Feb- 
ruary I, 1694, married Jannetie Cannon, 
daughter of John Cannon by Mary Le Grand, 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



509 



his wife, descended from a refugee family of 
Rochelle in France, and died July 13, 1753, 
age fifty-nine years. Had thirteen children, 
several of them dying quite young. 

Peter Goelet, the fifth child, was born Janu- 
ary 5, 1727, died October 11, 181 1, age eighty- 
four years. He was married on April 27, 
1755, to Elizabeth Ratsey and had children: 
Alice, Jannetie, John, Peter P., Elizabeth 
On December 6, 1770, Peter Goelet was mar- 
ried to Mary Ludlow, daughter of Henry Lud- 
low Esq., of New York, and had issue: Mary, 
born June 17, 1773, died January 31, 1774, 
age eight months. On October 26, 1775, Peter 
Goelet was married to Elizabeth Farmer, the 
daughter of Thomas and Sarah Farmer, who, 
having inherited the estate of Bentley in 
Staten Island, assumed the name of Billop, 
the old proprietor. They had issue, five chil- 
dren: Sarah, Thomas Billop, Mary, Cather- 
ine, Christopher Billop. February i, 1792', 
Peter Goelet was married to Rachael Farmer, 
the daughter of the aforesaid Thomas and 
Sarah Billop ; had no issue. 

Peter P. Goelet, the son of Peter Goelet by 
Elizabeth Ratsey, was born on August 18, 
1764, and was christened on Friday morning, 
August 24, in Trinity Church by the Rev. Mr. 
Auchmuty. In the Year of Our Lord 1799, 
on the 9th day of May, Peter P. Goelet was 
married to Almy Buchanan, the daughter of 
Thomas Buchanan by Almy Townsend, his 
wife, at the house of Thomas Buchanan in 
Wall Street. They had issue: i. Peter, 
born June 22, 1800, died November 21, 1879. 
2. Jean Buchanan, born February 7, 1802. 3. 
Francis, born March 2, 1804, died July, 1804, 
and was buried in the Goelet family vault in 
Trinity churchyard. 4. Hannah Green, 
born January 19, 1806, at the house of Peter 
Goelet in Water Street, was married, June 30, 
1830, to Thomas R. Gerry, son of Elbridge 
Gerry and Ann Gerry. 5. Francis (2), born 
January 12, 1808, died January 16, 1809, 
buried in Trinity churchyard. 6. Robert, 
born September 19, 1809. Married Sarah 
Ogden, the daughter of the late Jonathan 
Ogden, October 16, 1839 Married by the 
Rev Berrian, rector of Trinity Church ; died 
September 22, 1879. Buried in the Marble 
cemetery. New York City, Second Avenue. 
They had issue : Robert, born September 29, 
1841. Helen, borfi March 8, 1843, died 



March 15, 1844. Ogden, born June 11, 1846. 

Robert Goelet was married to Harriette 
Louise Warren, (the daughter of George 
Henry Warren and Mary Phoenix), by the 
Rev. Dr. Tucker, at No. 520 Fifth Avenue, 
the 17th day of April, 1879. Died April 27, 
1889, at Naples, Italy, on his steam yacht 
"Nahma." Buried in the Goelet family vault 
at Woodlawn. They had issue: i. Robert 
Walton, born March 19, 1880, at 279 Madison 
Avenue. 2. Beatrice, born December 11, 
1885, died February 11, 1902, and interred in 
the Goelet vault in Woodlawn cemetery. 

Ogden Goelet was married to Mary R. Wil- 
son, the daughter of Richard Thornton Wil- 
son. He died August 27, 1897, on board his 
steam yacht "Mayflower" at Cowes, England, 
and was interred in the Goelet family vault 
in Woodlawn cemetery. They had issue: i. 
Mary Wilson, born October 6, 1878. Married, 
November 10, 1903, to Henry John Innes- 
Kerr, eighth Duke of Roxburghe. 2. Robert 
Goelet, born January 9, 1880. Married to 
Elsie Whelen, daughter of Henry Whelen Jr., 
on June 14, 1904, at Wayne, Pennsylvania. 
They had issue: Ogden, born January 17, 
1907, and Peter, born June 8, 191 1. 



It is now a pretty well estab- 
BEEKMAN lished fact that the families 

in New Jersey bearing the 
name of Beekman are descended from two 
distinct sources, one of which is Willem 
Beeckman (Beekman), of New York, who 
emigrated to New Amsterdam in 1647, and 
the other Maarten Beeckman, of Albany, who 
is the progenitor of the branch of the family 
at present under consideration. 

(I) Maarten Beeckman emigrated to New 
Netherland in 1638, and settled in Albany, 
where he plied his trade of blacksmith, and 
died before June 21, 1677. He married Su- 
sanna Jans, and had at least three children: 
Johannes; Hendrick, referred to below; 
Metie. 

(II) Hendrick, son of Maarten and Su- 
sanna (Jans) Beeckman, lived for a number 
of years at Schodack, near Albany, and 
November 13, 1710, purchased from Octavo 
Coenraats, merchant of New York, two hun- 
dred and fifty acres of land on the Raritap 
river in Somerset county, New Jersey, it 
being a part of the tract bought by Coenraats 



5IO 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



from Peter Sonmans, who in turn had pur- 
chased it from the proprietors of East Jersey. 
The deed for this land has never been re- 
corded, and is now in possession of Mrs. 
Elizabeth (Beekman) Vredenburgh, who still 
owns a portion of the land described, which 
she inherited from her father, Benjamin 
Beekman, and her mother, Cornelia Beekman. 
He married Annetje, daughter of Peter 
Quackenbush and among his children was 
Marten, referred to below. 

(III) Marten Beekman, son of Hendrick 
Beeckman, was born in 1685, died October 27, 
1757. The descendants of his three sons are 
very numerous in New York, Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, and elsewhere. 
He married, June 21, 1734, Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Neeltje fBloetjoet) Wald- 
ron. and granddaughter of Resolved Waldron, 
of Harlem, who was sheriff of New York City 
under Governor Peter Stuyvesant. She was 
born in 1700 and died November 27, 1760. 
Children : Elizabeth, Hendrick, Samuel, 
Annatie and Johannes. 

(IV) Johannes (John"), youngest child of 
Marten and Elizabeth (Waldron) Beekman, 
was born November 5. 1741. in .Somerset 
county. New Jersey, where he died March 17, 
1789 He married, July 30. 1769. Arriantje 
Tunison, born October 12, 1753, died Janu- 
ary 31, 1835. They were the parents of four 
children. 

(V) Cornelius, son of John and Arriantie 
(Tunisonl Beekman. was born January 28, 
1772, in Somerville, New Jersey, and died 
July 5, 1850. He married, in 1702, Rebecca 
Sharp, born January 2. 1772, died February 
27, 1844, aged seventy-two years. They had 
three sons and two daughters. 

(VI) Beniamin. son of Cornelius and Re- 
becca C Sharp) Beekman. was born Aoril 27, 
1804, in Si^merville, and died at Dundee New 
York, Aoril 8, 1879. ^^ married, at Plain- 
field, New Tersev. March 21, 1827. Lvdia 
Comnton. born there March 3. i8o5, died in 
Dundee. New York. October 2. i8qt, daugh- 
ter of Toshua and Catherine (Co«ad) Comn- 
ton. He resided in Somerville. New Tersev, 
and New York Citv. and removed to Dimdee 
after T820. Children: i. Corneliiis C, 
born Januarv 27, T828, in New York, now 
resides at Jacksonville, Oregfon ; married, at 
Jacksonville, Julia E. Hoffman. 2. Abram. 



mentioned below. 3. John, born March 9, 
1832, at Dundee; married (first) Elizabeth 
Disbrow, (second) Helena Ackerson, and 
died at Bath. 4. Lydia Ann, May 30, 1834, 
died in Dundee in 1910; married there in 
1853, Marcus T. Seely. 5. Thomas De Witt. 
August 22, 1841, now resides at Dundee, New 
York : married, in 1863, Isadore Fowler, of 
Elmira, New York. 6 and 7. Cyrus and 
Augustus, twins, born August 25, 1844, i" 
Dundee. The former died there in 185 1, and 
the latter when four days old. 

(VII) Abram, second son of Benjamin 
and Lydia (Compton) Beekman, was bom 
December 26, 1829, in New York City, died 
at Bath, Steuben county, New York, May 10, 
1907. He married, October 30, 1861, Sarah 
McKay Fowler, of Bath, born there Novem- 
ber 21, 1843, died there September 27, 1905, 
daughter of John W. and Helen D. (Clement) 
Fowler, who were married November 12, 
1823. Children: i. Lydia, born June 28, 
1863, married George H. Parker, of Bath. 2. 
George N., born September 17, 1865, in Bath, 
now resides there; married there, in 1891, 
Julia E. Averell. 3. John Fowler, mentioned 
below. 4. Edgar, mentioned below. 5. Cor- 
nelius C, mentioned below. 

(A'lII) John Fowler, second son of 
Abram and Sarah M. (Fowler) Beekman, 
was born February 18, 1869, in Bath, where 
he is now living engaged in the manufacturing 
business. He is a Presbyterian in religious 
faith, and a Republican in politics. He re- 
ceived his education in Bath and for a short 
time resided in New York City, returning to 
his native place in 1912. He married, in New 
York City, May 22, i88g, Caroline A. Young, 
daughter of William H. and Polly (Brund- 
age) Young. 

(VIID Edgar, third son of Abram and 
Sarah M. (Fowler) Beekman, was born 
March iq, 1872, at Bath, and now resides at 
Bronxville, New York. He was educated at 
the Haverling Union School in his native 
place and became an expert in corporation 
taxation. He is a Presbyterian in religious 
faith, a Republican in politics, a member of 
the Aero Club of .A.merica, the RTasonic Club, 
and the Bronxville Athletic Association. He 
married, at Jersey Citv, New Jersey, Decem- 
ber 21, 1893, May Hastings Leonard, bom 
August 23, 1869, in Troy, Pennsylvania, 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



5" 



daughter of Solyman and Elizabeth (Hast- 
ings) Leonard. They have one son, Abram 
Leonard, born August 21, 1895, at Forest Hill, 
New Jersey. 

(VHI) Cornelius C, youngest child of 
Abram and Sarah M. (Fowler) Beekman, 
was born August 17, 1880, at Bath, where 
he grew up, receiving his primary education 
at the Haverling High School of his native 
town. He subsequently entered Columbia 
Law School of New York City and is now 
engaged in the practice of law in New York, 
with residence in Brooklyn. He is a Presby- 
terian in religion, and a Republican in his 
political views. He married, in Brooklyn, 
November 8, 191 1, Josephine Estelle Egan, 
born November 9, 1882, in Syracuse, New 
York, daughter of the late William G. Egan 
and Josephine M. Egan, now Mrs. H. R. H. 
Nicholas, of Brooklyn, New York. 



This surname in the old 
WORTENDYKE records is also found in 

the forms of Woorten- 
dyck, Woertendky and Weortendijck. The 
bearers of the name have a common ancestry 
with those who bear the name Somerindyke, 
the other forms of which, found in the old 
records, are: Somerindyck, Somerindyk, 
Somerindick, Somerindicke and Somerindijck. 
The immigrant ancestor, Cornelius Jacobsen, 
is found at an early date bearing the sobriquet 
of Stille (or The Silent), which may have 
been no true surname, but merely an appella- 
tion given to him to denote one of his charac- 
teristics. Cornelius Jacobsen came to this 
country with his brother John, and it has been 
said that the descendants of Cornelius adopted 
the surname of Wortendyke, while the de- 
scendants of John assumed that of Somerin- 
dyke. Cornelius, however, had a large family 
of children, and the descendants of some of 
the sons took the surname Wortendyke, and 
the descendants of the others took that of 
Somerindyke. What were the motives gov- 
erning the choice are not now quite clear. 

(I) Cornelius Jacobsen, alias Stille, the 
immigrant ancestor of the Wortendyke familv. 
came to this country from Amsterdam. Hol- 
land, with his brother, John, in 1639. Shortly 
after their arrival they are said by one author- 
ity to have assumed the name of Somerin- 
dyke, which in the case of Cornelius was sub- 



sequently changed to Wortendyke. Besides 
the sobriquet of Stille, Cornelius also appears 
to have been known as "Van Vreelandt," in- 
dicating from what part of Holland he had 
come. One authority states that Cornelius, 
and perhaps also John, his brother, was in 
New Amsterdam as early as 1631, and re- 
sided at the head of what is now Chatham 
Square. The records indicate that after re- 
maining a short time in New Amsterdam 
(later New York) he bought and located on 
a plantation at Bushwick, Long Island. From 
there he removed to what is now the Williams- 
burg district of Brooklyn. In 1664 he took 
the oath of allegiance to the British govern- 
ment, at which time he was residing on a farm 
of a hundred acres in what was formerly the 
Greenwich district of New York City. He 
married (first) August 24, 1692, Classic 
Teunis; (second) July 28, 1675, Trynte Wait- 
ings Van Winkle, of Amsterdam, Holland, 
Among his children was Jacob, mentioned 
below. 

(II) Jacob, son of Cornelius Jacobsen, 
surnamed Stille, also Van Vreelandt, also 
Somerindyke, and also Wortendyke. and his 
wife, Trynte Wallings Van Winkle, was born 
in New Amsterdam (later New York) in 
1644. Very little concerning the details of 
his career is given in the records, but he prob- 
ably died at a not very advanced age, for his 
children numbered only four. He married, 
March 11, 1671, Aeltje Fredericks, an estim- 
able Brazilian lady. Children : Jacob, Nicho- 
las, Frederick Jacobsen, mentioned below; 
Cornelius. 

(III) Frederick Jacobsen, son of Jacob 
and Aeltje (Fredericks) Wortendyke, was 
born on Manhattan Island, probably about 
1679. He spent his boyhood on his father's 
farm, and seems to have taken advantage of 
the educational facilities then offered. In 
course of time he located on the upper west 
side of Manhattan Island. Concerning him 
it is said by one authority that he and his 
descendants permanently adopted the surname 
of Wortendyke, which had been somewhat 
loosely applied up to that time, while the 
descendants of his brother retained the name 
of Somerindyke, which had till that time alter 
nated with Wortendyke as the family cogno- 
men. The old Somerindyke mansion hoii=e. 
built of stone, stood a few years ago on the 



512 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Bloomingdale road near the west of Seventy- 
fifth Street. About 1722 Frederick removed 
to Bergen county, New Jersey, where he pur- 
chased several tracts of land, the principal 
one of which was nearly five hundred acres 
in area at what is now Park Ridge, formerly 
Pascack. On this tract, lying on both sides 
of Pascack Brook, he built his residence and 
two or more mills. He was founder of the 
Pascack settlement, and left a large landed 
estate. After his death his will became the 
subject of judicial construction in an eject- 
ment suit reported in 7 New Jersey Law Re- 
ports, page 363. He married Divertie Rynear- 
sen Quackenbush. Children : Aeltie, Reynier, 
mentioned below ; Elizabeth, Frederick F., 
Classic. 

(IV) Reynier, eldest son of Frederick 
Jacobsen and Divertie Rynearsen (Quacken- 
bush) Wortendyke, was born in New York, 
and baptized March 14, 1714. His mother 
was the granddaughter of Peter Quackenbush, 
of Oostergeest, Holland. With his brother, 
Frederick F., he obtained part of the home- 
stead farm at Pascack. Reynier was a man of 
considerable varied ability, not content with 
the scope that agricultural interests alone 
offered. He was a successful farmer and 
brought his property to a high state of devel- 
opment. But a good deal of his time was also 
occupied in running a mill and in other avo- 
cations leading him into the industrial and 
commercial field. He married (first) Decem- 
ber 10, 1746, Jannetje Peters Durie. He mar- 
ried (second) March 2, 1752, Jannetje Smith. 
His original will was made February 24, 1799, 
and to this he added a codicil, February 6, 
1799. By this will be bequeaths to his eldest 
son, Frederick, his old Dutch Bible, which 
was to continue in descent to the eldest son. 
This will indicates possession of a large 
amount of real estate and personal property 
Probably not all of his children were living 
at that time, as several are not mentioned in 
the will. To each of the living sons he gave 
valuable lands, and provided for liberal lega- 
cies in cash to his daughter and to the children 
of a deceased daughter. Children : Frederick, 
Peter, Jannetje, Cornelius, died young; Diver- 
tie, Cornelius, Reynier, Jenny, married Fred- 
erick Wortendyke ; John, Jacob, mentioned be- 
low ; Mary, Albert, Aeltje, married John De- 
baun. 



(V) Jacob, son of Reynier and Jannetje 
Peters (Durie) Wortendyke, was born May 
5, 1763, at Pascack, died December 18, 1858. 
From his father he received the land on which 
he was then living in the town of Harring- 
ton, Bergen county, containing fifty acres, and 
three other parcels amounting to eleven acres, 
including three acres of fresh meadow at Tap- 
pan. Besides this he was to receive one-fourth 
of his father's right in the swamp known as 
Bear Gat, lying in the town of Harrington, 
and in consideration of this inheritance he 
was to pay thirty pounds cash to one of his 
sisters. He continued in the cultivation of 
his lands at Pascack, and by his skillful op- 
eration and development his estate became 
very valuable. He married Elizabeth Camp- 
bell, born October 10, 1773, at Pascack, Park 
Ridge, New Jersey, and died March 20, 1862. 
Children : Luthische, Reynier, mentioned be- 
low; Elizabeth. 

(VI) Reynier (2), son of Jacob and Eliza- 
beth (Campbell) Wortendyke, was born De- 
cember, 1792, at Chestnut Ridge, Bergen 
county. New Jersey, died December 3, 1884. 
He was a farmer, and owned several hundred 
acres of land in Chestnut Ridge, where he 
died. He was a Democrat in politics, and a 
member of the Dutch Reformed church. He 
took considerable interest in public afifairs, as 
also in the welfare of his party, and he held 
several local offices in the gift of the town. 
He was a man of considerable ability, and 
much respected throughout his long life. To 
the property that come to him by inheritance 
he added considerably, and greatly developed 
it along various lines. He sought always to 
use the most approved methods in farming, 
and his main farm was one of the model ones 
of the country. He owned a considerable 
amount of live stock as well. He married 
Cornelia Haring. She died August 12, 1891. 
Children : Jacob Reynier, mentioned below ; 
Peter Reynier, Garrett, Elizabeth, who mar- 
ried Peter Merseles Holdrom. 

(VII) Jacob Reynier, son of Reynier (2) 
and Cornelia (Haring) Wortendyke, was 
born at Chestnut Ridge, Bergen county. New 
Jersey, November 18, 1818, died in Jersey 
City. November 2, 1868. He was graduated 
from Rutgers College in 1839, after which he 
read law in the office and became a partner of 
Chancellor A. O. Zabriskie. After his ad- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



513 



mission to the bar he attained great success in 
the practice of his profession and held numer- 
ous official positions in Hudson county. He 
organized the Jersey City water board and 
served as a member of the riparian commis- 
sion. In 1857 he was elected to congress from 
the Hudson district and served two terms in 
that body. In 1868 he was a delegate to the 
Democratic National Convention. His posi- 
tion as a prominent lawyer of New Jersey 
made him well known, and he was held in the 
highest esteem by his colleagues and friends. 
In religion he was affiliated with the Dutch 
Reformed church. He was always a staunch 
Democrat in active public life and remained 
such until his death. He married Susan Jane 
Doremus, born August 18, 1826, in Pompton 
Plains, New Jersey, died August 25, 1910. 
Children : Nicholas Doremus, married Mary 
Elizabeth Quick ; Cornelia Elizabeth, married 
William Perry Watson, M.D. ; Reynier Jacob, 
mentioned below; Jacob, died in 1867; Jacob 
Reynier, married Anna Traphagan. 

(VIII) Reynier Jacob, son of Jacob Rey- 
nier and Susan Jane (Doremus) Wortendyke, 
was born August 24, i860, in Jersey City, New 
Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers College 
in 1882, with degree of Bachelor of Arts. He 
was admitted to the bar of the State of New 
Jersey in the June term of 1885, and has since 
been engaged in the general practice of law 
in Jersey City, becoming a member of the law 
firm of Carrick & Wortendyke, in May, 1890, 
with offices at No. 15 Exchange Place, Jersey 
City, New Jersey. Mr. Wortendyke is a Dem- 
ocrat in politics, and is a member of the First 
Presbyterian Church of Jersey City. He mar- 
ried (first), at Newtonville, Massachusetts, 
October 17, 1893, Carolyn M. Cooley, born 
in Springfield, Massachusetts, October 27. 
1870, died September 22, 1900. He married 
(second) Carolina Laubach, born in Hamil- 
ton, Ohio ; the second marriage occurring at 
Hamilton, Ohio, October 17, 1906. Children 
by first wife : Reynier J., Jr. ; Howard Blakes- 
ley and Carolyn, 



The vast majority of people 
BOGARDUS bearing the name of Bogar- 

dus are descended from the 
Rev. Everardus Bogardus, the minister of the 
Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam, 
who came from Holland in 1633 with Gov- 



ernor Wouter Van Twiller. The church in 
which he preached stood at what is now No. 
33 Pearl Street, and his residence was at No. 
23 Whitehall Street. He married the widow 
of Roeloff Jansen, the famous Anneke Jans, 
and had children: Jonas, Willem, Cornelis, 
Peter. Several branches of the family were 
deeply involved in the well known contest 
between the heirs of Anneke Jans and Trinity 
Church. Anneke came to Rensselaerwyck in 
1630 with her husband, Roeloff Jansen, who 
acted as assistant bouwmeister for the patroon 
at a salary of one hundred and eighty guilders. 
Her marriage w^ith the Rev. Everardus Bogar- 
dus or Bogart or Bogard, took place in 1637. 
There were others of the name at that early 
time and their connection with the Rev. Ever- 
ardus is not very clear. Willem Bogardus, of 
New Amsterdam, in 1656 was appointed clerk 
in the secretary's office in New Amsterdam, 
and in 1687 postmaster of the province. This 
Willem Bogardus married and had eight chil- 
dren. Another Bogardus, Cornelis, married 
Helena Teller, daughter of Willem Teller, of 
Albany. He lived in Albany, where he died 
in 1666. leaving one son, Cornelis, who mar- 
ried Rachel De Wit, and died October 13, 
1707. Peter Bogardus, mariner, resided in 
Albany near the close of his life, and then he 
removed to Kingston where he died in 1703. 
In 1673 he was one of the magistrates of the 
town, and in 1690 was commissioned with 
others to treat with the Five Nations and to 
look after the defense of the town. He made 
his will February 3, 1701. His wife was 
Wyntie Cornelis (Bosch) Borgardus, daughter 
of Cornelis Teunise and Maritie Thomas 
(Mingael) Bosch, who afterwards married 
Jurriaen Janse Groenwout in 1664. Cornelis 
Bogardus was a schoolmaster in Albany in 
1700, and shortly after that year he removed 
with his wife, Rachel Tjerckse (De Wit) 
Bogardus. to Kingston, his wife's native place. 
He died October 13, 1707. Shibboleth Bogar- 
dus and Ann, his wife, lived in Albany. His 
house in 1720 and from that year to 1737 was 
on the north corner of James and Steuben 
Streets. They had nine children, most of 
whom grew up. 

In the annals of Albany at an early period 
we read also of other men of the name of 
Bogardus, Anthony Bogardus, Ephraim Bo- 
gardus, Petrus Bogardus, and others. The- 



514 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



name itself is found in the form of Bogard 
and Bogardus, as well as Bogart. The name 
is, however, distinct from that of Bogert, the 
bearers of which are in the main descended 
from Cornelis Jansen Bogaerdt, who came 
from Holland before 1661, and settled on a 
village lot at Flatbush, Long Island, which 
he shortly sold to Peter Jansen. In 1677 
Cornelis Jansen Bogaerdt was one of the pro- 
prietors of the Flatbush patent, and died at 
that place in 1684. The name of his wife 
who accompanied him from Holland is given 
as Geesie Williams, which indicates that her 
father's christian name was William. They 
had a number of children who settled at Hack- 
ensack, New Jersey. This name of Bogert 
is often found in various spellings resembling 
the variations of Bogardus, and there has been 
a certain amount of confusion in consequence. 
Of the name two distinct forms are widely in 
use at the present day, many employing both 
Bogert and Bogart. There were several im- 
migrants bearing the name among the early 
settlers of New Amsterdam and Long Island, 
and their descendants have scattered over a 
wide region, being especially numerous in 
northeastern New Jersey. 

The conspicuous Dutch traits of industry 
and thrift have been well perpetuated in both 
the Bogardus and Bogart families, who are 
connected in various ways. A great number 
of the members of various branches of the 
family have been engaged in agriculture and 
its allied interests and industries from the be- 
ginning. In later generations many bearing 
the Bogardus name have also been conspicuous 
in the ranks of the professions as well as in 
mercantile life. The family is a fine one, with 
a Dutch ancestry second to none, associated 
for all time with the development of the new 
world, in the founding of whom they bore 
■\ worthy part. 

(I) Stephen H. Bogardus, ancestor of the 
Bogardus family, was born probably near 
Poughkeepsie, New York. The facts relating 
to his life are meagre, but there can be very 
little doubt that he was a direct descendant 
of the Rev. Everardus Bogardus, the first set- 
tled Dutch minister of any religion in the 
New Netherlands. Investigation so far has 
not revealed the name of his wife or any of 
his children except one. He was engaged in 



the leather business, and died in the early 
eighties. 

(II) Stephen H. (2), son of Stephen H. 
( I ) Bogardus, was probably born in Pough- 
keepsie, New York, and died of yellow fever 
in the South. He received his education in 
the public schools, and enlisted as corporal 
in the New York Volunteers in the company 
known as the Duryea Zouaves. He was ad- 
jutant of Purneirs Legion of Maryland Vol- 
unteers, and was captain of the One Hundred 
and Ninety-second Regiment, New York 
Volunteers. He was also second lieutenant of 
the Fourth Infantry Regulars, United States 
Army, and was mustered out in Janu- 
ary, 1871, after he had been wounded. The 
principal items of his military history are set 
forth in "Heitman's Historical Register and 
Dictionary of the United States Army," 1789- 
1903. Captain Bogardus was a Republican in 
politics, and most of his life was spent at 
Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, New York. 
He married Ellen Mary, daughter of John 
James and Harriet (Willard) Haile, of Platts- 
burg. She was bom at Plattsburg, New 
York, March 19, 1849, and died at Green- 
wich, Connecticut, in January, 1903. Their 
only child was John Haile, mentioned below. 

(HI) John Haile, son of Stephen H. (2) 
and Ellen Mary (Haile) Bogardus, was born 
at Plattsburg. New York, January 29, 1870. 
He received his preliminary education at the 
Plattsburg Academy, New York, at the board- 
ing school at Westport, Connecticut, and at 
the boarding school at Hamden. Connecticut, 
near New Haven. He was also for some 
time at a boarding school at Cornwall-on-Hud- 
son. After leaving school he went into the 
hardware business with Russell & Erwin, who 
were hardware manufacturers, and he re- 
mained with that concern about one year. His 
health, however, was not very strong, and 
he decided that a change of occupation would 
be agreeable He thus came to teach school 
at Lakewood. New Jersey, his subjects being 
mathematics and English, and he continued 
at that occupation for a period of from two 
to three vears. From New Jersey he went 
to San Francisco, California, and there he 
engaged in teaching for about another year. 
At the end of that time he returned to New 
York, and took up the study of law in the 
office of Jay & Candler, at 48 Wall Street. 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



515 



He was admitted to the bar of New York in 
October, 1902, and has practiced in New 
York since that time. Mr. Bogardus enlisted 
in the Twenty-third Infantry, National 
Guard, New York, February 7, 1893, and was 
promoted corporal, sergeant, color sergeant, 
battalion sergeant major, battalion quarter- 
master and commissary, with rank of second 
lieutenant, and battalion adjutant, with rank 
of first lieutenant. In politics he is a Re- 
publican, and he is a member of the American 
Bar Association, New York County Lawyers' 
Association, Marine and Field Club, United 
Service Club, National Geographic Society, 
Military Service Institution and United States 
Infantry Association. 

He married, at Brooklyn, New York, Jan- 
uary 17, 1900, Lillian May, born in New York 
City, March 4, 1870, daughter of William 
Henry and Harriet E. (Wiggins) Stewart. 



The Sahler family is of Ger- 
SAHLER man origin and dates back to 
the tenth century when we find 
the record of Heinrich von der Sahle, who 
participated in one of the tournaments of that 
day. The family was noble as well as ancient 
and had its home in that part of the Rhen- 
ish Palatinate that is now in Hesse-Darm- 
stadt. The original name of the family was 
von Heppenheim, derived from their ancestral 
home, but in 1019 Werner von Heppenheim 
removed to Alzey on the Selz, near Mentz, 
and lived in the Saal or "Hall" there, whence 
he received the name Werner von Heppen- 
heim von dem Saale which later on became 
corrupted to von Sahler or Sahler. 

(I) Abraham Sahler, the founder of the 
family in America, emigrated about 1736 and 
settled on the banks of the Perkiomen river 
about twenty-five miles from Philadelphia and 
became a large landowner there. He married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac and Rachel (Du 
Bois) Du Bois, who was born at Perkiomen, 
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, Septem- 
ber 10, 1724 (see Du Bois V). Children: i. 
Isaac, married Eleanor Hartley, of York 
county, Pennsylvania. 2. Abraham (2), re- 
ferred to below. 3. Elizabeth, married Robert 
Patton,- 4. Rachel, married John Gross. 5. 
Catherine, married Christian Gross. 6. Dan- 
iel, born April 16, 1762, died February 20, 
1834; married, May 8, 1786, Elizabeth Van 



Wagenen. 7. John, born November 23, 1765; 
married Ann Barlow. 

(II) Abraham (2), son of Abraham (l) 
and Elizabeth (Du Bois) Sahler, was born at 
Perkiomen, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- 
vania, in September, 1738, died in the town 
of Rochester, Ulster county, New York, Jan- 
uary 14, 1800, and was buried in the Kyserike 
cemetery. He married first) Tryntje, daugh- 
ter of Solomon and Hannah (Bruyn) Van 
Wagenen, who was baptized at Kingston, 
New York, January 7, 1752. He married 
(second) Hester, daughter of Isaac and Maria 
(Bruyn) Hasbrouck, who was born January 
8, 1760 (see Hasbrouck in Index). Chil- 
dren (two by first marriage) : Abraham (3), 
referred to below ; Solomon, referred to be- 
low ; daughter, who married Louis Stilwell ; 
daughter, who married Simeon Du Bois ; 
daughter, who married Elias De Puy. 

(III) Abraham (3), son of Abraham (2) 
and Tryntje (Van Wagenen) Sahler, was born 
in the town of Rochester, Ulster county. New 
York, and died there. He married Nellie 
Hasbrouck. Children : Abraham Louis ; Jacob 
R. H., referred to below; James B. ; Ann 
Eliza. 

(IV) Jacob R. H., son of Abraham (3^ 
and Nellie (Hasbrouck) Sahler, married El- 
mira, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Sah- 
ler) van de Mark, and granddaughter of Dan- 
iel and Elizabeth (Van Wagenen) Sahler, 
referred to above. Children : Abraham J., 
Henry, James, referred to below; Isaac L., 
Daniel, Catherine J.. Elizabeth. 

(V) James, son of Jacob R. H. and Elmira 
(van de Mark) Sahler, married Sarah AUiger. 
Children: Jennie, referred to below; Eliza- 
beth, married Dr. N. A. Monroe, of Stone 
Ridge, Ulster county. New York; Irving, 
James B., Louis D., twin with James B., Har- 
ry, Olive Reid. 

(VI) Jennie, daughter of James and Sarah 
(Alliger) Sahler, married in 1880, Dr. Charles 
Oliver Sahler, son of Solomon and Caroline 
(Winfield) Sahler, referred to below. 

(Ill) Solomon, son of Abraham (2) and 
Tryntje (Van Wagenen) Sahler, was born 
in the town of Rochester, Ulster county. New 
York, November 14, 1775, died there Febru- 
ary 13, 1827. He was a landowner and slave- 
holder, a surveyor and supervisor of the town 
from 1819 to 1827. In 1816 he was appointed 



5i6 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



coroner by Governor Tompkins. He married 
(first) August 25, 1797, Nellie, daughter of 
John and Sophie (Burgess) Perrine, who was 
born June 6, 1777, died February 14, 1805. 
He married (second) Catherine Davis. Chil- 
dren (four by first marriage) : Tryantje Van 
Wagenen, married Andries Roosa; Daniel, 
died in infancy; Abraham, referred to below; 
John Perrine, born January 26, 1805, died 
June 27, 1866, married, February 3, 1830, 
Maria Hasbrouck; Isaac Du Bois, married 
Maria Schoonmaker ; Jacob, died unmarried ; 
Sarah Catherine, married Dr. George 
Chambers. 

(IV) Abraham (4), son of Solomon and 
Nellie (Perrine) Sahler, was born in the town 
of Rochester, Ulster county, New York, Oc- 
tober 14, 1802, died there in March, 1857. 
He inherited his father's homestead near Ky- 
serike and lived there until 1840 when he 
bought and removed to the Van Wagenen 
homestead in the same place. He was super- 
visor from 1839 to 1841 and from 1845 to 
1851. He was a veterinary surgeon and also 
captain of cavalry in the state militia. He 
married, January 3, 1822, Catherine, daughter 
of Judge Richard and Wyntje (Robinson) 
Davis, who was born February i, 1803. Chil- 
dren : Solomon, referred to below ; Isaac 
Robinson, married Kate Schoonmaker; Mary 
Ellen, married Lyman Terpenning. 

(V) Solomon (2), son of Abraham (4) 
and Catherine (Davis) Sahler, was born in 
the town of Rochester, Ulster county. New 
York, December 22, 1827. He inherited the 
Van Wagenen homestead at Kyserike. He 
married, February 24, 1852, Caroline, daughter 
of Casparus and Jane (Van Aken) Winfield, 
who was born February 20, 1832 (see Win- 
field). Children: Charles Oliver, referred to 
below ; Kate Jane, married Luther H., son of 
Abraham J. and grandson of Jacob R. H. and 
Elmira (van de Mark) Sahler, referred to 
above ; Mary Elizabeth, married Lawrence H. 
Swisher; Caspar, died in infancy; Jeannette. 
died in infancy. 

(VI) Dr. Charles Oliver Sahler, son of 
Solomon (2) and CaroHne (Winfield) Sahler, 
was born at the home of his maternal grand- 
father in the town of Esopus, Ulster county. 
New York, June 23, 1854, and is now living 
in Kingston, Ulster county. New York. He 
leceived his early education in the public 



schools, and also under the tutorship of John 
H. Van Wagenen, who was at one time princi- 
pal of the University of Northern Pennsyl- 
vania. He also took up the study of medi- 
cine and at the age of twenty years entered 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons (med- 
ical department of Columbia University), in 
New York City, from which he graduated in 
the class of 1878. He immediately commenced 
the active practice of his profession in Ky- 
serike, and remained there for thirteen years, 
at the end of which time he opened an office 
in Kingston. Early in his career he became 
interested in mental therapeutics, and for 
many years, even as a young physician and 
knowing nothing of the experiments that were 
then being made in Europe, he made use of 
it in his practice, often being himself aston- 
ished at the results that he obtained, and he 
was among the first of the regular practitioners 
in this country to recognize the power of the 
mind as a curative agency, and largely through 
his own experiments discovered that diseases 
could be overcome through the mind, that 
failed to respond to ordinary medical methods, 
and began using mental suggestion in his prac- 
tice with most gratifying results. This fact 
becoming known, his services were sought to 
such an extent that he finally abandoned his 
large lucrative medical and surgical practice 
and opened a sanitarium for the treatment of 
nervous, mental and functional disorders by 
the then almost unknown methods of psycho- 
theraphy. In 1893 he purchased the fine old 
estate of Marius Schoonmaker, in Kingston, 
and in 1898 founded there the first mental 
healing sanitarium in America. From the 
first the success of the undertaking was phe- 
nomenal, and it was but a short time before 
he was compelled to make extensive addi- 
tions to the building, and to erect others, be- 
sides taking in all the available cottages and 
extra rooms in the neighborhood; and in 191 1 
he erected a handsome, five story, stone struc- 
ture to accommodate the patients who came 
to him from all parts of the world. He is 
the author of the book "Psychic Life and 
Laws," is a contributor to several magazines, 
and for a time occupied the chair of Nervous 
Diseases and Suggestive Therapeutics of the 
post-graduate school of Eastern College and 
of the Psychological Medical Society at Phil- 
adelphia. He has been vice-president of the 




^^ 



The Lmis Publishing Cc. 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



517 



American Association of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, and is a member of the American 
Psychological Medical and Surgical Society, 
and of the Medico-Legal Society, and has 
lectured before the Phrenological Institute 
and Medical and Psychic Study societies of 
New York and New Jersey. He is a mem- 
ber of Kingston Lodge, Free and Accepted 
Masons ; Mount Horeb Chapter, and Rondout 
Commandery, Knights Templar. He married, 
in 1880, Jennie, daughter of James and Sarah 
(Alliger) Sahler, referred to above. Child 
(adopted) : Nellie, daughter of Simon Daven- 
port and Jennie (Sahler) Davenport. 

(The Du Bois Line.) 

The Du Bois family is one of the oldest of 
the noble houses of Cotentin, in the duchy 
of Normandy, the heraldic records in Paris 
beginning with Geofifroi du Bois, a knight 
banneret, and a companion of Duke William 
in the conquest of England in 1066. 

(I) Chretien Du Bois, the first member of 
the branch of the family under consideration 
of whom we have any definite information, 
was a Huguenot gentleman of the family of 
Du Bois, seigneurs de Beau-fermez et de 
Bourse, and owned an estate at Wicres, in La 
Bassee, near Lille, in French Flanders, now 
Artois. Among his children were : Louis, re- 
ferred to below ; Jacques, baptized June 18, 
1622, died in 1676, married April 25, 1663, 
Pieronne Bentyn, emigrated to Esopus, New 
York, in 1675; Albert, baptized November 13, 
1625 ; Francoise, married April 20, 1649, 
Pierre Biljouw ; Anne. 

(H) Louis, son of le sieur Chretien Du 
Bois, was born at Wicres, October 27, 1627, 
died in Kingston, New York, in June, 1696. 
He emigrated first to Mannheim, in the Pala- 
tinate, where he married and two of his sons 
were born ; April 27, 1660, came with his fam- 
ily in the ship "Gilded Otter" to New Nether- 
land. He and his father-in-law were granted 
by patent considerable tracts of land in Hur- 
ley where they both lived until their removal 
to New Paltz. June 7, 1663, his wife and 
three sons were captured with others by the 
Indians and held prisoners for three months, 
and the campaign to rescue them resulted in 
the purchase of the Walkill Valley, by the 
Huguenot settlers, from the Indians, which 
purchase was patented to them by Governor 
Edmund Andros, September 29, 1677. Here 



during the following spring they founded "Le 
nouveau Palatinat" or New Paltz. In 1686 
Louis Du Bois and his wife removed from 
New Paltz to Kingston. He married, in the 
French church in Mannheim, October 10, 
1665, Catherine, daughter of Mathew and 
Madeline (Jorisse) Blanchan, who died in 
Kingston, New York, in 1706. Children : 
Abraham, referred to below ; Isaac, born in 
1659, died June 28, 1690, married in June, 
1683, Maria Hasbrouck; Jacob, baptized Oc- 
tober 9, 1661, died in 1745, married, March 
8, 1689, Lysbeth Varnoye; Sarah, baptized 
September 14, 1664, married, December 12, 
1682, Joost Janz, of Marbletown ; David, bap- 
tized March 13, 1667, married, March 8, 1689, 
Cornelia Varnoye; Solomon, referred to be- 
low; Rebecca, baptized June 18, 1671, died 
yotmg; Ragel, baptized in April, 1675, died 
young; Louis, born in 1677, married, Janu- 
ary 19, 1701, Rachel, daughter of Abraham 
and Maria (Deyo) Hasbrouck; Martin, born 
January 3, 1679, married, January 17, 1697, 
Sara Matthyssen. 

(III) Abraham, son of Louis and Catherme 
(Blanchan) Du Bois, was born in Mannheim, 
Germany, December 26, 1657, died at New 
Paltz, Ulster county. New York, October 7, 
1 73 1. He married, March 6, 1681, Margaret, 
daughter of Christian Deyo. Children : Sara, 
baptized June 20, 1682, married, June 13, 1703, 
Roelof Eltinge; Abraham (2), born April 17, 
1685; Lea, born October 16, 1687, married 
Philip Fires or Ferre ; Rachel, referred to 
below ; Mary, twin with Rachel, baptized Oc- 
tober 13, 1689, died young; Catherine, born 
May 21, 1693, married, October 4, 1728, Wil- 
liam Danielsz; Noah, baptized February 18, 
1700, died young; Joel, baptized June 20, 1703, 
died in 1734. 

(IV) Rachel, daughter of Abraham and 
Margaret (Deyo) Du Bois, was baptized at 
New Paltz, Ulster county, New York, Oc- 
tober 13, 1689. She married (first) April 6, 
1713, Isaac, son of Solomon and Tryntje 
(Gerritson) Du Bois, referred to below, and 
married (second) Coats. 

(Ill) Solomon, son of Louis and Catherine 
(Blanchan) Du Bois, was born at Wiltwyck 
or Hurley, about 1670, died at New Paltz, 
Ulster county. New York, between June 26, 
1756, and February 15, 1759. He married 
about 1690, Tryntje Gerritsen, daughter of 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Gerrit Focken and Jacomyntje Sleght. Chil- 
dren: Isaac, referred to below; Jacomyntje, 
baptized November 5, 1693, married, April 
23, 1715, Barent, son of Isaac and Maria 
(Hasbrouck) Du Bois; Benjamin, baptized 
May 16, 1697, married Catrina Zuylant; 
Sarah, baptized February 11, 1700, married, 
November 17, 1720, Simon Jacobse Van 
Wagenen; Catryn, baptized October 18, 1702, 
died in infancy; Cornelis. died in 1798, mar- 
ried, April 7, 1 729. Anna Margaret Hooghtel- 
ing; Magdalena, baptized April 15, 1705, died 
young; Catherine, married December 9, 1722, 
Petrus Matheus Louw ; Deborah, died young ; 
Hendrikus, baptized December 31, 1710, mar- 
ried. May 6, 1733, Jannetje Hooghteling; 
Magdalena, baptized December 20, 1713, mar- 
ried. July 14, 1734, Josiah Eltinge. 

(lY) Isaac, son of Solomon and Tryntje 
(Gerritsen) Du Bois, was baptized at New 
Paltz, September 21, 1691, died at Perkiomen, 
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 
10, 1729. He married, April 6, 1713, Rachel, 
daughter of Abraham and Margaret (Deyo) 
Du Bois, referred to above. Children : Cath- 
erine, born February 13, 1715; Margaret, born 
about 1717; Sarah, born March 19, 1720; Re- 
becca, born August 14, 1722; Elizabeth, re- 
ferred to below. 

(V) Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac and Rachel 
(Du Bois) Du Bois, was born September 10, 
1724. She married Abraham Sahler, the em- 
igrant, referred to above. 

(The Winfield Line.) 

Caroline Winfield, mother of Charles Oliver 
Sahler, M.D., was born February 20, 1832, 
died March 2, 1896. She was married to 
Solomon Sahler, February 24, 1852. 

Casparus Winfield, grandfather of Charles 
Oliver Sahler, was born August 4, 1795, died 
January 15, 1879. His wife, Jane Van Aken, 
was born October 9, 1798, and died June 14, 
1842. She was the daughter of John Van 
Aken and Maria Degruff. Grandmother and 
grandfather Winfield were both from the town 
of Esopus, and buried in the Grand View 
cemetery, town of Esopus. 

John Winfield, great-grandfather of Charles 
Oliver Sahler. was born September 9, 1764, 
died February 5, 1853 ; and his wife, Jane 
Van Nostrand, was born March 12, 1770, died 
October 26, 1849. John Winfield was a soldier 
in the revolution. His gun is now in posses- 



sion of James M. Winfield, M.D., Brooklyn, 
New York. He also was made member of the 
Livingston Lodge, No. 23, December 18, 1799. 
There is a silver medal with name, date of 
initiation and with the dove and olive branch 
on one side, and on the reverse side all of the 
emblems of the Master Mason. This jewel 
was given to his son, Casparus Winfield, who 
was also a member of the same lodge, called 
Kingston No. 10. He, John Winfield, attended 
a banquet given by the city of Kingston to 
its veterans September 10, 1832 ; was over- 
seer for Hurley in 1781 ; assessor for Esopus 
in 181 1 ; trustee of the corporation of Kings- 
ton, 1813-14-15; school commissioner for 
Esopus, 1813-44. Jane Van Nostrand was a 
daughter of Casparus Van Nostrand. a 
soldier of the revolution, and Eva Freling- 
huysen ; and a granddaughter of Judge Van 
Nostrand and Annatie Steimets. Eva Frel- 
inghuysen was a daughter of the Rev. Johan- 
nes Frelinghuysen and Dinah Van Berr, and 
a sister of General Frederick Frelinghuysen. 
Their grandfather, the Rev. Jacobus Freling- 
huysen, was sent by the classes of Amster- 
dam to take charge of the Dutch Reformed 
Church in New Jersey in 1719. He married 
Eva Terhune. 

John Winfield, great-great-grandfather of 
Charles Oliver Sahler, was born March 8, 
1727, died January 9, 1798. His wife. Eliza- 
beth Smit, was born August 11, 1828. 

John Winfield, great-great-great-grand- 
father of Charles Oliver Sahler, was born 

September 6, . He was a soldier in the 

foot militia for the battle of Shawangunk, 
under Colonel Rutsert, in 171 5, Zara Kool, 
his wife, born November 16, 1694. and mar- 
ried in 1716, was the daughter of Simon Kool 
and Biliye Pieters ; granddaughter of Jacob 
Barent Kool, and Maria Simmons, and great- 
granddaughter of Barent Jacobset Kool and 
Marie Leenderts. 

Richard Winfield (Rutsert Wintveld), great- 
great-great-great-grandfather of Charles Ol- 
iver Sahler, was born in Derby, England, in 
1657. He also lived in Albany, New York. 
His wife, Magdalena Schutt, was a widow of 
Gerrit Decker, and daughter of William Jan- 
sen Schutt. Of the family of Winfield. says 
Camden, famous for their knighthood and 
ancient nobility, as stated of them before, 
seated at Wingfield, county of Suffolk, before 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



519 



the conquest of 1066. The castle of Wing- 
field is situated low, without any earthmarks 
for its defense. The ruined walls are still 
standing, the south front or principal entrance 
entire. The chequered fates and fortunes of 
its noble, but often turbulent inmates, ex- 
pressed this term, "Magnificence of feudal 
times." 



Of the many prominent fam- 
ERVING ilies in America none can claim 

a more honorable lineage. They 
trace their ancestry to the Celts, who at an 
early date settled on the east coast of Erin 
and the west hills and islands of Albyn. The 
word was originally written Erevine, meaning 
a stout, westland man, and is derived from 
the Celtic-Scythic words, Erin-vine, or fein, 
Erin meaning west, and the early name for 
Ireland, the westland, and vine or fein, a 
strong and resolute man. The name is vari- 
ously written : Erevine, Erwine, Ervine, Er- 
ving, de Irvin, Irvine and Irving. One of the 
first of the name was Crine Erevine, who was 
Abthaine of Dull and senechal and collector 
of "all the King's rent in the western isles." 
He married the Princess Beatrix, eldest daugh- 
ter of Malcolm II. Their son became Dun- 
can I. of Scotland. Descendants of Crine 
Erevine located in Bonshaw, where about I2q6 
Robert the Bruce found an asylum in the 
castle, when a fugitive from Edward Long- 
shanks. Here he was concealed for some 
time. Sir William Irvine (de Irvine), a son 
of the owner of the castle, became an ardent 
supporter of the cause of Robert the Bruce. 
He was appointed his squire and armor bearer 
and accompanied his royal master in his vari- 
ous wanderings. He shared in his many nar- 
row escapes and took part in his many excit- 
ing encounters and battles, culminating in the 
battle of Bannockburn in 1306, which resulted 
in victory for the heroic Bruce. In 1323 
Robert the Bruce awarded him for his ser- 
vices and fidelity in his support the forest of 
Drum in Aberdeenshire, originally the Royal 
forest, and one of the hunting seats of the 
Kings of Scotland ; also his coat-of-arms. 
which he wore during the time he was con- 
cealed in the Bonshaw castle. William Ir- 
vine was also knighted by Robert the Bruce, 
who gave him for his coat-of-arms : Three 
holly leaves branded together on a shield 



arant ; also his own motto, sub sole sub umbra 
virens. A direct descendant of Sir William 
Irvine located in the Orkneys, and from there 
descendants of the family went to Stromness, 
where John Irving, father of the progenitor 
of the family in America, was born. 

(I) John (2), son of John (i) Irving, born 
in the island of Shapinsha in the Orkneys, in 
1693, came to America about 1700 and located 
in Boston, where he made his home until his 
death, August 30, 1786. He was buried in 
the Granary cemetery on Tremont Street, after 
coming to this country he changed the spell- 
ing of his name from Irving to Erving. At 
an early age he began a mercantile business, 
in which avocation he gained distinction, be- 
coming one of the most prosperous and best 
known merchants in the colonies. He took 
an active interest in the civic and business 
affairs of Boston, serving for twenty years 
as a member of the council of Massachusetts, 
He also took a deep interest in the educational 
system of Boston. His portrait painted by 
Copley is now in the possession of his great- 
great-grandson, John Erving, of New York 
City. He was married in Boston, December 
I, 1725, to Abigail, daughter of John and 
Mary Philips. She died June 20, 1759, and 
was buried in King's Chapel, Boston. Chil- 
dren: I. John, mentioned below. 2. George, 
graduated from Har\'ard University in 1757; 
married (first) Lucy Winslow, (second) Mary 
Mcintosh Royall ; he died in London, Eng- 
land, January 16, 1806; his son, George Wil- 
liam, became American Consul at London and 
minister to Denmark and Spain. 3. Abigail, 
born May 16, 1729, died young. 4. Mary, 
married Governor Scott, of the island of St. 
Christopher. 5. Elizabeth, born September 14, 
1731, died May 5, 1803; married Governor 
James Bowdoin. 6. Abigail, born September 
17, 1733. 7. William, born September 8, 1734. 
died in Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts, May 
27, 1791 ; graduated from Harvard University 
in 1753: he served as major in the British 
army and took part in General Wolfe's cam- 
paign against Quebec; at the commencement 
of the revolutionary war he resigned from the 
army ; the British government, in recognition 
of his services, gave him a grant of land in 
Coos county, New Hampshire, which for 
many years was known as the Erving loca- 
tion ; he bequeathed one thousand pounds to 



520 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Harvard University to found the Erving Pro- 
fessorship of Chemistry. 8. James, born April 
14, 1736. 9. Sarah, born June 8, 1737; mar- 
ried Brigadier-General Waldo. 10. Ann, born 
January 20, 1740; married Duncan Stewart. 

(II) John (3), son of John (2) and Abi- 
gail (Philips) Erving, was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, January 26, 1727, died in 
Bath, England, July 22, 1816, and was buried 
in Walcot Parish churchyard (St. Swithins), 
Bath. He attended the schools of his native 
city, and in 1747 graduated from Harvard 
University with the degree of A.B. He took 
a prominent part in the civic affairs of his 
native city and the Massachusetts colony. In 
1760 he was one of the fifty-eight who signed 
the "Boston Memorial," thus being one of the 
first in America to oppose the officers of the 
Crown; in 1774 he was an addressor of Hut- 
chinson and in the same year was appointed a 
mandamus councillor. In 1776 he fled to Hal- 
ifax, and from there proceeded to England. 
In 1778 he was proscribed and banished from 
America; in 1779 his property was confiscated 
under the Conspiracy Act. He married, 
April 18, 1754, Maria Catharina, youngest 
daughter of William Shirley, governor of 
Massachusetts Bay, and commander-in-chief 
of the British forces in North America. She 
died March 12. 1816, aged eighty-seven years, 
and was buried in the Walcot Parish church 
yard. Children: I. Maria Catharina, christened 
August 17, 1755. 2. Frances, baptized Sep- 
tember 24, 1756. 3. John, mentioned below. 
4. William, born in 1758, died November 14, 
1772. 5. Shirley, christened November 23, 
1759. 6. Abigail, born April 20, 1760. 

(III) John (4), son of John (3) and Maria 
Catharina (Shirley) Erving, was christened 
in Boston, Massachusetts, November 20, 1757, 
died there about 1847. He received a liberal 
education, and for many years engaged in mer- 
cantile business in his native city. He took 
a prominent part in the civic and social af- 
fairs of Boston. He married, September 24, 
1785, Ann (Nancy), daughter of William 
Sheaffe, collector of the port of Boston, and 
sister of General Sir Robert Hale Sheaffe, 
Baronet. Children: i. John, mentioned below. 

2. William, born in 1790, died June 7, 1791. 

3. Frances Anne, died in Waltham, Massa- 
chusetts, May 12, 1880. 

(IV) Colonel John (5) Erving, son of 



John (4) and Ann (Sheaffe) Erving, was 
born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1789, died 
in New York City, October 26, 1862. He at- 
tended the schools of his native city. On Jan- 
uary 9, 1809, he was appointed second lieu- 
tenant of the United States army. He then 
for two years at the National Academy 
at West Point. He was promoted first lieu- 
tenant, August 16, 1812, and from April 6, 
1813, to June 15, 1815, during the war of 
1812, served as assistant adjutant-general, 
with the rank of major. He was retained as 
first lieutenant artillery corps. May 17, 1815, 
and from March, 1817, to April, 1818, was 
battalion adjutant. On April 25, 1818, he 
was promoted captain and transferred to the 
Fourth Artillery ; was brevetted major, April 
28, 1828, for "ten years of faithful service 
in one grade." He was commissioned major, 
June I, 1821, and assigned to the Third Artil- 
lery, and on December 2, 1843, was trans- 
ferred to the Second Artillery. He performed 
gallant service in the Seminole and Greek 
wars in Florida. He was commissioned lieu- 
tenant-colonel, August 16, 1846, and served 
with distinction during the Mexican war. On 
October 5, 1837, he was promoted colonel and 
transferred to the First Artillery. He was 
retired from active service because of failing 
health, October 26, 1861. 

He married, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
December 6, 1831, Emily Sophia, daughter 
of Thomas Langdon-Elwyn, of Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, born March 12, 1802. died 
March 13, 1878. Children: i. John, mentioned 
below. 2. Langdon. born November 20. 1834, 
died May 20, 1862 ; married, in Baltimore, 
Maryland, December 18, i860, Sophia Clap- 
ham, daughter of Josiah Pennington. 3. 
Ehvyn, born June, 1839, died November 8, 
1867 ; married, in Baltimore, April, i860, 
Lydia Hollingsworth, daughter of Captain 
Adams, United States navy. Mrs. Erving 
was a granddaughter of John Langdon, born 
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, June 25, 
1 74 1. He became one of the most prominent 
citizens of the state, serving as delegate to 
the continental congress, 1775-76 and 1783; 
and was for several years a member of the 
house of representatives, being speaker of the 
house, 1776-82, 1804-05. He was president 
of New Hampshire in 1785, and in 1787 was 
delegate to the federal constitutional conven- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



521 



tion. He was governor of the state in 1788, 
1805-09-10-11, and served as United States 
.senator from New Hampshire, March 4, 1789, 
to March 3, 1801, being for some time presi- 
dent of that body. He decHned the appoint- 
ment of secretary of the navy in 181 1. In 
1812 he was the Democratic nominee for vice- 
president of the United States. He died in 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September 18, 
1819. Governor Langdon married, February 
3. 1776, Elizabeth Sherburne, and had one 
child, Elizabeth, born December 4, 1777. She 
married, July 16, 1797, Thomas Elwyn, and 
Tiad nine children. A daughter, Emily Sophia 
Langdon-Elwyn, married Colonel John Er- 
ving. United Stales Army, mentioned above. 
(V) John (6), son of Colonel John (5) 
and Emily Sophia (Langdon-Elwyn) Erving. 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 
6, 1833. After a five years' course of study 
at the Brothers Peugnet School in New York 
City, he entered the sophomore class of Har- 
vard University in 1850, and graduated in 
1853 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts 
In 1858 his alma mater conferred upon him 
the degree of master of arts. He entered the 
Harvard University Law School in 1853 and 
graduated in 1855 with the degree of LL.B 
In 1856 he was admitted to the bar in New 
York City, but for many years has been re- 
tired from active practice. He joined the 
Seventh Regiment New York National Guard, 
in i860, and was honorably discharged in 
1868. In 1861 and 1863 he served with his 
regiment in the war. He is a member of the 
Union League and Harvard clubs, and a 
charter member of the New York Bar As- 
sociation. Mr. Erving married, April 22, 
1862, Cornelia, second daughter of William 
Paterson Van Rensselaer, son of Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, of Albany, the last Patroon (see 
Van Rensselaer V). She was born Septem- 
ber 22, 1841. Children: i. Susan Van Rens- 
selaer, born May 11, 1863, died July i, 191 2 
2. Cornelia Van Rennsselaer, born April 6, 
1865; married (first) John V. L. Pruyn, June 
II, 1895; children: John V. L., Jr., born June 
6,- 1896, died May 17, 1897; Erving, born Oc- 
tober 26, 1897; Hendrik, born December 28, 
1900; she married (second) April 6, 1908, 
Hamilton L. Hoppin. 3. John Langdon, men- 
tioned below. 4. Emily Elwyn, born June 29, 
1868 ; married Henry Woodward Cooper, Jan- 



uary 22, 1895; he died April 30, 1912; chil- 
dren : Cornelia Van Rensselaer, born Febru- 
ary 6, 1896, died July 20, 1899; Lamberton, 
born February 16, 1900; John Erving, born 
September 30, 1905. 5. Sarah Elizabeth, born 
May 4, 1870; married, April 22, 1896, James 
Gore King; children: James Gore, Jr., born 
May 25, 1898. Eleanor Erving, born Novem- 
ber 29, 1900; Edward Ramsay, born May 20, 
1905, died October 21, 1907; Cornelia Van 
Rensselaer, born February 7, 191 1. 6. Wil- 
liam Van Rensselaer, born November 15, 1871 ; 
is a lawyer residing in Albany, where he is 
a representative of the estate of his grand- 
father, the late William Paterson Van Rens- 
selaer ; Mr. Erving was municipal civil ser- 
vice commissioner for ten years, and is now 
commissioner of public safety in Albany. 7. 
Katharine Van Rensselaer, born November 

19, 1873. 8. Eleanor Cecilia, born September 

20, 1875. 9. Frances Shirley, born Novem- 
ber 7, 1877, died September 29, 1878. 10. 
Walter Shirley, born January 3, 1880. 11. 
Justine Bayard, born December 22, 1881. 12. 
Philip Livingston, born March 12, 1884, died 
May II, 1885. 

(VI) John Langdon, son of John (6) and 
Cornelia (Van Rensselaer) Erving, was born 
on Manising Island, Rye, New York, July 
31, 1866. He was educated in private schools 
of New York City, and for twenty years was 
connected with the Mexican Cable Company. 
In January, 1885, he enlisted in the Sixth 
Company, Seventh Regiment New York Na- 
tional Guard. In August, 1887, he was com- 
missioned first lieutenant in the Twelfth Regi- 
ment. In March, 1895, he enlisted in Troop 
A, Second Army Corps, United States Army, 
and served with his troop in the campaign in 
Porto Rico during the Spanish-American war 
in 1898, and in the fall of this year was hon- 
orably discharged. He married, November 3, 
1904, Alice Hanchet Rutherford. Children: 
I. Alice Rutherford, born May 24, 1906. 2. 
Cornelia Van Rensselaer, born November 23, 
1907. 3. John Langdon, Jr., born August i, 
1909- " 

The surnames Dickey, Dick 
DICKEY and the like are manifestly de- 
rived from the personal or bap- 
tismal name Richard. Richard besides being 
itself a surname, like a number of other per- 



522 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



sonal names having the dual capacity, has 
given rise to other surnames. Among the 
surnames that have been derived from Rich- 
ard and its modifications in almost every 
country of Europe, are Richards, Richardson, 
MacRichard, Rich, Riche, Ritchie, Riches, 
Rick, Dick, Hitchin, Dix, Dickinson and so on. 
These names are common, some of them to 
every country in Europe, though Dickey is 
confined for the most part to England and 
Ireland. It is in some cases a rendering from 
the Gaelic term, MacRiocard, which is also 
in many cases rendered as Richardson. The 
Dickey family or rather families bearing the 
name of Dickey were known in America in 
the early part of the eighteenth century. 

(I) Robert Dickey, immigrant ancestor of 
the Dickey family, was born in Ireland, and 
died in New York City. He came from Ire- 
land in 1798 and was a shipping merchant in 
New York. He married Anne Brown. Chil- 
dren : Hugh T., Anne, Elizabeth, Jane, George, 
Robert, John, Charles Denston, mentioned be- 
low : Mary. 

(II) Charles Denston, son of Robert and 
Anne (Brown) Dickey, was born October 8, 
1818, in New York City, and died at Islip, 
Long Island, in 1897. He received his pre- 
liminary education in the schools of the city, 
and in 1835 entered the office of Brown 
Brothers & Company, remaining with the firm 
till his death in 1897. During this period he 
represented the house at various times in Sa- 
vannah, New Orleans and Mobile, and became 
a partner in 1859. In 1850 he married, at 
Greensboro, Alabama, Mary, born October 28, 
1825, daughter of Dr. John and Sophia 
(Graham) Witherspoon. Sophia (Graham) 
Witherspoon, mother of Mary (Witherspoon) 
Dickey, and grandmother of Charles Denston 
(2) Dickey, was a daughter of Governor Jo- 
seph Graham, of North Carolina. Children 
of Charles Denston and Mary (Witherspoon) 
Dickey: Eliza Goldthwaite, born in Mobile, 
Alabama, 1853; Charles Denston, mentioned 
below; Sophia Witherspoon, New York, 1864; 
Mary Witherspoon, New York, 1866. 

(III) Charles Denston (2), son of Charles 
Denston (i) and Mary (Witherspoon) 
Dickey, was born at Mobile, Alabama, May 
8, i860. He was educated in St. Paul's 
School, Concord, New Hampshire, and at Har- 
vard University, graduating in the class of 



1882. After leaving college he entered the 
office of Brown Brothers & Company. In 
1885 he became their representative in Phil- 
adelphia, where he lived for a period of about 
two years, afterwards returning to New York 
as a partner in the New York house. Mr. 
Dickey is a director of the Commercial Trust 
Company of New Jersey, trustee of the Green- 
wich Savings Bank, trustee of the London 
Assurance Corporation, director of the Mer- 
chants' National Bank of the City of New 
York, director of the Niagara Falls Power 
Company, United States trustee of the North- 
ern Assurance Company, Limited, of London, 
trustee of the Ocean Accident and Guarantee 
Corporation, and director of the United States 
Mortgage and Trust Company. Mr. Dickey 
also belongs to a number of leading clubs. 

He married, in New York City, March 14, 
1893, Louise, daughter of Stephen and Mar- 
garet (Johnson) Whitney, of New Haven. 
Children: Charles Denston (3), born Decem- 
ber 3, 1893; Stephen Whitney, January 2, 
1897; Lawrence Witherspoon, April 12, 1906. 



Originally spelled Rosseter, 
ROSSITER this name is of undoubted 
Saxon or Norman origin, and 
probably was carried into England with the 
conquering army of William the Norman. It 
is still a conspicuous one in England, as well 
as in the United States, and has borne its 
part in developing this country in the various 
branches of progress. 

(I) Sir Edward Rossiter, the founder of 
the family in the United States, came from a 
good substantial family of the English gentry, 
and owned a large estate in the county of 
Somerset, England. He was commissioned 
in London in 1629 as one of the assistants to 
Governor Winthrop, and embarked for the 
colonies from Plymouth, England, March 20, 
1630, in the ship "Mary and John," com- 
manded by Captain Syuet, with one hundred 
and forty persons abroad. Their original 
destination was the Charles river, but the cap- 
tain decided to land them at Dorchester Neck, 
at the end of a two months' voyage. In the 
histories of the colonies Edward is spoken of 
as a "godly man of good repute,"' who left 
England for the sake of religion. He lived to 
fill his position but a few months after his 
arrival in this country, and died October 23. 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



523 



1630. There is no mention of Sir Edward's 
wife, and it is supposed that she had previ- 
ously died. 

(II) Dr. Brayard Rossiter, son of Sir Ed- 
ward Rossiter, was the only member of his 
family who came with him. He was accom- 
panied by his wife, Elizabeth (Alsop) Ros- 
siter, whom he had married in England. Dr. 
Rossiter is spoken of in history as a finely 
educated man from the best schools in Eng- 
land. He was one of the principal men who 
commenced the settlement of Windsor, Con- 
necticut, in 1636, where he was a magistrate 
for eighteen years, and became widely known 
as a physician. In 1652 he removed to Guil- 
ford, Connecticut. On March 11, 1662, he 
performed the first post-mortem examination 
in the Connecticut colony, and history has it 
that it was the first autopsy of which there 
is any record in New England, antedating by 
a dozen years the one in Boston, in 1674, an 
account of which is given by Dr. Greene in 
his "History of Medicine." Dr. Rossiter died 
in Guilford, September 30, 1672. He had five 
sons and five daughters, but the only son who 
had descendants was Josiah. 

(III) Josiah, son of Dr. Brayard and Eliza- 
beth (Alsop) Rossiter, was born in 1646, in 
Windsor, died January 31, 1716, in Guilford, 
whither he had removed with his father when 
a boy. He was one of the twelve patentees 
of the town of Guilford in 1685, and was a 
very prominent man in that community, fill- 
ing many official positions. He represented 
the town in the state legislature nine times, 
the last year being 1700. He was town clerk 
from 1695 to 17015, and from 1707 to 1716, 
the time of his death. In 1676 he was ensign 
of the local militia company; he served as 
county and probate judge of New Haven, 
Connecticut, and was for ten years one of the 
assistants of the governor, and was also the 
first naval officer of the port of Guilford. He 
married, in 1676, Sarah, daughter of the Hon, 
Samuel Sherman, of Stamford and Wood- 
bury, Connecticut, from whose grandfather 
descended Roger Sherman, one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, General 
William Tecumseh Sherman and Senator John 
Sherman. Children of Josiah Rossiter : Sarah, 
who died young; Elizabeth, born in April, 
1679; Josiah (2), born March 31, 1680; 
Samuel, died young; Timothy, born June 5, 



1683; John born October 13, 1684; Samuel, 
born February 28, 1686 ,■* David, born April 
17, 1687; Jonathan, born April 3, 1688; 
Nathaniel, of whom further; Sarah, born Feb- 
ruary 25, 1691 ; Patience, born April 6, 1692; 
Johanna, born April 23, 1693. 

(IV) Ensign Nathaniel Rossiter, eighth son 
of Josiah and Sarah (Sherman) Rossiter, was 
born November 10, 1689, in Guilford, where 
he died October 4, 1751. He resided in his 
native town, and was a joiner by occupation. 
In 1716 his property was valued for taxation 
at fifty-eight pounds, nineteen shillings and six 
pence. He married Anna, daughter of Lieu- 
tenant Nathaniel Stone. She died April 20, 
1776, having survived her husband about a 
quarter of a century. Children: Nathaniel 
(2), born March 23, 1716; Benjamin, born 
September 25, 1718; Sarah, born June i, 1720; 
Noah, born April 15, 1725, died February, 
1757; David, born in October, 1728, died in 
September, 1731 ; Nathan, of whom further. 

(V) Nathan, youngest child of Ensign 
Nathaniel and Anna (Stone) Rossiter, was 
born October 31, 1730, in Guilford, died in 
1788, in Richmond, Berkshire county, Mass- 
achusetts. He settled in the latter town in 
1775, locating in the western part, a little over 
one mile west of the village of Richmond, at 
the intersection of two roads. He married, 
June 14, 1755, Sarah, daughter of Timothy 
and Bathsheba (Stone) Baldwin, of North 
Guilford, born July 24, 1735, in that town. 
Children: Nathan (2), of whom further; 
Noah, born June 5, 1759, resided on the 
paternal homestead; Abraham, died young; 
Sarah, born August 28, 1763; Abraham, born 
October 20, 1765, resided on the homestead; 
Samuel, born February 26, 1768 ; Benjamin, 
born November 23, 1771, lived in New York; 
Rebecca, born June 20, 1774. 

(VI) Nathan (2), eldest child of Nathan 
(i) and Sarah (Baldwin) Rossiter, was born 
in 1756, in Guilford. He settled in the south- 
ern part of the town of Williamstown, Berk- 
shire county. New York, where he was a 
prominent citizen, and died in 1829. His 
name appears frequently as a witness to deeds 
and other legal documents. He married Han- 
nah, daughter of Timothy and Hannah (Wad- 
hams) Tuttle, of Goshen, Connecticut, born 
there August 10, 1758. Children: Dr. David, 
born in February, 1783, died in February, 



524 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



1870; Timothy Tuttle, of whom further; 
Louis Nathan, born in 1788 ; MeHssa, born in 
1790, died in June, 1859; Edward. 

(VTI) Timothy Tuttle, second son of Na- 
than (2) and Hannah (Tuttle) Rossiter, was 
born in 1785, probably in Williamstown, 
though his birth is not there recorded. He 
died in that town, July 29, 1809, at the age of 
twenty-four years. He married Cynthia 
Powers. She married (second) intentions re- 
corded December 20, 1813, in WilHamstown, 
Charles Bulkeley, of Granville, Massachusetts. 
Son of Timothy Tuttle and Cynthia (Powers) 
Rossiter ; Lucius Tuttle, of whom further. 

(Vni) Lucius Tuttle, only son of Timothy 
Tuttle and Cynthia (Powers) Rossiter, was 
born October 2, 1809, in Williamstown. 
though not recorded there, and died August 
24, 1879, in Guilford, Connecticut. In 1843 
he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was 
a dry-goods merchant until 185 — , when he 
retired and settled in Brooklyn, New York. 
He always maintained a summer home in 
Guilford. Owing to business reverses in 1865 
he entered the service of the United States in 
the customs department in New York City, 
where he continued ten years. Following this 
he became secretary of the York County Iron 
Company, of York, Pennsylvania, but did not 
remove his residence from Brooklyn. He 
continued in this capacity until a short time 
before his death, being prevented by illness 
in his last years from further activity. He 
was a regular attendant of the Lafayette Ave- 
nue Presbyterian Church, of Brooklyn, and a 
steadfast supporter of Republican principles, 
but not an active politician. He married, 
August 28, 1843, at Troy, New York, Mary 
Wickes, bom January 30, 1817, at Jamaica, 
Long Island, died January 4, 1907, at the 
home of her daughter in New York City. 
She was a descendant of General Van Wyck 
Wickes, of Jamaica. Children of Lucius Tut- 
tle Rossiter and wife: i. Edward Van Wyck, 
of whom further. 2. Walter King, born 
May 25. 1846, died October i, 1910; married, 
April 26, 1 87 1, Emilie K. Mayo, daughter of 
Joshua C. Mayo. Children : i. Marie Louise 
born February 16, 1872. ii. Ethel Mayo, born 
March 28, 1874, married Peter Duncan Mc- 
Naughton; child, Walter, iii. Helen Wickes, 
born March 14, 1876. 3. William Wickes, of 
whom further. 4. Mary Wickes, bom Au- 



gust 19, 1849, died January, 1852. 5. Frank 
Powers, born August 19, 1852. 6. Anna, born 
October 7, 1853, died February, 1856. 7. 
Elizabeth, born December 12, 1854. 8. Lucius 
Tuttle, born September 4, 1856. 9. Arthur 
Lawrence, born October 18, 1857, died in 
August, 1858. 10. CHnton Lawrence. 

(IX) Edward Van Wyck, oldest child of 
Lucius Tuttle and Mary (Wickes) Rossiter, 
was born July 13, 1844, in St. Louis, Missouri, 
died December 10, 1910, at Flushing, New 
York. He was educated at the Collegiate and 
Polytechnic Institute, of Brooklyn, and upon 
attaining his majority became a clerk in the 
office of the Hudson River Railroad Company, 
where he continued two years. For the suc- 
ceeding seven years he was a clerk in the 
treasurer's ofifice of the same company, and 
from 1867 to 1877 was cashier of the com- 
pany. From 1877 to 1901 he was treasurer 
of the company, and after 1901 was vice-presi- 
dent of the New York Central & Hudson 
River Railroad Company, and from 1883 to 
1900 he was treasurer of the same company. 
After November 9, 1900, was vice-president of 
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad 
Company, and since January 3, 1905, of the 
Michigan Central Railroad Company. He 
was a vice-president of the Cleveland, Cin- 
cinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Com- 
pany, and an officer and director in other sub- 
sidiary companies of the New York Central 
system. He was a vice-president and a di- 
rector of the Lincoln National Bank of New 
York; vice-president and trustee of the Lin- 
coln Safe Deposit Company ; trustee of the 
Bowery Savings Bank ; director of the Queens 
Insurance Company of America; and also of 
many coal and other corporations. He was a 
member of the Chamber of Commerce of New 
York ; New England Society of New York, 
and of the Union League Club ; and for many 
years he was a warden of St. George's Pro- 
testant Episcopal Church, of Flushing. He 
married, at Great Neck, Long Island, June 
16, 1S69, Estelle Hewlett, born 1845. daughter 
of Joseph Lawrence and Mary (Cromwell) 
Hewlett, of Hewlett's Point, Great Neck, Long 
Island. Children: i. Edward Lawrence, of 
whom further. 2. Estelle Hewlett, born Oc- 
tober 6, 1872 ; married, November, 1898, 
Charles Edward Titus, and resides in New 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



525 



York City; children: Arthur Rossiter, born 
November, 1899; Charles Edward, March, 
1902. 3. Arthur Wickes, of whom further. 
4. Frank Herriman, born March, 1878; con- 
nected with the accounting department of the 
New York Central Railroad. 5. Mary Hew- 
lett, residing in New York City. 6. Ernest 
Tuttle, born April, 1884; graduated from a 
school in Pomfret, Connecticut; unmarried; 
resides in New York City. 

(X) Edward Lawrence, eldest child of Ed- 
ward Van Wyck and Estelle (Hewlett) Ros- 
siter, was bom August 14, 1870, at Great 
Neck, Long Island. He was educated in 
Flushing Institute, and in 1887, at the age of 
seventeen years, entered business as a clerk 
in the office of the New York Central & Hud- 
son River Railroad Company. In 1900 he 
became assistant treasurer of the same, and 
in November, 1902, became treasurer. Since 
December, 1910, he has been a director of the 
Lincoln National Bank of New York ; is a 
director in a number of subsidiary companies 
of the New York Central railroad system. 
For two years he was a member of the Seventh 
Regiment, National Guard State of New 
York, receiving his discharge about 1897. He 
is a member of Christ (Protestant Episcopal) 
Church, of Greenwich, Connecticut, and is 
identified with numerous clubs, including the 
LTnion League of New York, Transportation, 
Greenwich Country, and Field of Greenwich. 
Politically he is an Independent. He now 
resides at Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Mr. Rossister married, June 5, 1895, i" 
Brooklyn, Ella Fowler, a graduate of Packer 
Institute, born October 29. 1875, daughter of 
Henry J. and Sarah (Quimby) Fowler, of 
Brooklyn, New York. Children : Lawrence 
Fowler, born March 23, 1896, in Brooklyn, 
now a member of the class of 1913, afthe Al- 
len-Stevenson School, of New York City ; 
Dorothy, a student at the Ely School of Green- 
wich. 

(X) Arthur Wickes, second son of Edward 
Van Wyck and Estelle (Hewlett) Rossiter, 
was born October 8, 1874, at Flushing, Long 
Island. He attended the Flushing Institute 
and Drisler's private school of New York 
City. In 1892, at the age of eighteen, he 
entered the employ of J. W. Davis & Com- 
pany, bankers and brokers (then located at 
No. 66 Broadway, but now at No. 100 Broad- 



way), as a boy, and since then has filled by 
steady advancement every position in the busi- 
ness. In 1900 he became a member of the 
firm. At the present time (1913) he is one 
of the active members of the Stock Exchange. 
He holds membership in the Union Club, 
Racquet and Tennis Club, Automobile Club, 
the Stock Exchange Lunch Club, the Nassau 
Country Club, the Piping Rock Country Club, 
and the Oakland Golf Club. ■ He is a Re- 
publican in politics. He resides at Glen Cove, 
Long Island. 

He married, in 1906, Alice Riggs Colgate, 
of Flushing, Long Island, daughter of Robert 
and Henrietta (Craig) Colgate. Children: 
Henrietta Craig, born March 22, 1907; Arthur 
Wickes, Jr., born March 30, 1908. 

(IX) William Wickes, son of Lucius Tuttle 
and Mary (Wickes) Rossiter, was born in 
Troy, February 9, 1848, and died in Brook- 
lyn, April 27, 1897. As a merchant in general 
produce he began business with the firm of 
Wallace & Wickes ; afterwards the company 
was reorganized under the name of Rossiter & 
Skidmore, and Mr. Rossiter was its principal 
member until the time of his death. He was 
also the president of the Terminal Warehouse 
Company, in New York City. He was a Re- 
publican and a member of the Presbyterian 
church. He was prominent in the social and 
club life of Brooklyn, serving on the boards of 
such organizations as the Hamilton Club, Chil- 
dren's Aid Society, etc. He married (first) 
in Brooklyn, August 2, 1870, Emma L., daugh- 
ter of Robert Richmond, who was born in 
Brooklyn, in 1849, and died October 23. 18S8; 
(second) Helen, daughter of James Hendrick, 
of Albany, New York. All his children were 
by the first wife. Her father, Robert Rich- 
mond, was born in Scotland, and came to 
America at the age of twenty-one, and died in 
1879. Children: Van Wyck, of whom further: 
Julie, born January 21, 1875, married, April 
29, 1896, John J. Hinchman ; William Wickes. 
born November 13, 1877. 

(X) Van Wyck, son of William Wickes 
and Emma L. (Richmond) Rossiter, was born 
in Brooklyn, May 12, 1871. After having had 
a thorough preliminary course of study in the 
Holbrook School, Ossinning, he completed his 
education at the Polytechnic Institute, of 
Brooklyn. His first business experience was 
with H. A. Rogers, at No. 19 John Street, 



526 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



New York City ; but this position he was after 
a time compelled to give up on account of ill 
health, and going out to California for re- 
cuperation, he remained for a year. In 1893 
he organized the firm of Rossiter, McGovern 
& Company, the company being incorporated 
in 1899, and Mr. Rossiter serving as its presi- 
dent until he retired from the business. He 
was also president of the Queensboro Electric 
Light & Power Company, of the borough of 
Queens, New York City; of the Citizens' Elec- 
tric Lighting Company, of Far Rockaway, 
Long Island, New York ; of the Liberty Light 
& Power Company, of Liberty, Sullivan 
county. New York, and a director of many 
other companies. He organized and was for 
six years the president of the Rockland County 
Trust Company ; is president of the Gregory 
& Sherman Company, and of the Braeburn 
Association, all three of these organizations 
being of Nyack, Rockland county, New York, 
Mr. Rossiter making his home at Upper 
Nyack. He is president of the Nyack 
Country Club, and is a member of the Union 
League Club, of New York City. In politics 
he is a Republican, and he has served as 
village trustee of Upper Nyack. 

Mr. Rossiter married, in California, Octo- 
ber 10, 1895, Mabel, daughter of Lewis Cass 
and Anna L. (Davis) Fuller, who was born 
in Portland, Oregon. Her father was a well- 
known banker of that state. Children: Rich- 
mond, born November 8, 1896; Ruth Mabel, 
born September 29, 1897; Van Wyck, born 
May 26, 1900; Margaret, born April 22, 1901 ; 
Elizabeth, born July 23, 191 1. 



This old Dutch family has been con- 
SIP tinuously located in New Jersey for 
two and a half centuries, and seven 
generations have been born in one house, lo- 
cated at the south corner of Bergen Avenue 
and Newkirk Street in Jersey City. This 
house was built by Adraen Hendrickse Sip 
about 1664, and is still occupied by his lineal 
descendant, who was born there. 

(I) Adraen Hendrickse Sip, of Breda, Hol- 
land, came to America in 1641, and joined the 
church in Bergen, November 13, 1666. The 
house which he built there in 1664 is still 
standing in almost its original form. The 
h-omes of that period were usually one-story 



structures built of stone or wood and some- 
times of both, and were comfortable and 
hospitable in appearance. The steep roof 
curved slightly toward the lower part and often 
extended beyond the walls to form a piazza, 
the edge being supported by pillars. There 
were spacious rooms on either side of a wide 
hall which ran through the middle of the house, 
and the attic contained several sleeping apart- 
ments, a spinning and loom room and a store- 
room. A very fair example of one of these 
is the Sip homestead. Adraen H. Sip married 
(first) February 4, 1656, Grietje Warnants 
Van Schonevelt, and (second) Geertje Aur- 
ians, a widow, who survived him and died May 
17, 1691. Children: Henricus, Jan Arianse, 
Antje, became the wife of Symon Jacobse 
Van Winkle ; Maritje, married Sibi Opdyke. 
He was one of the original purchasers on 
January 30, 1658, of the Peninsula between 
the Hudson and Hackensack rivers, south 
from Weehawken to Bergen Point, from the 
Indians, which was finally granted to the in- 
habitants of Bergen in the year 1661. 

(II) Jan Arianse, second son of Adraen 
Hendrickse and Grietje Warnants (Van 
Schonevelt) Sip, was born May 24, 1662, died 
August 12, 1729. He was an important and 
influential person in the town of Bergen. He 
was lieutenant in the Bergen militia under 
Captain John Pinhorne from 1703 to 171 1, 
and later captain. He married, April 22, 1683, 
Johanna Van Vorst. Children, all baptized in 
New York: Arie, born October 25, 1684, bap- 
tized November 11, 1684: Hillegend, bap- 
tized August 28, 1687 ; Ide, twin of Hillegond, 
died in infancy; Margaret, August 17, 1690; 
Annetje, February 22, 1693; Ide, mentioned 
below: Johannis. born May 10, 1698; Abra- 
ham, April II, 1704; Lena, baptized Decem- 
ber I, 1708. 

(III) Ide, son of Jan Arianse and Johanna 
(Van Vorst) Sip, was born September 3, 1695, 
in Bergen, and died February 26, 1762. He 
was commissioned lieutenant of the Sixth 
Company of the Bergen militia under captain 
Michael C. Vreeland. March 13, 17^3, and 
was active in the affairs of the town. He mar- 
ried (first) April 12, 1715, at Hackensack, 
Ariantje Cornelisse Cadmuys, a native of 
Passaic, and (second) June 9. 1725, in New 
York, Antje Van Wagenen, born about 1704, 
daughter of Johannis and Catalyntje (Hel- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



527 



migse) Van Wagenen, died January 25, 1749. 
Children of second marriage : John, Cornelius, 
Annetje, Catalyntje, born August 5, 1731 ; Ar- 
riantje, baptized June 2, 1733; Jannetje, Sep- 
tember 30, 1735; Garret, mentioned below. 

(IV) Garret, youngest child of Ide and 
Antje (Van Wagenen) Sip, was baptized Au- 
gust 21, 1740, in Bergen, and died October 
4, 1775. He married Jannetje Merselis, who 
survived him almost fifty years, dying October 
4, 1775. Children: Antje, born September 6, 
1764; Peter, mentioned below; Jenneke, 
March 12, 1770. 

(V) Peter, only son of Garret and Jannetje 
(Merselis) Sip. was born August 18, 1767, 
in Bergen, and died May i, 1852. He was a 
jurist of the finest type, being judge of the 
Bergen Court of Common Pleas, and in 1840 
was elected county judge of Hudson county 
by the Republican party, of which he was an 
earnest supporter. He was the founder of 
the New Jersey Railroad & Transportation 
Company; Newark Plank Road Company; 
Mechanics Bank, Newark ; Jersey City & Ber- 
gen railroad, which has since grown to enor- 
mous proportions He married, November i, 
1789, Elizabeth Vreeland, who died March i, 
1827. Children: Garret, born March 11, 1791 ; 
Marritje, February 27, 1795 ; Richard, men- 
tioned below. 

(VI) Richard, second son of Peter and Eli- 
zabeth (Vreeland) Sip, was born August 31, 
1800, in Bergen, and died April 10, 1865. He 
was engaged in looking after his father's es- 
tate, and bv his good judgment and foresight 
the value of the property was greatly increased. 
He was a member of the Dutch Reformed 
church of Bergen, now Jersey City, and in 
politics was a Republican. He married, in 
Jersey City, September 5, 1856, Sarah Eliza- 
beth Wayland, born July 31, 1818, in New 
York City, died October 20, 1910, daughter 
of Letitia Wayland, born in Bath, England, 
June 22, 1789, died July 12, 1864. They had 
one son, Richard Garret, mentioned below. 

(VII) Richard Garret, only son of Richard 
and Sarah Elizabeth (Wayland) Sip, was 
born July 2, i860, in Jersey City, New Jer- 

■ sey. He first attended private schools in New 
York City, and later Professor Anthon's 
Grammar School, where he remained until he 
was sixteen years of age, when he entered 
the School of Mines. He studied Chemistry 



and Mining Engineering. He then made an 
extensive tour of the world in a 560-ton bark, 
when he returned to Jersey City He is now 
retired and is living in the old homestead built 
by Adraen Hendrickse Sip in 1664. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. Mr. Sip is vice-presi- 
dent of the Holland Society of New York, 
president of the Hudson County Holland So- 
ciety, and of the Alpha Beta Delta. He is a 
charter member of the Carteret Club of Jersey 
City, Indian Harbor Yacht Club, Lake Hopat- 
cong YacTit Club, Manhattan Bicycle Club, 
New York, and member of Chamber of Com- 
merce, Jersey City, New Jersey. 

Mr. Sip married, December 31, 1889, in 
Jersey City, Mary Ella Riker, born March 
26, 1863, in Jersey City, daughter of John 
Kidney and Martha Ann (Van Derlinder) 
Riker. The latter was born December 16, 
1832, and died November 9, 1908, in Jersey 
City. John K. Riker was engaged in the hotel 
business. He died April 14, 1867. Mr. and 
Mrs. Riker had children : John Romine, born 
October, 1855; Henry H., December 3, 1857; 
Albert : Mary Ella, above mentioned as the 
wife of Richard Garret Sip. 



Captain John Luther was born 
LUTHER in Shrewsbury, England. He 

set sail from Dorset county, 
England, for the new world, landing in Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts, in 1635. and in 1637 was 
one of the first purchasers and settlers of 
Swansea ; his ninety acres of land were said 
to have been purchased from the Indians for 
a peck of white beans. It is quite probable 
that the land was assigned by the government 
and the peck of beans merely quieted any 
claim made by the Indians. He sold his in- 
terests there and in 1642 became one of the 
fir.st settlers of Gloucester; in the same year 
he was made governor of Rhode Island. He 
was employed by the merchants of Boston as 
captain of a vessel to go to Delaware Bay on 
a trading voyage, and while there was killed 
by the Indians in 1644. Evidently his son was 
captured at the same time, for on May 2, 1646, 
the general court of Massachusetts decreed 
that the widow Luther should have the balance 
of her husband's wages according to the cus- 
tom, after allowing the merchants what they 
paid for the redemption of her son. Children: 



528 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Samuel, of whom further; Hezekiah, of whom 
further, and James. 

(II) Rev. Samuel Luther, son of Captain 
John Luther, was born in 1636, in Taunton, 
and died December 20, 1716, at Kickemuit, 
Rhode Island. He was among the first set- 
tlers of Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1667, and 
made a demand upon the town of Taunton, 
October 19, 1672, for his father's purchase 
rights, but it was shown that his brother had 
been for many years in peaceful possession of 
the property and his appeal was denied. He 
served as selectman of Swansea before 1675. 
His wife bore the baptismal name of Mary, 
and they had children ; Samuel, born October 
25, 1663; Theophilus, October 9, 1665; Mary, 
July 25, 1668; Ebenezer, December 27, 1678; 
Mehitable, married Ebenezer Cole; Martha, 
married Huge Cole. The first four are re- 
corded at Rehoboth. 

(II) Hezekiah, son of Captain John Luther, 
was born about 1639-40, in Taunton, and died 
July 23, 1723, in Swansea, Massachusetts, 
where he was one of the first settlers, in asso- 
ciation with his brother Samuel. His descend- 
ants continued to itside there and in Rehoboth. 
and in Warren and other towns in Rhode 
Island. His first wife bore the name of Eliza- 
beth, and his second that of Sarah, Children 
of first wife, born in Swansea: John, born 
1663, died 1697; Nathaniel, 1664, married, 
June 28, 1693, Ruth Cole. Children of second 
wife: Joseph, born February 12, 1669, died 
March 23, 1736; Elizabeth, December 29, 
1671, married John Kinnicutt ; Edward, April 
27, 1674, married (first) Sarah Callender, 
(second) Elizabeth Mason; Hezekiah, men- 
tioned below; Hannah, married Dr. Richard 
Winslow. 

(III) Hezekiah (2), fifth son of Hezekiah 

(i) and Sarah ( ) Luther, was born 

August 27, 1676. in Swansea, and married. 
March 23, 1704, Martha Gardner. They were 
the parents of twelve children. 

(IV) Hezekiah (3), .son of Hezekiah (2) 
and Martha (Gardner) Luther, was born Feb- 
ruary 19, 1728, in Swansea, where he resided. 
He married, December 23, 1750, Mary Jolls, 
and they were the parents of eight children : 
Hannah, born 175 1 ; William, mentioned be- 
low; Mehitable, 1755; Israel, 1757; Elizabeth, 
1759; Rebecca, 1761 ; Hezekiah and Hopestill 
(twins), 1763. 



(V) William, eldest son of Hezekiah (3) 

and Mary (Jolls) Luther, was born December 
31, 1752, and died at sea, May 11, 1784. He 
was a soldier of the revolution, serving first 
under Captain Ezra Ormsbee, of the town of 
Warren, in 1776, and in 1781 in Captain Cur- 
tis Cole's company of Colonel Nathan Miller's 
regiment. Caleb Salisbury was a soldier in 
the same companies, as was also his relative 
Gideon Luther. He married, about 1774, 
Patience Miller, and they were the parents of 
the following children, born in Warren : James 
Miller, October 23, 1776; Hezekiah, Novem- 
ber 26, 1778 ; Asa, mentioned below ; William. 
April I, 1784. The mother married (second) 
Caleb Salisbury. 

(VI) Asa, third son of William and Pa- 
tience (Miller) Luther, was born April 24, 
1781, in Warren, Rhode Island, and settled 
when a young man in Albany county, New 
York. Thence he removed to Saratoga 
county, where he engaged in the manufacture 
of pottery ware and lived until his death. He 
married Phebe Purinton, a native of Saratoga 
county, and they were the parents of three 
children: John Purinton, George W., and 
Caroline. 

(VII) George Washington, son of Asa and 
Phebe (Purinton) Luther, was born October 
5, 1815, in Saratoga county, New York, and 
died May 10, 1889, in Albany. For more than 
forty years he conducted a retail coal busi- 
ness in Albany, and was successful in business 
and esteemed as a private citizen. He mar- 
ried Phebe Andrews, born March 28. 1813. in 
Stillwater, Saratoga county, and died in Al- 
bany, September 23, 1882, daughter of 
Machiavel Andrews ; her father was a prom- 
inent civil engineer, residing in Stillwater, 
Saratoga county, and constructed vari- 
ous water works in the state of Pennsylvania, 
and was chief engineer in charge of construc- 
tion of the Delaware & Hudson canal. George 
W. Luther and wife have three children: i. 
Ellen Elizabeth, wife of Edward Gary, who 
has been for several years editor of the New 
York Times, and has a daughter Elisabeth 
Luther Gary. 2. John Asa. 3. George Mar- 
tin, mentioned below. 

(VIII) George Martin, junior son of 
George W. and Phebe (Andrews) Luther, was 
born .'\ugust 25, 1849. '" Greenbush, \'an 
Rensselaer countv. New York, and attended 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



529 



Albany Academy. Entering Cornell Univers- 
ity, he graduated in 1870, in his twenty-first 
year, after which he continued to reside at 
home, assisting his father in business until 
1885. In the last named year he removed to 
New York City and engaged in the manufac- 
turing business, becoming treasurer of the C. 
W. Hunt Company of New York, in which 
position he continued until 1890. At this 
time the Nichols Chemical Company was 
formed and Mr. Luther became its secretary, 
and soon after was made secretary and gen- 
eral manager of the Nichols Copper Company 
of New York, in which relation he has con- 
tinued until the present time. He is also presi- 
dent of the Granby Consolidated Mining 
Smelting and Power Company. Ltd., of Brit- 
ish Columbia, and is vice-president of the 
Albert Mines Company of Canada. He is a 
member of the Albany Society of New York. 
He married, February 12, 1873, Mary H. 
Gould, born in Albany, New York, daughter 
of William and Sarah (Hartness) Gould. 
Mr. and Mrs. Luther are the parents of two 
daughters: Mary Gould and Phebe Andrews. 
The" latter is the wife of Philip Lee Gill, of 
Brooklyn, New York, and is mother of Philip 
Lee Gill Jr., born in that borough. 



The Saugerties and Albany 
MYERS families of the Myer or Myers 

name are descendants of Chris- 
tian Myers, who was born in the village of 
Wolferlingen, about six miles northeast of 
Coblenz, in the Palatinate on the banks of 
the Rhine, March 11, 1688, and died in Sau- 
gerties, New York, January 5, 1781. He 
and his wife are buried on the old Christian 
Myers farm at Churchland, town of Sauger- 
ties, New York. He married, 1710, Ann Geer 
trury Theunyes, born May 15, 1690, died Jan- 
uary 9, 1766. Christian Myers and wife, with 
the Palatinate emigration, arrived in New 
York, June 24, 1710, remaining with Governor 
Robert Hunter during the summer, and were 
then transported to West Camp, Ulster county 
New York, the exact date of their arrival 
there not being known, nor the length of their 
stay at that place. We next hear of him as 
the purchaser of the farm at Churchland, just 
west of the village of Saugerties, February 24, 
1724, and there he spent his remaining days. 
In the course of time he added a large tract of 



land to his original purchase, and this was 
later apportioned as farms among several of 
his sons. He also erected a mill on the Mud- 
dah Kill. In 1738 he was named as one of 
the freeholders of Kingston, and he was an 
elder in the Kaatsbaan church. His will, ex- 
ecuted March 15, 1773, proved May 8, 1783, 
bequeaths to his sons Willem, Johannis, Ben- 
jamin (of whom further), Petrus and Tobias; 
and children of his son Christian, deceased, 
and heirs of his daughters, Marytje, Christina 
and Catrina (deceased), and his daughter 
Geertje ; it also liberates and provides for his 
old slave Cut? during his life. 

(II) Benjamin, son of Christian and Ann 
Geertruy (Theuyes) Myers, born October 21, 
1730, died December 12, 1819. He married 
Leah, daughter of Teunis and Catrina (Legg) 
Osterhoudt, the banns of marriage being pub- 
lished August 13, 1756. Children: i. Teunis, 
of whom further. 2. Christian, born June 5, 
1759; unmarried. 3. Stephanus, born Decem- 
ber 27, 1760, died March, 1841 ; married Helen 
Low. 4, Petrus, born November 17, 1762, 
died March, 1841. 5. Catherine, born April 
10, 1769; married David Myer. 6. Annetje 
(or Anna), born June 23, 1772; married Isaac 
Vandenberg. 7. Marytje, born May 10, 1775; 
married Tjerck Schoonmaker, Sr. 8. Solomon, 
born October i, 1786; died unmarried. 

(HI) Teunis. son of Benjamin and Leah 
(Osterhoudt) Myers, was born in 1757, and 
died November 22, 183 1. He resided at Sau- 
gerties, New York, where he owned consider- 
able property, on which was a stone house 
typical of the period and bearing upon its 
portals the date of its erection, 1746. This 
house was not far from Mount Marion, in 
the Catskill mountains, a beautiful location 
for a residence. It was long and low, with 
an unusually steep roof, and was still stand- 
ing in 1910. Teunis Myers married, 1781, 
Cornelia, daughter of John Legg, who resided 
where in 1910 was the Shefifield place, now 
the property of Henry Barclay, of Saugerties. 
Cornelia (Legg) Myers was an intimate friend 
of the wife of George Clinton, and when the 
British proceeded up the Hudson, working 
devastation, she witnessed the burning of 
Kingston, October 13, 1777. Children: i. Ben- 
jamin Teunis, of whom further. 2. Jane, born 
September 17, 1793, died November, 1872; 
married Peter G. Post, born January 19, 1792. 



530 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



3. Solomon, born July 14, 1798; married Eliza- 
beth Goodwin. 

(IV) Benjamin Teunis, son of Teunis and 
Cornelia (Legg) Myers, was born at Platt- 
skill, Ulster county, New York, May 9, 1783, 
died at Saugerties, January 31, 1869. He was 
originally a farmer on a somewhat large scale, 
supplying the neighborhood and river towns 
with the produce from his estate, but in the 
later years of his life he was able to retire 
from business cares and all activities in Sau- 
gerties, where he lived the greater part of his 
life. He married, at Plattskill, September 2, 
1804, Sarah, only daughter of Johannes and 
Leah (Myer) Snyder, and granddaughter of 
Colonel Johannes Snyder, of Ulster county, 
who was colonel of the First Regiment of 
Ulster, May i, 1776, also delegate to the pro- 
vincial congress, member of the council of 
safety, member of assembly, and president five 
terms of the board of trustees of Kingston 
corporation. Sarah (Snyder) Myers inherited 
a number of slaves as a portion of her dowry, 
one of whom (Flora) taught Mrs. S. M. Tay- 
lor to knit, and another was known as "Old 
Rub." 

(V) John Benjamin, child of Benjamin 
Teunis and Sarah (Snyder) Myers, was born 
at Brabant, near Kingston, New York, Febru- 
ary 27, 1806, and died in the town of Mentz, 
near Port Byron, New York, February 27, 
1861, buried in Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn. 
New York. His birth took place on a farm 
rented of a Mr. Cockburn by his father, who 
soon purchased a farm where the other chil- 
dren were born. He married, at Saugerties, 
August 12, 1828, Arriet, daughter of Captain 
John Gillespy, who had a record as a fighter 
in the American cause, and was son of Major 
John Gillespy, who engaged in the French and 
Indian wars, and afterwards in the war of the 
Revolution as a member of the Fourth Ulster 
County Militia. Captain John Gillespy fought 
at the head of his company in the War of 
1812; for a time he was stationed on Staten 
Island. Children: i. Benjamin Gillespy, born 
at Saugerties, August 20, 1829, died at No. 
372 Clinton avenue, Albany, New York, 
March 5;, 1901 ; married, at Port Byron, New 
York, November 23, 1858: Minerva Kerns; 
children: Howard Gillespy, born at Port 
Byron; Leila Whitney, born in New York 
City; Lotta Wright, born in New York City. 



2. John Gillespy, of whom further. 3. Sarah, 
born September 21, 1833; was residing in Al- 
bany in 1910; married, at Port Byron, May 
28, 1863, Captain David Austin Taylor; chil- 
dren: John Myers, born near Port Byron; 
Lawrence Hartshorne, born at Camden, New 
Jersey ; Grace Brown, born at Oneida, New 
York ; Ernest Chandler, born at Guineys, Vir- 
ginia ; Marion Lee, bom at Albany, New York ; 
Bessie Myers, born at Albany. 4. Jason Gil- 
lespy, born January 25, 1840; unmarried. 5. 
Lavinia, died at Albany, October 29, 1855, 
buried at Auburn, New York. 6. Elizabeth, 
born near Port Byron; died young. 7. Eliza- 
beth (2d), living at present time (1913). 8. 
Selina, married, at Auburn, New York, July 
10, 1878, S. Henry Atwater ; children: Wini- 
fred Moore, born at Windham, New York; 
Reginald Myers, born at Canon City, Colorado. 
(VI) John Gillespy, son of John Benjamin 
and Arriet (Gillespy) Myers, was born in 
Saugerties, New York, August 4, 1832, died in 
Albany, December i, 1901. Until the age of 
eight years he lived with his parents on their 
farm in their typical Dutch farm house in the 
shadow of Mount Marion, in the Catskill 
mountain range. About that time his father 
selected better land than the rocky soil 
of Ulster county, purchasing a tract 
near Montezuma, Cayuga county, and 
here his son aided him in agricultural 
pursuits. When fourteen years old he 
returned to Saugerties and began his business 
career as a store boy and general clerk for 
his uncle, P. M. Gillespy. He had been accus- 
tomed from early youth to dispose of the 
produce of his father's farm, and he acquired 
a strong tendency for trade, made keen by his 
competition with other lads of the neighbor- 
hood. The connection with the store in a 
minor capacity -simply interested and aroused 
him to make more rapid progress in some- 
thing better. But until he became of age he 
remained in the employ of his uncle, except 
such times as he was engaged in study in the 
little red school house. He was fond of read- 
ing and very quick to observe, so that he ac- 
quired much knowledge even when not in 
school, and what he learned in this fashion he 
was clever enough to turn to good account in 
later life. Even in those days he possessed a 
keen insight into character, a faculty for de- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



cision and rapid action, and these governed 
him throughout his life. 

When twenty-one years old he became asso- 
ciated with two men in the conduct of a gen- 
eral country store at Port Byron, Cayuga 
county, but this partnership did not last long, 
and finally he was left in sole possession to 
dispose of the stock for the benefit of the cred- 
itors. He succeeded in doing this by means 
of a trip through the west, and the result was 
that through his ability every creditor was paid 
in full. After this he obtained a position in 
the large wholesale house of Clapp & Kent, 
clothing and dry goods merchants of New 
York City, and was rapidly promoted. At the 
commencement of the rebellion he started in 
business for himself in New York, securing 
for a location the corner of Bleecker and 
Christopher streets, and here he made some 
money. In 1865 he formed a partnership with 
William M. Whitney, in Albany, where they 
succeeded the firm of Ubsdell, Pierson & 
Lenox, in the dry goods business, and the store 
on North Pearl street. Albany, was known 
as the "New York Store." It was by far the 
largest of its kind in Albany, and was a pro- 
nounced success. This partnership continued 
five years, when it was dissolved, each partner 
continuing in business for himself. Mr. Myers 
opened another large store at Nos. 39-41 
North Pearl street. An incident in its his- 
tory was a catastrophe on the morning of 
August 8, 1905, when, during the course of 
repairs and alterations, the floors sank, and as 
a result the handsome new building was erected 
immediately upon the site of the old one, and 
is a leading adornment of the business section 
of the city. But of far more importance than 
a beautiful building in showing the character 
of the merchant, stands the system inaugurated 
by him through which method the employees 
receive each year proportionate financial re- 
turns dependent upon the success of the year, 
and it is safe to say that no employees are 
more interested in doing their best by co- 
operation than are these, and at the same 
time he gained what he most desired — their 
good will and high regard. 

The business career of Mr. Myers knew 
no wavering from that time on. His strict 
attention even to details, and thorough know- 
ledge of the requirements of each depart- 
ment, to make for absolute success, were the 
great factors which brought such excellent 



1136098 



531 



results. As his wealth increased he became 
associated with the development of local en- 
terprise, and his name was valued on dififer- 
ent boards and companies for it was a guar- 
antee of high standard. While aiding many 
institutions liberally, probably more so in 
some instances than any other citizen, he was 
decidedly averse to any publicity. He was 
among the four special commissioners ap- 
pointed from among the citizens by the mayor, 
in 1891, to investigate means by which an in- 
creased and purer water supply could be se- 
cured to the city, which was prior to the 
attempt to acquire a driven well supply and 
the installation of the filtration system. 

He joined the Holland Society, December 
7, 1888, as one of the earliest members, and 
always took a decided interest therein. He 
also joined Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons 
of the Revolution, and aided in all of its 
movements. He was a member of the Fort 
Orange Club, and his religious association was 
with the Presbyterian faith. In politics he 
was a staunch Republican throughout his life, 
and a firm believer in the policies of that 
party. He was president of the Albany Hos- 
pital, which probably interested him more than 
any other institution in the city with which 
he was associated, and it received his most 
liberal support and thoughtful attention. He 
was a governor of the Albany Orphan Asy- 
lum, a director of the Albany railway ; vice- 
president of the Merchants' National Bank 
in 1880; trustee of the Albany Female Acad- 
emy, now known as the Albany Girls' Acad- 
emy, and in the erection of its new and hand- 
some edifice he played an important part ; was 
first vice-president of the newly organized 
Albany Trust Company, and had been a lead- 
ing spirit in its organization as one of the 
foremost business institutions ; vice-president 
of the Commerce Insurance Company ; and 
a trustee of the Albany Rural Cemetery. 

The death of Mr, Myers occurred on a 
Sunday morning, at his home, No. 240 State 
Street, Albany, following an illness of a few 
weeks' duration. In his demise the citizens 
as a body felt that from their midst had been 
removed one who had been respected among 
the best of them, and who had been a pillar 
of strength to many philanthropic institutions. 
His honesty and painstaking measures had 
brought about a success well merited and far 
beyond the average. His mode of living had' 



532 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



been simple, although his home was one of 
the most beautiful in the city, and his bene- 
factions were the unostentatious acts of a 
man bent upon doing good, tlis associates 
in business admired his straightforward, 
manly methods, imd those who met him so- 
cially were impressed by his charming person- 
ality. Both in public and in the privacy of 
his family he lived the conscientious, kindly 
life of a Christian. The Albany Hospital, 
having long received the benefits of his coun- 
sel and benefactions, felt his loss keenly, and 
the board declared that "while his death is a 
loss to the whole city, it falls especially upon 
the hospital board, and on the benevolent work 
in which with them he was so deeply inter- 
ested." He had been governor of this insti- 
tution for many years, and both his wisdom 
and liberality had been of the greatest ser- 
vice, with a record of never having been ab- 
sent from a meeting when possible to attend 
When the work of constructing a new hos- 
pital was begun, his contributions created one 
of the pavilions, and were also an encourage- 
ment to those struggling with the enormous 
undertaking. 

John Gillespy Myers married, at Cayuga, 
New York, August 19, 1857, Mary Augusta 
Young, the Rev. Frederick Starr, of Auburn, 
officiating. She was born at Auburn, Febru- 
ary 22, 1833, died at her home in Albany, 
February 9, 1904, daughter of Jacob Young, 
of Auburn, who enlisted at the age of sixteen 
years, served in the War of 1812, and was 
present at the sortie at Fort Erie ; and grand- 
daughter of Christian Young, who served 
throughout the Revolution, and received his 
honorable discharge, which is signed by Gen- 
,eral George Washington. 

During their long residence in Albany Mr. 
and Mrs. Myers co-operated with each other 
in philanthropic work, she making good use 
of the means placed at her disposal for the 
alleviation of suffering and the comfort of 
the afflicted. But the good accomplished was 
not allowed to reach the public ear, for it was 
her own pleasure akin to her nature. She 
was a woman of sympathetic nature, and 
more than willing to listen to appeals. She 
was a member of the State Presbyterian 
Church, aided in its various interests, belong- 
ing also to a number of local institutions. Of 
her it was said : "When the final honors have 
been paid to her mortality, and her last rest- 



ing place on earth has become a reality, the 
world will know no more a woman who bene- 
fited it by her bemg, and whose memory will 
long be cherished for the good that she did." 
Children of John Gillespy and Mary Au- 
gusta (Young) Myers, are as follows: i. 
Margaret Fuller, born at Mintline, Cayuga 
county, New York, May 6, 1858 ; married, at 
Saugerties, New York, September 2, 1891, 
Henry King Sturdee, born in London, Eng- 
land, August 13, 1859, son of Captain Edwin 
Thomas Sturdee, of the Royal Navy, and had 
children : Georgiana Myers, born at Albany, 
April 7, 1892; Flora Margaret, born at Al- 
bany. November 27, 1894. 2. Jessie Kenyon, 
born at Auburn, October 19, 1859; married 
at Albany, September 14, 1899, Colonel 
George Porter Hilton, son of Charles and 
Mary Etta (MacWhorter) Hilton, born in 
Albany, March 19, 1859, died at his home. No. 
240 State Street, Albany, October 7, 1909; 
had one son : John Gillespy Myers Hilton, 
born in Albany, May 11, 1901. 3. Georgiana 
Seymour, born in New York City, August 14, 
1861, died at Saugerties, New York, June 13, 
1893; married, at Albany, November 24, 1891, 
Walter Launt Palmer, A. N. A., born at Al- 
bany, August I, 1854, son of Erastus Dow 
and Mary (Seaman) Palmer. 



One finds the signifi- 
VAN ALSTYNE cance of the family 
name of Van Alstyne 
in the Dutch, meaning from the old or high 
stone, and therefore those who first bore that 
name as a distinctive family in Holland dwelt 
upon the top of a rocky eminence, or near to 
some enormous boulder which for years had 
been a prominent landmark among all the in- 
habitants of that neighborhood. There have 
been a number of forms for the spelling of 
the name, as the early records show by the 
variety of signatures attached to official docu- 
ments, such as Van Aelsteyn, Van Aalsteyn, 
Van Alstyn, Van Alstein and Van Alstine. 
Since coming to this country the centuries 
have not added to the diversity, but rather 
simplified matters, for at the present time the 
chief forms are Van Alstyne, Van Alstine and 
Van Alstyn. 

Those who have delved deeply into the 
family history have demonstrated that the 
records still preserved in Holland show that 
the line of descent mav be traced tc the vear 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



533 



936, dating contemporaneous with the crown- 
ing of Otho, Henry Van Alstyn was present. 
It may seem peculiar, but the family name 
first appears as Ralsko, which was abandoned 
in order to take that of Wartemberg, which 
it bore for several centuries. Jean Ralsko 
who died in Flanders, in 1236, had built there 
the Chateau de Waldstein, the name of which 
he took in order to distinguish himself from 
his brother, who bore that of Wartemberg. 
The family has been traced under the name 
of Balstein in Spain, Vallenstcin in France. 
Halsteyn in Flanders, and Van Alstein in 
Holland. From Waldstein the name changed 
to Wallenstein, Walstein, Valstein, and finally 
became Van Alstein. Those who located in 
Flanders were loyal to the Church of Rome, 
and those living in Holland allied themselves 
to the Reformation of Martin Luther, and 
displayed the courage of their convictions. 
Those who came to America have particularly 
demonstrated their courage of independent 
thought and action, and were well represented 
in the war of American independence as well 
as in the Civil War. Invariably they have 
been men of middle ground, neither acquiring 
great riches nor suffering poverty, freed both 
from the worries of life and the cares of 
wealth. In like degree they have been prom- 
inent in politics and religion, as well as in 
the professions, 

(I) Jan Martense Van Alstyne was the pro- 
genitor of the family in America. He was 
the son of Marten (or Martin) Van Alstyne, 
of Holland. There is a record to prove that 
he was in New Amsterdam (New York City) 
as early as 1646, the exact date of this entry 
being December T7, 1646, upon a bill of sale 
of a yacht, namely, Thomas Hall and Jan 
Peterson to Hendrick Jansen and Jan Mar- 
tense. It seems evident from what transpired 
later, that he engaged in transportation upon 
the Hudson river, between New York and 
Albany, for within a decade he began buying 
land at the latter place. It is not known just 
how long he remained upon Manhattan, but 
he was recorded in 1657 as owner of a lot 
in Beverwyck, or Albany, New York, located 
upon the east side of Broadway and north of 
Columbia street, which was beyond the north 
wall of the stockade, built to keep out the 
Indians about that time. This land he held 
as late as 1693, and in the meanwhile had be- 
come the patentee of two tracts of land in 



Ulster county. Possibly he had stopped there 
while making one of his trips and had been 
shown good land which was offered to him. 
He likewise purchased a large tract of land 
"behind" Kinderhook, New York, about a 
score of miles from Albany and east of it. 
This became the real home of the family, and 
he the founder of it in every sense. The place 
was so named because in the Dutch it signifies 
"Children's Point," which is thought to have 
been bestowed because of the great number 
of Indian children who ran out on the point of 
land the better to observe the passing of Hen- 
drick Hudson's ships. (Rev. Mr. Collier's ad- 
dress, "Kinderhook.") The first proprietor re- 
sided there until his death, which was about 
1698, and the land continued for more than 
two centuries in the possession of the descend- 
ants of his son Abraham, to whom he con- 
veyed the farm in 1695, conditioned on his 
paying the other heirs certain sums of money 
as provided explicitly. He married Dirckje 
Harmense, a woman endowed with all the 
characteristics necessary to make her a fitting 
helpmate for a pioneer husband. Their chil- 
dren were named Marten, Abraham, Lambert 
and Isaac. 

(II) Lambert Janse, son of Jan Martense 
and Dirckje (Harmense) Van Alstyne, emi- 
grated to this country in 1665, and settled in 
Kings county. New York ; but no record has 
been found of his birth. About 1684 he came 
into possession of a tract of land lying on the 
east side of Kinderhook Creek, and adjoining 
the lands of his father. This he acquired by 
purchase of the patent or lease from the heirs 
of Peter Van Alen. He held it until his 
death, October 13, 1703. About the year 1682 
he married Jannetje, daughter of Thomas and 
Marritje Abrahamse (Vosburgh) Mingael, 
she and her husband being first cousins once 
removed, as her father and her husband were 
first cousins. There is no record of her birth, 
but she was doubtless much younger than he, 
for following his demise she married, Febru- 
ary 2, 1713. Jochem Lambertse Van Valken- 
burgh, and had five sons. As all their chil- 
dren excepting the first-born were baptized in 
Kinderhook, it is safe to believe that the eldest 
was born in Kings county. New York, and 
all the others after his removal, about 1684, 
in Kinderhook. Children: i. Catherine, born 
about 1683; married Bartholomeus Van Val- 
kenburgh. 2. Marritje, baptized December 2y. 



534 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



1685. 3. Thomas (see forward). 4. Johan- 
nes, baptized August 11, 1691. 5. Dirckje, 
baptized May 26, 1695 ; married Pieter Vos- 
burgh. 6. Antje, or Annetje, baptized Janu- 
ary 16, 1698; died young. 7. Annetje, bap- 
tized July 28, 1700. 8. Pieter, baptized Au- 
gust 9, 1702. 

(III) Thomas, son of Lambert Janse and 
Jannetje (Mingael) Van Alstyne, was bap- 
tized in Kinderhook, New York, August 22, 
1688. Upon the death of his father in 1703 
he came into possession of the homestead ly- 
ing along Kinderhook Creek, adjacent to the 
farm of his grandfather, the pioneer settler. 
He was a member of the Dutch church of 
Muitzeskill, where were baptized most of his 
offspring, although one of them. Maria, was 
baptized in Albany. In 1752 he bought a tract 
of land in the district of Claverack, described 
in the records kept at Hudson, New York, as 
lying between the Claverack and Kinderhook 
creeks. His will, dated November 15, 1760, on 
file in Albany, devises the farm occupied by 
William and his big gun to that son, provided 
that he pay off the debt on it, amounting to 
£100, and divided the property among five 
children, after providing for the support of his 
wife during life, and to Pieter his bouwerie or 
whole farm, with all belongings thereto, pro- 
vided that he pay his brother Lambert £400 
in current money within six years of the tes- 
tator's death. He died in August, 1765, at 
Kinderhook. He married, December 12, 1718, 
Maria Van Alen. She was baptized June 21, 
1695, daughter of Willem and Marritje (Van 
Patten) Van Alen. Children: i. Jannetje, 
baptized March 6, 1720; died young. 2. Wil- 
liam (see forward). 3. Lambert, baptized 
October 4, 1724; married (first) Alida Conyn ; 
(second) Aletteka Osterhout. 4. Maria, bap- 
tized September 10 1727; died young. 5. 
Catherine, baptized January 17, 1731 ; married 
Petrus Hoffman. 6. Maria, baptized Novem- 
ber 18, 1733; married Dr. Johannes Paterson. 
7. Pieter, baptized May 16, 1736; married 
Marritje Conyn. 

(IV) William, son of Thomas and Maria 
(Van Alen) Van Alstyne, was baptized at 
Muitzeskill (near Troy), New York, Decem- 
ber 10, 1721. In 1752 he and his wife were 
members of the Dutch church of Kinderhook. 
He probably settled upon the farm which had 
just come into possession of his father by pur- 
chase of the patent from John Van Rensse- 



laer, and which was bequeathed to him out- 
right on his father's death, situate between 
Kinderhook and Claverack creeks. On May 

1, 1772, he leased a house, shop and a fulling- 
mill, with dam and two acres, to Thomas 
Avery, and as much wood as he required for 
burning. In August, 1791, he bought a farm 
in Hillside, from John Collier. A document 
bearing date October 19, 1793, deeds a negro 
boy named Tom to his son Lawrence. On 
July 12, 1799, he sold to the same son the 
farm he had bought of Nicholas and Philip 
Hoffman a few years before. He was com- 
missioned a captain in Colonel Jeremiah Hoge- 
boom's regiment, which served in the revolu- 
tionary war; his commission signed by Gov- 
ernor Cadwalader Colden, preserved by the 
Holland Society, bears date April 4, 1770. 
He died May 22, 1802, and his tombstone was 
found a century ;ater on the farm which he 
had bought of the Hoffmans. William Van 
Alstyne married (first) in 1744, Christina 
Van Alen, baptized June 16, 1723, daughter of 
Stephanus and Mary (Muller) Van Alen, by 
whom he had five children. He married (sec- 
ond) September 17, 1762, Catherine Knicker- 
bocker, who was baptized October 19, 1731, 
daughter of Lawrence and Catherine (Van 
Home) Knickerbocker; by whom he had four 
children. Children: i. Maria, baptized 
March 23, 1745 ; married Richard Esselstyn. 

2. Hilletje, baptized January 25, 1746; died 
young. 3. Jannetje, baptized February 29, 
1749: married William Winne, Jr. 4. Alber- 
tina, born in 1754 ; married John De Forest. 
5. Thomas (see forward). 6. Lawrence, born 
June 22, 1767; married Mary Murdock. 7. 
William, born January 31, 1770; married 
Maria Vosburgh. 8. Mary, born January 6, 
1773; married John Leggett. 

(V) Thomas (2), son of William and Cath- 
erine (Knickerbocker) Van Alstyne, was born 
at Kinderhook, New York. February 18, 1765, 
In the Columbia county records, under date 
of May 7, 1795, it is stated that he and his 
wife, together with other owner<;hip claim- 
ants, deeded the farm which ■>rently 
the property of the first Thomas van .-vlstyne 
secured from John Van Rensselaer, in 1752, 
to Thomas Goldthwait. He died September 
10, 1838. Thomas Van Alstyne married Ma- 
bel Butler, born January 3, 1768. died January 
10, 1832, daughter of Ezekiel and Mabel 
(Jones) Butler. Her father displayed so much 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



535 



zeal in the American cause for liberty that 
the British offered a reward for his head, 
dead or alive, and it is probable that he died 
before the close of hostilities, because he was 
privately buried for fear that his body would 
be disinterred for the sake of the reward. 
Mabel Butler was a lineal descendant of 
Colonel John Jones, one of the regicides of 
Charles I., whose wife Henrietta was sister 
of Oliver Cromwell. Children: i. William, 
born November 12, 1791 ; died October 12, 
1867; married Polly Ostrander. 2. Maria, 
married February 14, 1815, Martin Barton. 
3. Catherine, married, March 13, 1819, Scovil 
Martin. 4. Thomas Butler (see forward). 5. 
John Thomas, born September 28, 1800; mar- 
ried, February 8, 1826, Jane Ackerman ; died 
February 10, 1876. 6. Temperance, born in 
1802; died October 29, 1877. 7. Jane, born 
March 4, 1805 ; died December 18, 1886; mar- 
ried, December 27, 1827, Dr. Levi B. Skinner. 
8. Lawrence, born February 16, 1807 ; died 
January 18, 1835 ; married, March 28, 1829, 
Eliza Van Hoesen. 9. Sally, married John 
Van Bramer. 10. Ezekiel Butler, born No- 
vember 6, 181 1. II. Louisa, born November 
27, 1813; died February 11, 1871 ; married, 
December 14, 1839, Rev. Nicholas Van 
Alstine. 

(VI) Dr. Thomas Butler Van Alstyne, son 
of Thomas (2) and Mabel (Butler) Van Al- 
styne, was born in Ghent, Columbia county, 
New York, July 27, 1797, and died at Rich- 
mondville, Schoharie county, New York, Octo- 
ber 26, 1867. He was a well-known physician of 
Richmondville, Schoharie county, New York. 
After attending school in his native place he 
went to Hudson, near there, as a clerk in a gen- 
eral merchandise store. This work was not con- 
genial, hence he decided to follow his inclina- 
nation, which was for the medical profession. 
With this in view he began his studies under 
Dr. Samuel White, of Hudson, and graduated 
in 1818 from the Fairfield Medical College. 
The following year, according to the advice 
of his forrner friend, Dr. White, he located 
at Rio'' Jlle, and continued . to practice 

there •. .-^^.^vi forty years, making consider- 
able success and gaining a reputation through 
out a wide area. He was often summoned in 
consultation cases, and was offered a medical 
professorship, which he declined. He was a 
forceful advocate of the abolition of slavery, 
and not only practiced what he preached in 



that line during the civil war; but was also a 
strong advocate on the platform in the move- 
ment for abstinence from intoxicants. 

Dr. Thomas B. Van Alstyne married, Au- 
gust 10, 1820, Eliza Shepard Giles, who was 
born October 28, 1799, and died at Richmond- 
ville, New York, May 13, 1877. Children; 
I. Jane Ann, born May 22, 1821 ; died De- 
cember 4, 1853 ; married, October 8, 1839 
Rev. Joseph Kingsley Barry. 2. Thomas W., 
born December 12, 1822; died A.pril 25, 1825. 
3. Thomas Jefferson (see forward). 4. Syl- 
vester Memford, born February 28, 1833; 
died October 28, 1882; married, July 9, 1855, 
Cynthia E. Whitney. 5. Fayette Edgar, born 
June 15, 1837; died September 30, 1905; mar- 
ried, August 19, 1857, Rose M. Markel. 6. 
John Lawrence, born October 8, 1840; mar- 
ried, October 8, 1868, Carrie A. Shults. 7. 
Mary Eliza, born March 18, 1846; married, 
November 7, 1873, J. Leslie Multer. 

(VH) Hon. Thomas Jefferson Van Alstyne, 
son of Dr. Thomas Butler and Eliza Shepard 
(Giles) Van Alstyne, was born in Richmond- 
ville, Schoharie county, New York, July 25, 
1827, where his father was practicing medi 
cine, and died at his home. No. 289 State 
street, Albany, of heart failure, October 26, 
1903. He first attended the public schools, 
but his strong inclination for knowledge and a 
desire for success in life's work led him to 
prepare for higher education. At the age of 
thirteen, while visiting at the home of his 
brother-in-law, a Baptist minister in Cayuga 
county, he conceived the purpose of 
acquiring an education which would place 
him in position to make his mark, if 
backed by serious effort, so he entered 
the Moravia Academy. After that he pre- 
pared for college at Hartwick Seminary, 
and with six companions matriculated at Ham- 
ilton College, from which he was graduated 
in 1848, receiving the degree of Bachelor of 
Arts, and in 185 1 that of Master of Arts. He 
was especially excellent in mathematics, and 
had a high general standing He then took up 
the study of law under Professor Theodore 
W. Dwight, who was prominent later on at 
Columbia College. Having graduated, he en- 
tered the law office of Harris & Van Vorst. 
at Albany, and by diligent application, com- 
bined with his previous study of the law, was 
able to pass a most satisfactory examination 
before the close of the year, the examining 



536 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



committee consisting of the well-known attor- 
neys, Hon. John H. Reynolds, Hon. John K. 
Porter and Orlando Meads. He was admitted 
to the bar on March 6, 1848, and in 1850 
opened his office, continuing to practice alone 
until 1853, when he formed a partnership with 
Matthew McMahon, which firm continued 
four years, when Mr. Van Alstyne formed a 
partnership in 1858 with Winfield Scott Heve- 
nor, of Albany, and they opened their office 
in the old Douw Building, at the southwest 
corner of Broadway and State street, Albany. 
From 1858 until he died in 1903, or for forty- 
five years, he practiced there. 

Mr. Van Alstyne had a noteworthy political 
life, and ranked high in the councils of the 
Democratic party, at whose hands he received 
a number of offices, each of which he filled 
with a noble record for efficiency and integ- 
rity. He was elected judge of Albany county 
in 1871, and presided for twelve years. In 
1882 he was elected congressman, taking his 
seat in the Forty-eighth Congress, and was 
appointed a member of the committee on 
claims, and also on that of expenditures of 
the department of justice. To his constitu- 
ents he gave thorough attention to their needs, 
and he furnished entire satisfaction to friends 
and foes alike. His party renominated him, 
but dissension in the ranks ruined his chances. 
Judge Van Alstyne was elected mayor of 
Albany on November 2, 1897, and served 
from January i, 1898, to 1900. His oppo- 
nents were General Selden E. Marvin, of the 
Republican party, who received 6,014 votes ; 
Alderman George H. Stevens, Independent, 
who received 6,012 votes; Robert H. Moore 
and George Du Bois ; and the judge received 
8,172 votes. Judge Van Alstyne was a prom- 
inent Mason, associating himself with that 
body when a young man by entering Mount 
Vernon Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, 
October 4, 1855; made master mason, Novem- 
ber 19, 1855; master, 1858-61; marshal, 1865. 
He officiated frequently on various commit- 
tees and often rendered excellent service by 
sound advice. In his religion he was a mem- 
ber of the Emmanuel Baptish Church at Al- 
bany, and along the lines of Christian work 
he became a life member of the Young 
Men's Association, organized for the upbuild- 
ing of the youth, in those days conducting the 
only city library and educating by the medium 
■of platform lectures addressed by lyceum 



speakers. He was particularly concerned in 
the work of the Albany Institute, and the 
preparatory work of its curator, Cuyler Reyn- 
olds, in combining that old organization with 
the Albany Historical and Art Society, was 
only carried through by the vigorous speech 
in the advocacy of the plan made by Judge 
Van Alstyne, for there was almost overwhelm- 
ing opposition to what has since proved a prac- 
tical combination of societies performing simi- 
lar work. He had the faculty of being aggres- 
sive in the right, along logical lines, and his 
arguments were always convincing. He was 
impatient at delay in discussions at meetings 
of any sort, when lay members talked around 
the subject, and when satisfied he saw the 
features would introduce his views through 
the medium of a resolution which usually 
closed the matter immediately. In this man- 
ner he would have made an exceedingly able 
executive official of a big corporation ; but he 
enjoyed the practice of law, and maintained 
in his office an ample library of legal 
works. He was very fond of his well stocked 
home library of more than 10,000 volumes, 
which contained mostly histories, biographies 
and works pertaining to America. One of his 
greatest pleasures was to gather them where- 
ever he traveled. He was a man of more 
than ordinary physique both in stature and 
power of frame, with a bright, piercing eye, 
and a firm, elastic step. His ready wit and 
delightful conversational powers were charm- 
ing attributes of one who was welcomed so- 
cially everywhere he went. Best of all there 
was no hypocrisy about him, and those who 
were his friends and family could ever rely 
upon his deep affection and help. In a word, 
he was a good official and citizen. 

Judge Thomas J. Van Alstyne married 
(first), at Albany, September 2. 1851, Sarah 
Clapp ; she was born at Albany, February 29, 
1832, died there, September 25, 1859, daughter 
of Reuel Clapp, of the Albany firm of Clapp 
& Townsend. and Sarah Coon, of Dorchester, 
Massachusetts. He married (second), at Al- 
bany, New York, September 2, 1875. Nancy 
Louisa Peck, of Albany, New York ; she was 
born July 14, 1842, died at Albany, New York. 
November 12, 1884, daughter of Samuel S 
Peck and Eliza M. (Collum) Peck. He mar- 
ried (third), at Washington, D. C, February 
17, 1886, Laura Louisa, daughter of Williani 
and Lydia (Van Derbilt) Wiirdemann, of 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



S37 



Washington. D. C, the former having been a 
noted manufacturer of astronomical and 
mathematical instruments. Children: i. 
Thomas Butler, born at Albany, June 3, 1852 ; 
married, May 7, 1879, Anna Richards, daugh- 
ter of Lysander and Content (Clapp) Rich- 
ards, of Washington, D. C. 2. Charles Edwin, 
born at Albany, July 18, 1855 ; died at Albany, 
New York, July 10, 1858. 3. William Thomas 
(see forward). 

(VIII) William Thomas Van Alstyne, son 
of Hon. Thomas Jefferson and Laura (Wiir- 
demann) Van Alstyne, was born at Albany, 
New York, in his father's home, No. 289 State 
street, July 28, 1887. He received his prepa- 
ratory education at the Albany Academy, un 
der a private tutor, and then entered Yale 
University. While there he belonged to the 
Yale Chapter of the Acacia fraternity, and 
graduated Ph.B., in 1910. He studied law at 
Columbia University, having selected upon 
the profession in which his father had made 
his mark, graduated February, 1913, LL.B., 
and November 10, 1913, it was announced that 
he had passed his examination for admission 
to the bar of New York State. He associated 
himself with Charles Oakes, formerly of Al- 
bany, at No. 2 Rector street. New York City. 
He joined the Seventh Regim.ent in April, 
191 1, and in December, 1913, was promoted 
to the grade of second lieutenant and assigned 
to the First Regiment Field Artillery, N. G. 
N. Y. He is a member of Mount Vernon 
Lodge No. 3, Free and Accepted Masons; in 
politics he is a Democrat and attends the 
Baptist church. He is a member of the Uni- 
versity Club of Albany, and the Yale Club, 
of New York City, where he resides. 



The highly distinguished fam 
CLINTON ily of Clinton traces its ances- 
try in America to Charles 
Clinton (1690-1773), who in 1729 came from 
county Longford, Ireland, and with other 
Protestant immigrants organized a settlement 
at Little Britain in what was then Ulster (now 
Orange) county. New York. A descendant 
in a cadet branch of Edward Clinton (1512- 
85), ninth Baron Clinton and first Earl of 
Lincoln, he belonged to that historic house of 
Clinton, which was established in England at 
the Norman conquest, received extensive 
grants of estates, and, enjoying constantly in- 
creasing dignities, with the highest distinction 



for public services and the fairest pedigree 
and reputation, came down to his time in an 
unbroken male succession for six centuries. A 
man of character, attainments and ability 
Charles Clinton was a useful and influential 
citizen of New York, commanded a regiment 
in the French and Indian war (participating 
in the capture of Fort Frontenac), was a com- 
missioner for the settlement of the boundary 
dispute with New Jersey, and was judge of 
his county. 

He had four sons, two of whom left issue 
and to-day have posterity. These were James 
Clinton (1736-1812), the eminent revolution- 
ary general, and George Clinton (1739-18 12), 
the first governor of the State of New York, 
for twenty-one years the incumbent of that 
office, and for eight years vice-president of 
the United States. Arms: Argent, six 
crosses crosslet fitchee sable ; on a chief azure 
two mullets pierced or. Crest: Out of a 
coronet gules five ostrich feathers argent, 
banded azure. Motto: Patria cara carior 
libcrtas. In a British work of eminent au- 
thority occurs the following striking charac- 
terization of the Clinton family: 

"It is really a great house, . . . and fot 
seven hundred years has thrown a scarcely in- 
termitted succession of men who have spent 
their lives in the furtherance of England's 
greatness and policy. If it has never had 
genius it has also never produced a traitor, and 
if it has never risen to the lofty position of 
one or two of its rivals, it has not in its records 
chapters which it would give estates to conceal. 
Always in front but never in command, this 
great house had the clearest pedigree in all 
England." 

This expresses in brief the conclusions of 
all writers who have given critical attention to 
the Clinton family history. The pedigree is 
one of the most remarkable to be found in the 
whole scope of genealogical science. It is 
completely and precisely traceable from the 
Norman conquest to the present time, a most 
exceptional fact, as every j^eneilogist knows. 
As long ago as 1558, in an examination by the 
House of Lords to determine the exact status 
(as to precedence) of the th^n head of the 
Clinton house, reference was made to the 
"great antiquity" and "long continuance" of 
his ancestral line, and he was declared the 
"second lord of the realm." Moreover, the 
Clinton descent — embracing at the present time 



538 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



some twenty-five generations — has never suf- 
fered any interregnum in the male stem (re- 
medied by subsequent resumption of the fam- 
ily name in the female succession), as is so 
often the case in pedigrees of such length. 
There is historical evidence that the Clinton 
name existed in England before the conquest. 
In 1592 John Hakluyt, the antiquarian, dis- 
covered in the church of Loominster a brass 
tablet which perpetuated, in the Saxon lan- 
guage, the memory of one Kenelm, of the 
Saxon royal house, who was buried in that 
place in 1060. The inscription included the fol- 
lowing: "My fathers did build upon this, my 
town, and at Kenelmsford, Kenelmswearth 
(Kenilworth) and at Clint . . and 

Reinelmebald at Clinton is my kinsman." The 
early adoption after the conquest of the sur- 
name de Clinton by the Norman founders of 
the family in England indicates the pre-exis- 
tence there of the name and probably the 
blood. The most authentic genealogists of the 
peerage — Dugdale Collins, and others — trace 
the ancestry of the Clintons to the ducal house 
of Normandy. A progenitor was William, 
Earl of Arques, son of Richard, second Duke 
of Normandy (known as Richard the Good). 
William, Earl of Arques, had a daughter, 
Maud, who married William, Earl of Tancker- 
ville. Of their grandsons w^ere the brothers 
Geoffrey and Osbert, who, established in Eng- 
land on estates inherited from their father 
(the gift of his kinsman, the Conqueror), took 
the surname of de Clinton. GeoiTrey de Clin- 
ton the elder brother, is in most American ac- 
counts of the ancestry of the Clinton family 
designated as the founder of the line, but this 
is erroneous, as his branch soon expired 
through the failure of male succession. He 
was lord chamberlain and treasurer to Henry 
I., and afterward chief justice of England. 
The manor of Kenilworth in the county of 
Warwick was bestowed upon him by the king, 
and he built the great and strong castle of 
Kenilworth, so famous in English history. 
He married Agnes, daughter of Roger, Earl 
of Warwick, and was succeeded by his son, 
Henry de Clinton. The latter married Amicia 
de Bidun and had a son, Henry de Clinton, 
who died without issue in 1233. 
(English Lineage.) 
(I) Osbert de Clinton, brother of Geoffrey, 
left four sons: Osbert, Roger (who as bishop 
of Coventry died in 1148), Hugh, Maurice. 



(H) Osbert (2) de CHnton, eldest son of 
Osbert ( i ) de Clinton, was granted the lord- 
ship of Coleshill by his kinsman, Geoffrey de 
Clinton, and he was denominated as of Coles- 
hill. He married Margaret, daughter of Wil- 
liam de Hatton, who was the son of Hugh, 
founder of the priory of Wroxhall. 

(HI) Osbert (3) de Clinton, son and heir 
of Osbert (2) de Clinton, received, in addi- 
tion to the lordship of Coleshil! that of Am- 
ington in County Warwick, as the inheritance 
of his mother. Living in the reign of John 
he was one of the insurgent barons who 
wrested from the king the Magna Charta. In 
consequence of his rebellion his lands were 
seized, but upon the accession of Henry III. 
(1216) he "made his peace'' and they were 
restored to him. He died in 1223. His wife's 
name was Elisant. 

(IV) Thomas de Clinton, son and heir of 
Osbert (3) de Clinton and his wife Elisant, 
was resident at Amington in Warwickshire; 
justice of assize for County Warwick. He 
married Mazera, daughter and heir of James 
de Bisege, of Badsley, Warwick, and had five 
sons : Thomas, mentioned below ; Sir John de 
Clinton, of Coleshill; Osbert de Clinton, lord 
of the manor of Austrey, County Warwick, 
no issue; William de Clinton, rector of Aus- 
trey ; James de Clinton, seated at Badsley, the 
inheritance of his mother, which to the present 
time has retained the name of Badsley Clin- 
ton. His son and heir, Thomas, was survived 
by daughters only — Joan, who married (first) 
John Coningsby, and (second) John Fowkes; 
and Petronilla, who married John Woodward, 
of Solihull in Warwickshire. 

(V) Thomas (2) de Clinton, son of Thomas 
(i) and Mazera (de Bisege^ de Clinton 
(first Baron by tenure), married Maud 
Bracebridge, of Kingsbury, and was succeeded 
by his son. 

(VI) John de Clinton, son of Thomas (2) 
and Maud (Bracebridge) de Clinton, resided at 
Amington and later at Maxtock Castle, which 
he had from his wife. On February 6, 1298, 
he was summoned to parliament as Baron 
Clinton. In 1301 he was "specially summoned 
among divers great men to attend the king 
(Edward I.) at Berwick-upon-Tweed on June 
25. the feast day of St. John the Baptist, to 
march against the Scots, at which time the 
king, invading Scotland with his royal army, 
as a particular badge of his favor to him for 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



539 



his special services in that expedition, called 
him his beloved Esquire. He, by letters patent 
dated August 2, at Glasgow, granted him lands 
in that kingdom which were part of the pos- 
sessions of Malcolm Dromond (ancestor of 
the family of Perth), then in arms against 
Edward." In 1305 he participated in another 
Scottish expedition, and in 1308 by the king's 
special command, accompanied Edward, 
Prince of Wales, to Pronthieu. During the 
latter year the castle and honor of Wallingford 
were committed 10 his keeping. He married 
Ida, eldest of the four daughters and coheirs 
of Sir William de Odingsells, lord of Maxtock 
Castle and other possessions in Warwickshire 
whose wife was Ela, daughter of William 
Longspee (second of that name), Earl of 
Salisbury. Two sons were born of this mar- 
riage : John, mentioned below ; William. 

( VII) Sir John de Clinton, second Baron 
Clinton, eldest son of John and Ida (de Oding- 
sells) de Clinton, was knighted before 1325, in 
which year he was returned among the prin- 
cipal knights of the county of Warwick, who 
bore ancient arms from their ancestors. As a 
baron of the realm he was summoned to par- 
liament. In 1326 he accompanied John, Earl 
of Warren, in the expedition for the relief 
of the duchy of Guyen. He died after 1333 
He married Margery, daughter of Sir Wil- 
liam Corbet, of Chadsley Corbet in Worcester- 
shire. Children : John, mentioned below ; 
Mary, married Baldwin de Mountfort, of 
Coleshill. 

(VIII) Sir John de Clinton, third Baron 
Clinton, son of John, second Baron Clinton, 
and Margery (Corbet) de Clinton, was born 
1326. From youth he fought in the wars 
under his uncle, the Earl of Huntingdon. 
Later he participated in the glorious French 
campaigns of Edward the Black Prince, and 
he was at the great historic battle of Poictiers 
in 1356. Upon his return to England, his 
father being deceased, he was summoned to 
parliament by virtue of his position as a 
baron of the realm. In the French military 
expeditions of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of 
Warwick, Thomas of Woodstock, and several 
others he performed conspicuous services. He 
was the Lord Clinton who. as observed by 
Froissard, in the English invasion of Brittany 
"rode with his banner displayed and performed 
certain feats of arms at Nantes with Sir 
Galoys D'Aunoy." When Thomas Beauch- 



amp, Earl of Warwick, was attainted and ban- 
ished (1397), the custody of Warwick Castle 
and all the manors and lands belonging to it 
was confided to him. He died September 8, 
1399. He married (first) Idonea, eldest 
daughter of Jeffery, Lord Say, and grand- 
daughter, maternally, of Guy Beauchamp, Ear! 
of Warwick. She was coheir with her brother, 
William, Lord Say, cousin and heir of Wil- 
liam de Say, Baron of Sele. As the result 
of the failure of male issue in the Say line, she 
became the eldest coheir of this noble family, 
which from the time of the conquest had pro- 
duced men of distinction. Children: Cather- 
ine de Clinton, married Thomas, Lord Berke- 
ley; Sir William de Clinton, mentioned be- 
low ; Sir Thomas de Clinton ; Edward de Clin- 
ton, died unmarried 1400. Sir John de Clin- 
ton, the third Lord, married (second) Eliza- 
beth, daughter and at length heir of William 
de la Plaunch, of Haversham, County Buck- 
ingham (cousin and heir of Sir Roger Hillary, 
knight), and widow of Sir Robert Grey, of 
Rotherfield, knight. No issue. 

(IX) Sir William Clinton, eldest son of Sir 
John, third Baron Clinton, and Idonea (Say) 
de Clinton, died during the lifetime of his 
father. He married Elizabeth, daughter of 
Sir William Deincourt, knight, by Alice his 
wife, who was the daughter of Lord John 
Nevile, of Raby, and sister of Ralph, first Earl 
of Westmoreland. 

(X) Sir William Clinton, fourth Baron 
Clinton, eldest son of Sir William and Eliza- 
beth (Deincourt) Clinton, succeeding his 
grandfather in the estates, title and arms, was, 
like his ancestors, summoned to parliament as 
a baron of the realm ; his name appears in this 
connection continuously from 1400 to his 
death. During the reigns of Henry IV. and 
Henry V., and a portion of that of Henry VI., 
much of his time was engaged in the wars 
After serving in expeditions to Ireland and 
Scotland, he took part in the campaigns in 
France, where he was concerned in many no- 
table sieges and engagements. At various 
times he was "retained by indenture" to serve 
the king with his followers, who on one occa- 
sion consisted of thirty-eight men at arms and 
three hundred archers. In addition to his 
hereditary dignity of Lord Clinton, he bore 
the title of Lord Say by virtue of his heirship 
to William de Say and to his grandmother, 
Idonea. His landed possessions, as enumer- 



540 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



ated by Collins, consisted of manors and ham- 
lets in the counties of Kent, Sussex and War- 
wick. He died July 30, 1432. He married 
Anne, daughter of William, Lord Botreaux. 
and widow of Sir Fouke Fitzwaryn, knight. 

(XI) John Clinton, fifth Baron Clinton, son 
of Sir William, fourth Baron Clinton, and 
Anne (Botreaux) Clinton, was born about 
1410. In 1438 he exchanged with Humphrey, 
Earl of Stafford, his castle and manor of Max- 
stock for the manors of Whiston and Wood- 
ford in County Northampton. To his kins- 
man. Sir James Fynes, knight, he resigned, in 
1449, his title of Lord Say. From early man- 
hood he fought valiantly in the French wars. 
In 1441, while serving in the retinue of Rich- 
ard, Duke of York, he was taken prisoner by 
the French and he remained in captivity for 
six years, when he bought his ransom for six 
thousand marks. Returning to England he 
received from the king a special license to buy 
and sell wool and woolen cloths as a means of 
reimbursing himself. He was one of the no- 
bles (1459) who revolted against Henry VI. 
and sustained the pretension of Richard, Duke 
of York, to the throne. He was consequently 
attainted and his estates were seized, but upon 
the accession of Edward IV. (Richard's son) 
in 1461 his property was restored to him. He 
afterward served in another expedition to 
France and in a successful campaign made by 
Edward against the Lancastrian party in the 
north of England. He died September 25, 
1464. He married Elizabeth, daughter of 
Richard Fynes, Lord Dacre of Hurst-Mon- 
ceaux in Sussex. 

(XII) John Clinton, sixth Baron Clinton, 
only son of John, fifth Baron Clinton, and 
Elizabeth (Fynes) Clinton, was born about 
1434, died February 29, 1488. He married 
Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford. 

(XIII) John Clinton, seventh Baron Clin- 
ton, son of John, sixth Baron Clinton, and 
Anne (Stafford) Clinton, died June 4, 1515 He 
was with Sir Henry Poynings in the expedition 
in aid of Margaret, Duchess of Savoy, against 
the Duke of Guelders and in 15 14, "with 
divers other persons of honor and four hun- 
dred men at arms, went over to Calais for the 
better defense of that garrison." He married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Morgan, 
knight, of Tredegar, Countv Monmouth. 

(XIV) Thomas Clinton, eighth Baron 
Clinton, son of John, seventh Baron Clinton, 



and Elizabeth (Morgan) Clinton, was born | 
1491. He "succeeded to the manor of Folke- i 
stone in Kent with other large possessions, and 
having summons to parliament took his place 
among the barons of the realm. But two years 
after a distemper called the sweating sickness 
raging with that malignity as to kill in three 
hours divers knights, gentlemen, and officers 
of the king's court, the Lord Clinton and 
others of quality, who are recited by Lord 
Herbert in his life of Henry VIII. as of the 
king's court, died thereof (August 7, 1517)- 
He married Mary, daughter of Sir Edward 
Poynings, baronet and knight of the Garter. 

(X\') Edward Clinton, ninth Baron Clin- 
ton and first Earl of Lincoln, son of Thomas, 
eighth Baron Clinton and Marv (Poynings) 
Clinton, was born 1512. His career, beginning 
in the time of Henry VIII., extended through 
the reigns of Edward VI. and Mary I. and a 
portion of Elizabeth's; and under all these 
sovereigns he served with distinction in mili- 
tary, naval and civic employments, becoming, 
says Collins, "one of the most en inent persons 
this nation has produced." An infant at his 
father's decease, he was reared as a ward to 
the king (Henry VIII.) and received a care- 
ful and polished education At the age of 
twenty he attended the king in his memorable 
interview with Francis I. of France at Sand- 
ingfield and in the subsequent entertainments 
at Boulogne and Calais. Mention of him ap- 
pears frequently in connection with the con- 
cerns of the court. In 1541, "a great joust 
at tourney and barriers having been pro- 
claimed in France. Flanders. Scotland, and 
Spain for all comers, to be holden at West- 
minster May I, the Lord Clinton was the third 
of the forty-six defendants who very richly 
apparelled, appeared on that occasion, which 
continued five days, the king, queen, and whole 
court being present." 

Having at an early age contracted an inti- 
macy with John, Viscount of Lisle, Lord High 
Admiral, he entered the naval service, in 
which he rose rapidly to distinction. He was 
with the fleet which in 1544 escorted the Earl 
of Hertford, general of the army, to Scot- 
land, and after the successful assault on the 
Canongate he was the first of those who for 
meritorious conduct received the honor of 
knighthood. The fleet then scoured the coasts 
of Scotland and besieged and took Boulogne, 
of which he was made governor; and in con- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



541 



junction with Lord Lisle he was a witness to 
the resulting agreement signed by the French 
king to observe the treaty (June 7, 1546). At 
the funeral of Henry VHI. (1547) he was 
one of the twelve principal peers who were 
appointed chief mourners. After the accession 
of Edward VL he was appointed admiral of 
the fleet which was to assist the Duke of Som- 
erset in the expedition against Scotland for 
refusing to comply with the treaty that pledged 
the young Mary (Mary Queen of Scots) to 
marry King Edward. With fifty men-of-war 
and twelve galleys, he rode into Edinburgh 
Frith, greatly contributing to the memorable 
victory of Musselborough ( September 10, 
1547). On his return he was the object of 
marked evidences of favor, being granted ex- 
tensive estates in the County of Lincoln. He 
was next sent to Boulogne as the ablest person 
to defend that place against a threatened siege 
by the French. This trust he discharged with 
signal courage and skill, only surrendering the 
town when ordered to do so by the king and 
council pursuant to the treaty of peace. For 
his great services at Boulogne he received the 
personal thanks of the king and council, was 
made one of the privy council and a lord of 
the bedchamber with the title of Edward, Lord 
Clinton and Say, was appointed for life lord 
high admiral and chief commander of the 
fleets and seas, and was endowed with numer- 
ous other estates and manors. On April 24, 
1551, he was elected a knight of the Garter 
with Henry H., king of France, and about the 
same time he was appointed, with the Earl of 
Rutland, lord Heutenant of Lincolnshire and 
Nottinghamshire. Being designated to receive 
the embassy (1552) which came to propose a 
marriage between Edward and the Lady Eliza- 
beth of France, he personally conducted the 
ambassadors to the king. Afterward he was 
sent on a special mission to France, bearing 
costly presents, and concluded the negotiations 
for the marriage. Other honors which he en- 
joyed under Edward were those of sole lord 
lieutenant of the County of Lincoln and gov- 
ernor of the Tower of London. During the 
reign of Mary L he also rendered conspicuous 
services, retaining his previous dignities. He 
was present at the marriage of that sovereign 
to Philip of Spain. Upon the breaking out of 
war in 1557 he was appointed general of the 
army, and subsequently was lieutenant-general 
and chief commander of the fleet and forces 



against France and Scotland. He was in chief 
command of the military and naval expedition 
against Brest in 1558. During the same year, 
becoming involved with Lord Stafl^ord in a 
dispute as to precedence, the matter was re- 
ferred to the peers, and after an exhaustive 
examination of all the records it was decided 
"that the Lord Clinton had place next above 
the Lord Audley and next to Lord Abergave- 
ney, and that he was the second lord of the 
realm because of the long continuance of the 
Lords Clinton and of the great antiquity of 
the family, and that the Lord Stafi^ord was 
eleventh in rank or order of precedence." 
When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558 
she appointed him privy councillor and con- 
tinued him as lord high admiral. In the sixth 
year of her reign he attended her to the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge, and there received the 
degree of master of arts as a person of the 
highest rank. With other lords he was ap- 
pointed during the eleventh Elizabeth to "hear 
and examine matters brought against the 
Queen of Scots by the Earl of Murray, regent 
of Scotland." In conjunction with the Earl 
of Warwick he marched against the rebellious 
Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland 
(1569) and dispersed their forces. In recog- 
nition of his prolonged and eminent services 
he was elevated by Elizabeth to the peerage, 
May 4, 1572, as Earl of Lincoln. The next 
year, "attended by a great train of noblemen," 
he was sent to France to receive from Charles 
IX. the ratification of the treaty of Bloise. 
He was one of the commissioners named by 
the queen to treat of her proposed marriage 
to the Duke of Anjou. He died January 16, 
1585. "Always of unspotted report, specially 
for allegiance," says Hollinshead, "and there- 
fore singularly beloved in his life, so accord- 
ingly he was bemoaned in his death." He was 
buried in the south isle of the Chapel of St. 
George in Windsor. The tomb is a sumptuous 
monument of alabaster, with pillars of por- 
phyry. The Earl "lies in armor with his lady 
by him, in full proportions, their heads on a 
pillow and their hands uplifted as praying; 
on one side three sons in armor kneeling, and 
on the other five daughters in the same atti- 
tude." There is an elaborate Latin inscrip- 
tion. 

He married (first) EHzabeth, daughter of 
John Blount and widow of Gilbert, Lord Tal- 
boys. She was known as "the beautiful Eliza- 



S42 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



beth Blount." Children: i. Bridget, married 
Robert Dymock, Esq., of Scrivelby, County 
Lincoln. 2. Catharine, married William, Lord 
Brough. 3. Margaret, married Charles, Lord 
Willoughby of Parham. The Earl married 
(second) Ursula, daughter of William, Lord 
Stourton. Children : 4. Sir Henry Clinton, 
tenth Lord Clinton and second Earl of Lin- 
coln. He married (first) Catherine, daughter 
of Francis Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon. 
Two sons, of whom the elder, Thomas, suc- 
ceeded as third earl ; but owing to ultimate 
failure of male issue in the line ci this Thomas 
the succession to the earldom finally reverted 
to the descendants of his younger brother, Sir 
Edward, who married Mary, diughter of Sir 
Thomas Dighton, Esq., of Stourton, county 
Lincoln. A descendant of this Sir Edward 
was Henry Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln; 
married, 1744, Catherine, eldest daughter and 
heir of Rt. Hon. Henry Pelham. Her uncle. 
Thomas Pelham Holies, was created duke of 
Newcastle-under-Lymp on the 17th of No- 
vember, 1756, with special remainder to the 
Earl of Lincoln ; and upon the death of this 
Thomas, first duke, in 1768, Henry Clinton, 
ninth Earl of Lincoln, succeeded as seconJ 
Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, assuming by 
royal license the surname of Pelham — whence 
the present family name, Pelham-Clinton. The 
head of this house is now Henry Pelham 
Archibald Douglas Pelham-Clinton, seventh 
Duke of Newcastle and fourteenth Earl of 
Lincoln, born September 28, 1864. Another 
present representative is Mr. Charles Staple- 
ton Pelham-Clinton, of Moor St. Stoud, Eng- 
land, born 1857, giandson of the fourth duke, 
who married, in 1886. Lizzie, only daughter 
of Louis di Zeresra, of New York City. Re- 
curring to the Clinton line previous to the 
merging of the earldom of Lincoln in the 
dukedom of Newcastle, we find that Francis 
Clinton, sixth Earl of Lincoln, died 1693, 
aged fifty-eight, was the father, by his sec- 
ond countess, Susan, daughter of Anthony 
Penniston, Esq., of Hon. George Clinton, 
royal governor of the province of New York 
from 174-^ to 1753. This provincial governor, 
George Clinton, who died July 10, 1761, mar- 
ried Anne, daughter and heir of Hon. Peter 
Carle, major-general, their onlv surviving son 
being the distinguished Sir Henry Clinton, 
born 1738. died December 23, 17Q5, wlio was 
Knight of the Bath, member of parliament. 



lieutenant-general, and commander-in-chief of 
his majesty's forces in America during the 
revolutionary war, with headquarters in New 
York City. It was he who led the brilliant 
and successful expedition against Forts Clin- 
ton and Montgomery on the Hudson (1777), 
defended by his American kinsmen, General 
James Clinton and General George Clinton 
(then governor of the State of New York). 
Sir Henry left descendants in England. 5. 
Edward, unmarried. 6. Thomas, mentioned 
below. 7. Anne, married William Ascough, 
son and heir of Sir Francis Ascough, knight 
of Kelsy, county Lincoln. 8 Frances, mar- 
ried Gyles Bruges, third Lord Chandos. Ed- 
ward Clinton, first Earl of Lincoln, married 
(third) Elizabeth, daughter of Gerald Fitz- 
gerald, ninth Earl of Kildare, and widow of 
Sir Anthony Browne, knight. This was the 
lady celebrated by Henry, Earl of Surrey, as 
the Fair Geraldine. No issue. 

(X\T) Sir Thomas Clinton, third son of 
Edward, ninth Baron Clinton and first Earl 
of Lincoln, and Ursula Stourton, inherited 
estates in Ireland; in 1618 was seated at 
Dowdston in that country. He married Mary, 
daughter of John Tirrell, Esq., of Warley, in 
county Essex. England. Children : William, 
mentioned below ; Margery, married James 
Crelie, of the Newry, Ireland, who was 
drowned at Ringshead, April 2, 1618. 

(XVII) Sir William Clinton, son of Sir 
Thomas and Mary (Tirrell) Clinton, like his 
father, resided in Ireland. In the civil wars 
he supported the fortunes of Charles I. and 
was an ofiicer in the royalist armies. It may 
be remarked that the head of the Clinton house 
at that period, Theophilus, fourth Earl of 
Lincoln, was also a royalist, and for his ac- 
tivity in the cause his estates were seized. 
.^fter the triumph of Cromwell. Sir William 
Clinton went into exile on the continent, liv- 
ing in France and Spain. Later he was for 
some time in Scotland, where he married. He 
died in Glenwharry, Ireland. He married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Kennedy, 
Earl of Cassilis in the Scotch peerage, known 
as "the grave and solemn earl." Kennedy, 
and the Earls of Cassilis, were descended from 
Duncan de Carrick, who lived in the reign of 
Malcolm IV. of Scotland (beginning about 
1150). The grandson of Duncan, Roland of 
Carrick, had a grant of the country of Car- 
rick from Neil, Earl of Carrick, and was de- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



543 



clared chief of his name, this grant being 
confirmed by Alexander III. Sixth in descent 
from Roland was Sir John Kennedy (desig- 
nated as son of Sir Gilbert de Carrick in many 
writs), who had a confirmatory charter from 
David II. of the lands of Castlys, county Ayr, 
with other lands which came to him from 
his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Neil Mont- 
gomery. Descended from him in a distin- 
guished line was Lord David Kennedy, who 
was created Earl of Cassilis by James IV., 
1509. The earldom of Cassilis is now sub- 
ordinate to the marquisate of Ailsa, Archi- 
bald Kennedy, twelfth Earl of Cassilis, having 
been created, 1831, marquis of Ailsa. This 
Archibald, twelfth earl, was the son of Archi- 
bald, eleventh earl, who married (first) Cath- 
erine Schuyler, daughter of Peter Schuyler 
of New Jersey, and (second) Anne Watts, 
daughter of Hon. John Watts of New York 
(the descent being through the second mar- 
riage). Children of Sir William Clinton and 
Elizabeth Kennedy: i. Margaret, married John 
Parks ; children : John Parks ; Jane Parks, 
married John Young; Barbara Parks, married 
John Crawford. 2. James, mentioned below. 

(XVTII) James Clinton, son of Sir Wil- 
liam and Elizabeth (Kennedy) Clinton, was 
an infant at his father's death. He was born 
in Ireland and continued there, residing in 
county Longford, where he had considerable 
estates. A portion of his life was passed, 
however, as an officer in the military service 
under Queen Anne in England, where he made 
an effort to recover patrimonial lands, in which 
he was unsuccessful on account of the limita- 
tion of an act of parliament. He died in 
■county Longford, Ireland, January 24, 1718. 
He married Elizabeth Smith, of an English 
family, daughter of William Smith, a Crom- 
wellian officer. She died December 5, 1728. 
Issue: Christina, Mary, Charles, mentioned 
below. 

(The Family in America.) 

(I) Charles Clinton, son of James and Eliza- 
beth (Smith) Clinton, the founder of the 
family in America, was born in Ireland about 
1690 According to a letter brought by him 
to. America from Rev. James Bond, pastor 
of the dissenting (Presbvterian) congregation 
at Corbay, countv Longford, both he and his 
wife lived "within the bounds" of that con- 
gregation "from their infancy." He was active 
and prominent in the afifairs of the church, 



occupying the position of ruling elder. After 
his mother's death (1728) he made prepara- 
tions for removal to the colonies and was the 
leading spirit in organizing a company hav- 
ing for its object the founding of a settlement. 
On the 20th of May, 1729, with his wife and 
three young children, his two sisters, and his 
associates, he sailed from Dublin on the ship 
"George and Ann," bound for Philadelphia. 
The party numbered ninety-four persons, in 
whose behalf he paid the passage money. The 
voyage, chronicled in his diary, which is now 
preserved in the New York State Library in 
Albany, was one of the most unfortunate and 
distressing in colonial records. There was a 
shortage of supplies, the vessel was over- 
crowded, and many died of disease and 
famine, including two of Clinton's children. 
It was not until October 4, four and a half 
months, that land was seen, and instead of 
Philadelphia, whither the emigrants were 
destined, they were put ashore on Cape Cod, 
the master, who appears to have been a man 
of the greatest barbarity, positively refusing 
to carry them further. The Clintons passed 
the winter in Massachusetts. After due in- 
vestigation land for a settlement was selected 
in the province of New York some six miles 
southwest of the present city of Newburgh. 
The tract, about four miles square, received 
the name of Little Britain, also being called 
the "precinct of the Highlands." Though 
within a short distance of the Hudson river 
and only sixty or seventy miles from New 
York City, it was wholly unsettled, "border 
land to the Indians" In a petition asking 
for protection, which was addressed to the 
colonial legislature after this period by some 
inhabitants of Ulster county, it was stated 
that they were bounded on the west by the 
desert, where only the wild Indian made his 
home and grave. Here Clinton and his com- 
panions from Ireland built their homes, and 
the country being fertile and salubrious, grad- 
ually advanced to prosperity. His house was 
very strongly constructed as a frontier post 
and fortification for security against the 
Indians, and was often called "the fort." From 
an early period of his settlement Clinton, 
known for energy and ability, exercised a 
marked influence. Being a proficient surveyor 
and mathematical scholar, he was employed in 
various important matters in this connpction 
and so came into association with the officials 



544 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



of the provincial government. In November, 
1736, he joined with a son of Governor Cosby 
in petitioning for a grant of land extending 
on both sides of the Mohawk river around 
Fort Stanwix. He was appointed in 1738 
clerk of a military organization in the pre- 
cinct of the Highlands. During the admin- 
istration of his relative, George Clinton, royal 
governor of New York from 1743 to 1753, he 
formed an acquaintance with him which rip- 
ened into intimacy. Continuing his identifica- 
tion with the militia, he was promoted to lieu- 
tenant-colonel and colonel, and in 1758 he led 
in person a regiment against the French, which 
marched to the Mohawk Valley and was sta- 
tioned at Fort Herkimer, where he was for a 
time in command. Soon afterward he joined 
with his forces the main army under General 
Bradstreet and participated in the taking of 
Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario, one of the 
most brilliant and important events of the 
war. In this campaign he was near seventy. 
Two of his sons, James and George, were of- 
ficers under him, the former as captain, the 
latter as lieutenant. For manv years he oc- 
cupied the position of justice of the peace 
In 1764 he was one of the commissioners 
named to settle the controversies as to the 
New Jersey boundary line and similar vexed 
matters resulting from the confusion of the 
old Dutch grants. His last public employment 
was that of county judge of Ulster county 
(1769). He died at his residence, Little 
Britain, New York, November 19, 1773. In 
his will he directed that he be buried in the 
graveyard on his farm beside his daughter 
Catherine, and added the following request: 
"That my executors procure a suitable stone 
to lay over my grave, whereon I would have 
the time of my death, my age, and coat-of- 
arms cut. I hope they will indulge me in 
this last piece of vanity." Charles Clinton 
was distinguished for dignity and refinement 
of manners, purity and elevation of character, 
sincere devotion to the interests of religion, 
and earnest attachment to his adopted country. 
He lived to witness the events which fore- 
shadowed the conflict with Great Britain, and 
his dying injunction to his sons was to main- 
tain the liberties of America 

He married, in Ireland, Elizabeth Dennis- 
ton, born about 1705. died December 25, 1779. 
She was of the very ancient Scottish family 
of Dennistoun, from which Robert II. was 



descended ; over the mantel in the hall of the 
ancestral castle were inscribed the words: 
"Kings came of us, not we of kings." An 
exceptionally accomplished and intelligent 
lady, she gave every encouragement to her 
husband and sons in their various activities, 
and shared in their patriotic ardor. Issue: i. 
Catherine, born in Ireland, August 11, 1723, 
died in Little Britain, New York, November 
28, 1762 ; she married, June 22, 1749, Captain 
James McClaughry, who came to America 
with the Clinton party in 1729; no issue. 2. 
James, born in 1726, died on the passage to 
America, August 28, 1729. 3. Mary, born in 
Ireland, July 11, 1728, died on the passage, 
August 2, 1729. 4. Alexander, born in Little 
Britain, New York, April 28, 1732, died in 
Shawangunk, New York, March 11, 1758; he 
was graduated from Princeton College in 1750, 
studied medicine under Dr Peter Middleton 
in New York City, and practiced his profes- 
sion in his native neighborhood; no issue. 5. 
Charles, born in Little Britain, July 20, 1734, 
died April 3, 1791, unmarried. 6. James, men- 
tioned below. 7. George, born in Little Britain, 
July 26, 1739, died in Washington, D. C, 
April 20, 1812. 

(II) James, sixth child of Charles and 
Elizabeth (Denniston) Clinton, was born 
August 9, 1736, in Little Britain, Ulster coun- 
ty (now Orange county). New York. During 
his entire life he resided in his native locality. 
"With a hardy and vigorous constitution, ac- 
customed to alarms and Indian incursions, he 
became in early life attached to the profession 
of arms," and it is as a soldier that he is 
chiefly remembered. In 1757, at the age of 
twenty-one, he was commissioned ensign, and 
the following year was made first lieutenant 
with power to enlist troops in the war with 
France. He commanded a company of his 
father's regiment in the expedition against 
Fort Frontenac (1758), and with his brother, 
George, exhibited an intrepidity in the result- 
ing attack which gained him great credit. On 
the same occasion the brothers further dis- 
tinguished themselves by the capture of a 
French vessel on Lake Ontario Continuing 
in the army until the peace of 1763, he was 
variously employed throughout these five 
years as an ofiRcer at frontier posts, in border 
skirmishes, and in enlisting new recruits under 
orders from the colonial governors, achieving 
a high reputation for soldierly qualities. In 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



545 



1763 he organized and commanded a corps 
of two hundred frontier guards. After the 
war he resumed the duties of peaceful Hfe 
at his native place, but, retaining his military 
enthusiasm, was active in promoting the effi- 
ciency of the local militia, in which he was 
advanced to lieutenant-colonel. In the devel- 
opments which led up to the separation of the 
colonies from the mother country he took an 
intense interest, and his name appears prom- 
inently in the early movements both for mili- 
tary and civil preparation. After the battle 
of Lexington, April 19, 1775^ he, with his 
brothers. Dr. Charles and George, and brother- 
in-law, Captain McClaughry, was instrumental 
in the formation of the committees which met 
at New Paltz on May 11. He was one of the 
delegates from Ulster county to the first 
provincial convention, held in New York City, 
and signed the strong document promulgated 
by that body on May 26. Later he was 
conspicuous in circulating the "association" 
agreements for support of the continental 
congress and in organizing forces. On 
June 30, 1775, he was unanimously ap- 
pointed by the provincial congress colonel of 
the Third New York Regiment; and in the 
fall he was made colonel of one of the new 
regiments which had been raised in Ulster 
county. With a portion of his command he 
accompanied General Montgomery to Canada, 
and he was with the army before the walls of 
Quebec when that heroic leader fell. In June, 
1776, Colonel Clinton was stationed at Fort 
Montgomery on the Hudson. Under his 
supervision the works there and at the neigh- 
boring Fort Clinton were completed, and with 
great energy he labored to put them and their 
garrisons in readiness for defense. Only 
scanty munitions being sent him, he manufac- 
tured his own powder and ball. He was pro- 
moted to brigadier-general in the army of the 
United States in August. Possessing the 
especial confidence of General Washington, 
who regarded the security of the Hudson as of 
the very highest importance, he was continued 
in the command at Fort Montgomery. 
The next year occurred the memorable 
descent of Burgoyne's army from Canada, 
the prime object of this invasion being 
the mastery of the Hudson, which if realized 
would have isolated New England and 
have prevented all future conjunction be- 
tween the eastern and western colonies. At 



the same time that Burgoyne advanced from 
Canada, Howe, the British commander in New 
York, sailed with a formidable expedition for 
Philadelphia, thus engaging the main Ameri- 
can army under Washington in that quarter. 
Thereupon Sir Henry Clinton, Howe's suc- 
cessor in New York, proceeded to carry out 
that very vital part of the British plans which 
involved forcing the defenses of the lower 
Hudson and effecting a junction with Bur- 
goyne. On the 4th of October, 1777, Sir 
Henry embarked his forces, some four 
thousand men, at New York, sailed up the 
Hudson, and landed at Verplanck's Point be- 
low Peekskill in Westchester county. Peeks- 
kill was at that time the headquarters of the 
military district of the Highlands, which com- 
prehended Forts Montgomery and Clinton. 
The command of the district was held by 
General Israel Putnam at Peekskill, subor- 
dinate to him being the brothers. General 
(Governor) George Clinton at Fort Mont- 
gomery and General James Clinton at Fort 
Clinton. (In the very grave military situation 
Governor George Clinton had leemed it his 
duty to take the field in person, and had come 
to the support of his brother in the Highland 
forts.) General Putnam, at Peekskill, mis- 
apprehended Sir Henry's object, supposing it 
was to attack his main position in force, and 
he not only neglected to strengthen the Clinton 
brothers in the forts, but even sent to them 
for troops. In the night the British com- 
mander transferred some three thousand of 
his men to the west bank of the river, leaving 
the remainder of Verplanck's Point to con- 
tinue the ruse. Everything worked to his sat- 
isfaction ; Putnam still thought the objective 
of the enemy was Peekskill, and it is said that 
though he received early intelligence of the 
passage of a body of the British to the other 
•,ide, he concluded this was only a detachment ; 
certain it is he took no measure to reinforce 
the brothers, for which he had ample time after 
hearing of the new movement. On the morn- 
ing of October 5, the three thousand British 
who had landed on the west side took up the 
difficult march northward through the moun- 
tain passes. About five o'clock in the after- 
noon they arrived in the vicinity of the forts,, 
and, surrender being refused, divided into two 
columns and stormed them from the rear. The 
forces under the brothers did not exceed five 
hundred, but a terrific resistance was made 



546 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



which lasted till after nightfall, when the 
overwhelming power of numbers prevailed. In 
the fight General James Clinton suffered a 
severe bayonet wound. The last to leave Fort 
Clinton, he escaped down a precipice, one 
hundred feet high, fronting the river, and 
made his way to his home at Little Britain. 
The governor crossed in a rowboat to the op- 
posite shore. The taking of the Highland 
forts was one of the most sensational events 
of the revolution, standing as much to the 
credit of the British general who planned and 
executed the enterprise as did the subsequent 
capture of Stony Point, a few miles below, 
to that of the American General Wayne. Sir 
Henry Clinton, having an unobstructed path 
before him (West Point had not then liieen 
built,) immediately marched to assist Bur- 
goyne. but was too late, and so, after burning 
Kingston and committing other ravages, re- 
turned to New York. Forts Montgomery and 
Clinton were demolished and never recon- 
structed. For this disastrous afifair Putnam 
was sharply criticised but the conduct of the 
Clinton brothers was regarded by both Wash- 
ington and congress with unmixed approba- 
tion. Against odds of six to one their situation 
was hopeless unless reinforced ; but as help 
miglit still come from Putnam, and as in any 
case it was their duty to maintain the honor of 
the American arms, they made a desperate 
defense, prolonging it in sheer heroism until 
further fighting could have had no other issue 
than the mere massacre of their little remnant. 
After recovering from hi? wounds. Genera! 
James Clinton returned to the army and was 
stationed at the new post of West Point on 
the Hudson. As a result of the Wvoming 
and Cherry Valley massacres it was decided to 
di=patch a strong expcd'tinn against the 
Indians. To the details of this matter ^^''ash- 
ington gave very particular attention, and the 
preservation among Tames Clinton's papers of 
the original letter of the commander-in-chief 
shows that it was referred to him General 
Sullivan was placed at the head of the expedi- 
tion, with Clinton second in command. In 
June, 1779, Clinton moved with his division 
of two tliousand from Albany, proceeded up 
the Mohawk Valley, crossed to Lake Otsego, 
and there embarked in two hundred and 
eighteen boats which had been carried over- 
land with great labor. At the lower extremity 
of the lake, where it has its outlet in the east- 



ern branch of the Susquehanna river — ordin- 
arily an unnavigable stream — he built a dam, 
elevating the water several feet. Men were 
sent ahead to clear the river of driftwood, the 
flood was released, and the troops rode quickly 
and safely down, reaching the point of ren- 
dezvous in the Susquehanna Valley before 
the main army. On the 29th of August, Sul- 
livan having arrived, the united forces en- 
countered the Indians at Newtown (now El- 
mira, New York), and completely defeated 
them. The object of the campaign being re- 
■ tributive, an extensive march was then made 
through the country of the Onondagas, Cayu- 
gas and Senecas. which was thoroughly laid 
waste, villages, stores and crops being de- 
stroyed. This was one of the most comprehen- 
sive and successful expeditions ever under- 
taken against the savages. Years afterward 
General Clinton, revisiting the scene, was re- 
membered by the chiefs of the tribes and was 
offered large donations of land (which he 
declined) because of their admiration for him 
as a brave man. In 1780, after the treason of 
Arnold, Washington wrote to Clinton, then at 
West Point: "As it is necessary there should 
be an ofificer in whom the state has confidence 
to take the general direction of afifairs at Al- 
bany and on the frontier, I have fixed upon 
you for this purpose, and request you will 
proceed to Albany without delay and assume 
command." He administered this post — the 
northern department — very efficiently until 
August, 1781. when, with his troops, he joined 
Washington and accompanied him in the York- 
town campaign. It was his brigade which 
received the colors of the British army at the 
surrender of Cornwallis. Afterwards he was 
for several months in command of the Ameri- 
can forces at Pompton, New Jersey. He was 
one of the distinguished officers present at the 
evacuation of New York in November, 1783. 
LTpon his retirement from the army he held the 
rank of maior-general. 

The remainder of his life was for the most 
part passed in the privacy of his home, al- 
though on several occasions he was summoned 
to the public service in honorable position. 
In 1784 he was appointed regent of the LTni- 
versity of the State of New York. He was 
a delegate to the famous Pous^hkeepsie con- 
vention of 1788. held to consider the Ignited 
States constitution, and strongly supported his 
brother in opposition to that instrument : but 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



547 



after its ratification he defended it with his 
accustomed sincerity and energy. At various 
times he was a member of the assembly and 
state senate, and he also was a commissioner 
on the New Jersey boundary and sat in the 
convention of 1801 which revised the state 
constitution. He died in Little Britain, New 
York, December 22, 1812. 

In person General Clinton was one of the 
most striking individualities of his times — of 
commanding stature and powerful physique, 
finely proportioned, and with features of re- 
markable beauty, indicative of the greatest 
dignity, resolution and candor. As a military 
leader he was above all distinguished by ef- 
ficiency — self-possessed amid the most serious 
dangers, a firm disciplinari?cn, and absolutely 
loyal to every trust. These qualities led to 
his constant employment by Washington in 
responsible commands on the Hudson river, 
where unquestionable reliability, incessant 
alertness, and administrative vigor were the 
prime requirements. On the other hand, his 
campaign of 1779 to the Indian country, in- 
volving an extraordinarily toilsome march and 
a delicate engineering feat, executed with pre- 
cision of detail and surprising dispatch, dem- 
onstrates that as a field commander he also 
possessed exceptional abilities. His son. Gov- 
ernor De Witt Clinton, in a tribute to his 
character said: "He was ?. p^ood man and a 
sincere patriot, performing in the most ex- 
emplary manner, all the duties of life, and he 
died as he had lived, without fear and without 
reproach." 

He married ffirst) February t8, 1761;, Marv 
(baptized Maria) De Witt, onlv daughter of 
Egbert De Witt, of Naoonach, Ulster county. 
New York, and Mary (Nottingham) De Witt. 
Her ancestry was as follows : Tjerck Claesen 
De Witt, from the Netherlands ; married, in 
the Reformed Dutch Church, New Amster- 
dam, April 24, 1656, Barbara Andriessen ; 
fourteen children, of whom the eldest was 
Andries De Witt, born in New Amsterdam, 
1657. died July 22, T710: lived for some years 
in Marbleton, New York, later removing to 
Kingston ; married. March 7, 1682, Jannetje 
Egbertsen, daug-hter of Egbert Meindertse and 
Jaepe Tans : twelve children, the tenth of whom 
was Esjbert De Witt, born March 18. i6qq; 
lived in Naponach, Ulster county, married, 
November .1. 1726, Mary Nottino-ham, daugh- 
ter, of William and Margaret (Rutsen) Not- 



tingham ; nine sons and one daughter, Mary 
De Witt, married James Clinton, mentioned 
above. Issue of James and Mary (De 
Witt) Clinton: i. Alexander, born in Deer- 
park, Orange county. New Y'ork, 1765, 
drowned in the Hudson river, March 15, 1787; 
he served as lieutenant in Colonel Lamb's regi- 
ment of artillery during the revolution, and 
was for a time private secretary to his Uncle 
George ; unmarried. 2. Charles, mentioned be- 
low. 3. De Witt, governor of New York, etc., 
born in Little Britain, March 2, 1769, died in 
Albany, New York, February 11, 1828. 4. 
George, born July 6, 1771. 5. Mary, born 
July 20, 1773; married (first) Robert Burrage 
Norton, (second) Judge Ambrose Spencer; no 
issue. 6. Elizabeth, born January 15, 1776; 
married Lieutenant WilHam Stuart, who 
served in the revolutionary army ; seveil chil- 
dren. 7. Katherine, born September 24, 1778. 
died 1837; married (first) Samuel Lake Nor- 
ton, brother of Robert Burrage Norton, her 
sister Mary's first husband ; no issue ; married 
(second) Judge Ambrose Spencer, her sister'.'; 
widower. General James Clinton married 
(second) Mrs. Mary (Little) Gray, widow 
of Alexander Gray. .She was born in county 
Longford, Ireland, August 22, 1768, died in 
Newburgh, Orange county, New York, June 
22, 1835. Issue: 8. James, died young. 9. 
Caroline H., born March 27. 1800; married 
Judge Charles A. Dewey, of Northampton, 
Massachusetts. 10. Emma L., born February, 
1802, died July 6, 1823 ; unmarried. 11. James 
Graham, born January 2, 1804, died May 28, 
1849, "Honored, loved, lamented." 12. Leti- 
tia, born April 12, 1806. died April 23, 1842, 
aged thirty-six ; married Dr. Francis Bolton ; 
children: Thomas Bolton, died young; James 
Clinton Bolton, lawyer in New York; married 
Laura Tallmadge. 13. Anna, born July 26, 
1809, died December 11, 1833, aged twenty- 
four ; married Lieutenant Edward Ross, of 
the LTnited States army. 

(Ill) Charles (2), second son of James and 
Mary (De Witt) Clinton, was born February 
t8, 1767, in Little Britain, and died in New 
York Citv, April 20, T829. He prepared for 
the practice of law, was admitted to the bar, 
and gave much of his time to his profession. 
He had a particular taste for surveying, in 
which he was very skillful and devoted consid- 
erable time to that occupation. His home was 
in Newburgh, New York, where he filled vari- 



548 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



ous positions of irust and responsibility. In 
1802 he represented his district in the state 
assembly. He married, in 1790, Elizabeth, 
daughter of William and Mary (Denniston) 
Mulliner, of Little Britain, born there April 
27, 1770, died August 15, 1865, in New York 
City. Children: Maria, born March 26, 1791, 
married Robert Gourlay Jr. ; Alexander, men- 
tioned below. 

(IV) Dr. Alexander Clinton, only son of 
Charles (2) and Elizabeth (Mulliner) Clin- 
ton, was born April 7, 1793. in Newburgh, 
and died February 16, 1878, in New York 
City. He studied medicine and engaged in 
practice. He joined the United States army 
in which he attained the rank of lieutenant 
He married Adeline Arden Hamilton, daugh- 
ter of ^Captain James and Mary (Dean) Ham- 
ilton, natives of Scotland. Captain Hamilton 
was a descendant of the ancient family of 
that name of the Baronage of Innerwick. 
Children : Mary Elizabeth, married John 
Rhinelander, of Bleecker ; Adeline Arden, wife 
of Thomas E. Brown ; Alexander James, many 
years president of the Eagle Fire Insurance 
Company, of New York City ; Ann Eliza, 
Mrs. Thomas A.. Wilmerding; Charles Wil- 
liam, a noted architect of New York City 
De Witt, mentioned below ; Katherine Spen- 
cer, died in childhood. 

(V) De Witt, third son of Dr. Alexander 
and Adeline Arden (Hamilton) Clinton, was 
born July 5, 1835, in New York City. He re- 
ceived his education in private schools of his 
native place. From i860 to 1897 he was a 
member of the New York Stock Exchange 
and is now retired from :ictive business, re- 
siding in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He is not 
affiliated with any religious body. During 
the first thirty-three years of his life his home 
was in New York City, and from 1868 to 1897 
he resided in South Orange, New lersey, 
whence he removed to Ridgewood. Politically 
he is a Republican. He served a term of en- 
listment in the Seventh Regiment, National 
Guard, State of New York, during the period 
of the civil war and the draft riots. He was 
married in St. Anne's Church, New York City. 
September 25, 1862, to E'izabeth Sigourney 
Burnham, born August 9, 1840. in New York 
City, died at Ridgewood, New Jersey. Janu- 
ary 9. 1912. daughter of Michael and Jane 
(Carter") (Si.Erourneyl Burnham, of New York 
City. Children: Alexander, born August 11, 



1863, in New York, died at Norwalk, Connecti- 
cut, July 23, 1864; De Witt, mentioned below; 
Jennie Sigourney, born September 14, 1867, 
in New York ; Roland Burnham, mentioned 
below; Elizabeth Sigourney born December 13, 
1880, at South Orange, New Jersey. 

(VI) De Witt (2), second son of De Witt 
(i) and Elizabeth Sigourney (Burnham) 
Clinton, was born October 23, 1864, in New 
York City. He attended private schools in 
South Orange, New Jersey He is connected 
in business with the firm of Clinton & Russell, 
architects, with offices in Liberty street. New 
York City, practicing architecture. He is also 
a professional musician and church organist, 
and has been director of various choruses and 
church choirs, though not connected otherwise 
with any religious organization. He is a mem- 
ber of the Architectural League of New York, 
and the Manhattan Single Tax Club and Sun- 
rise Club of the same city. He has long en- 
gaged actively in the single tax propaganda, 
and other economic and social reform work, 
and is politically independent. He was reared 
at South Orange. New Jersey, and now resides 
at Ridgewood. same state. 

(YD Roland Burnham, third son of De 
Witt (i) and Elizabeth Sigourney (Burnham) 
Clinton, was born October 14, 1878, in South 
Orange, New Jersey. He attended public and 
private schools in that place. Since attaining 
manhood his time has been devoted principally 
to literary work. He is not connected with 
any religious organization, and is politically 
independent. His home is now at Ridgewood, 
New Jersey, where he was married, November 
8. 191 1, to Pauline L. Provine, born Novem- 
ber 2, 1887, in New York City, daughter of 
James Edwin and Stella Mary (Bates) Pro- 
vine. They have one son • De Witt Provine 
Clinton, born October 18, 1912. in Brooklyn. 
New York. 



In preparing the gene- 
FLOYD-JONES alogy of the Floyd- 
Jones family it becomes 
necessary to take into consideration two fam- 
ilies which for centuries have been of fore- 
most account in the State of New York, and 
with an influence much wider. For genera- 
tions the Jones family, settled on Long Island, 
has contributed a line of distinguished legisla 
tors and jurists, and has maintained promin- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



549 



€nce in political life under both British and 
American rule. The Floyd family was among 
those of this state which were held in esteem 
before the revolution, gained distinction at 
that period, and since then its members have 
invariably been worthy. 

The line of descent to be considered here 
is traced separately through the Floyd and 
Jones families. In the year 1757 they were 
united by an important intermarriage, and the 
united strains became known as Floyd-Jones 
by the legislative enactment of 1788, which 
enabled Colonel David Richard Floyd to add 
the name of Jones to his surname, hence he 
and all of his descent since then to the present 
day have borne the name Floyd-Jones. As 
the male line was that of the Floyd family, at 
tention will first be paid to it. 

(I) Colonel Richard Floyd was the first of 
this family in America. He was born about 
1620, and was a native of Brecknockshire, 
Wales. He came to this country in 1656, set- 
tling in Setauket, Long Island. There he be- 
came one of the fifty-five original proprietors 
of Brookhaven, was made a justice, and ap- 
pointed a colonel of the Suffolk militia com- 
pany. His wife, Susanna , was born in 

1626, and died in 1700. They had one child, 
who bore the name of its father. 

(II) Colonel Richard (2) Floyd, son of 
Colonel Richard d) Floyd and his wife Sus- 
anna, was born May 12, 1661, and died Febru- 
ary 28, 1737. He was appointed county colonel 
m the days when King William's war made 
troubled times, and by the grace of Anne be- 
came a judge of the court of common pleas. 
He married, September 10. 1686, Margaret, 
daughter of Colonel Matthias Nicoll, secre- 
tary of New York colony, and many years 
judge of Sufifolk county, anci his wife Abigail. 
Margaret Nicoll was born in 1662 and died 
in 1718. The inscription upon Colonel Floyd's 
tombstone, still in a state of preservation at 
Setauket, Long Island, reads: "Here lies ye 
body of Richard Floyd, Esqre.. late Collonel 
of this County, and a Judge of ye Court of 
Common Pleas, who deed. Febry 28, 1737, in 
ye 73 year of his age." Children : i. Su.sannah. 
born 1688; married Edmund Smith, son of 
Adam, son of Richard, of the "Bull" Smith 
family of Smithtown. 2. Marg-aret, born 1690: 
married Rev. John Thomas, of Hempstead. 3. 
Charity, born 1692, died in 1758; married 
(first) Benjamin Nicoll; (second) Dr. Samuel 



Johnson. 4. Eunice, born 1694; married Wil- 
liam Stephens. 5. Ruth, born 1699; married 
Walter Dongan. 6. Richard, born 1703 (see 
forward). 7. Nicoll, born 1705, died 1752; 
married Tabitha Smith. 

(III) Colonel Richard (3) Floyd, son of 
Colonel Richard (2) Floyd and Margaret 
Nicoll, was born December 29, 1703, and died 
April 21, 1771. He married Elizabeth Hut- 
chinson, born in 1709, died in 1778, daughter 
of Benjamin and Martha Hutchinson, large 
property owners bordering on Long Island 
sound. Children: Richard, of whom further; 
Elizabeth ; John ; Margaret ; Benjamin ; Gil- 
bert : William ; Samuel ; Mary ; Anna. 

(IV) Colonel Richard (4) Floyd, son of 
Colonel Richard (3) and Elizabeth (Hutchin- 
son) Floyd, was born February 26. 1731, and 
died February 6, 1791. He settled upon the 
estate left to him by his father at Mastic, Suf 
folk county. Long Island, where he was re 
garded by all as the most generous man who 
had ever resided within that county. He en- 
tertained all ranks of neighbors not only 
courteously but cordially, and sustained the 
reputation of keeping the most hospitable table 
on the entire island. Needless to say, these 
characteristics of his nature made him num- 
erous friends and precluded enemies. To the 
poor he likewise extended unstinted generosity, 
and all those in distress lived to revere his 
memory as their best friend. He was a Tory 
of the deepest dye throughout the revolution, 
and became one of the proscribed individuals 
who came under the Act of Attainder. For 
this reason he was obliged to leave the country 
in order to save any portion of his valuable 
property. The remainder, including the fine 
family place at Mastic, Long Island, was con- 
fiscated, and his wife fortunately succeeded 
to the property bequeathed b^ her father 
Colonel Richard Floyd was also related to 
General Nathaniel Woodhull, of the American 
army, who married Ruth Floyd, first cousin of 
Richard, and they were near neighbors at 
Mastic. The battle of Long Island was fought 
August 27, 1776, in which the British arms 
were victorious. Nathaniel Woodhull was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general and commander-in- 
chief of all the militia on Long Island. Before 
he reached Jamaica, with less than one hun- 
dred men, the battle was decided, so he re- 
mained there at an inn kept by a man named 
Carpenter, about two miles east of the village. 



550 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



for reinforcements, which he could not get, as 
the American army had escaped from Long 
Island, leaving the enemy in possession. The 
British received information where he was, 
and surrounded the house, making him and all 
his party prisoners. This happened on the 
night of August 28, 1776, and not a gun was 
fired. The general, favored by darkness, at- 
tempted to escape; but being discovered by 
sentries while attempting to get over a fence, 
he received a number of strokes from their 
.swords, particularly a severe one upon the 
arm. He was carried aboard a man-of-war, 
and treated with hospitality. The surgeons 
advised amputation, but he would not give his 
consent, and hence the wound mortified, caus- 
ing his death, which occurred September 20, 
1776. 

Colonel Richard Floyd married, November 
2, 1757, Arabella Jones, born December 7, 
1734, died May 29, 1785, daughter of Judge 
David Jones and Anna Willett. The judge 
amassed a fortune of considerable size, being 
a large property owner on Long Island. His 
daughter Arabella thus became wealthy by 
inheritance, and through her issue the property 
was to descend provided a child of hers would 
carry down the name of Jones. In order to 
take the best of care of the will of her father, 
in 1783 she desired Ruth Woodhull, widow 
of the general, to take care of it. The will was 
delivered to her by Mrs. Floyd sealed in a 
paper, with the declaration *hat it was the will 
of Judge David Jones. This was placed in a 
sealskin trunk by Mrs. Woodhull for safe- 
keeping with the will of General Woodhull ; but 
on April 5, 1784, Mrs. Woodhull's house 
caught fire and the trunk, with its valued con- 
tents, was destroyed. Colonel Richard Floyd 
left his home on Long Island in 1783, for Con- 
necticut, and from there went to Nova Scotia. 
He died at Maugerville, New Brunswick, June 
30, 1791, where he was buried. His wife was 
buried at Mastic, Long Island. Children: i. 
Elizabeth, born August 8, 1758, died May 7, 
1820; married. September 28, 1785. John P. 
De Lancey. 2. David Richard, born November 
14, 1764. later known as David Richard Floyd- 
Jones (see forward"). 3 Anne Willett, born 
August 17, 1767, died June 8, 1813; married, 
December 3, 1784, Samuel Benjamin Nicoll. 

As David Richard Floyd, son of Colonel 
Richard Floyd and Arabella Jones, became 
known as David Richard Floyd-Jones by Act 



of Legislature of New York State in 1788, the 
Jones line will be considered. 

(The Jones Line.) 
By its very name, the family proclaims itself 
of the country of Wales. Johnes is the style 
of the primitive orthography, although the 
contracted form of Johns is equally correct 
and Jones the modern form, now in common 
use in America. Besides consideration of the 
name, students of the family history assert 
that traits and characteristics of the Welsh as 
a race stand out in succeeding generations ever 
since the arrival of the first of the name in 
this country, and they even go so far as to 
point out the transmission of these traits in 
the female line, when reflecting on the quali- 
ties of allied families Edward F. de Lancey 
has defined them. "The distinguishing char- 
acteristics of the family are penetration, judg- 
ment, independence, resolution, clearness of 
intellect, strength of memory, coolness, de- 
termination of action and high honor, united 
with a temperament sanguine and choleric, 
great fearlessness, and a disposition extremely 
social and hospitable " Another has said : 
"Other characteristics of the family, those not 
based upon the ideas of any one individual, 
are its longevity, the excellence of its matri- 
monial alliances, the great eminence which 
many of its members have obtained in legal 
jurisprudence, and the continuance of the 
latter through successive generations." Were 
either of these views half right, one would have 
abundant reason to be proud if a member of 
the family, which for righteous reason finds its 
name recorded on numerous pages of Ameri- 
can history. In substantiation of this a single 
paragraph will make the matter perfectly 
clear. Commencing with Major Thomas 
Jones, the first of the name in this country, 
one finds that shortly after his arrival on Long 
Island, about 1695, he held the official position 
of high sheriff, and in 1710 was justice of the 
peace for Queens county. After his decease 
his eldest son David became judge of Queens 
county, in 1734, and was made the second 
justice of the Supreme Court of New York 
in 1763, sitting for ten years, when he was 
succeeded by his son Thomas, who filled the 
offices of recorder of the City of New York 
and judge of the Supreme Court, holding the 
latter office until the end of the revolution, 
when, because of his adherence to the Crown, 
he was forced to lea\-e the country for Eng- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



551 



land, where he wrote his vyell-known history, 
"New York During the Revolutionary War." 
These facts not alone seem to, but actually 
do prove, the previous declaration regarding 
this family's standing in the community. 

(I) Major Thomas Jones was the progenitor 
of this family in America. It is a matter of 
tradition that the family was descended in 
remote times from a good family resident of 
Ireland who intermarried with another of 
Wales, supposed to have originated in Merion- 
etshire or Glamorganshire. But. as previously 
stated, the blood of the Wel.=;h family seems to 
have been predominant and has given the 
name. 

Thomas Jones, after the king's defeat at 
the battle of the Boyne, fought between the 
English under William III. and the Irish 
under James II., 1690, emigrated to America 
from Straubane, Ireland, in 1692', his title 
of major having been bestowed when he was 
an officer in the army of the dethroned mon- 
arch. He was a Protestant gentleman of 
Straubane, in county Tyrone, Province of 
Ulster, Ireland, some one hundred and fifty 
or more miles to the northwest of Dublin, 
where he was born about the year 1665 The 
family had come there, the north of Ireland, 
from England. He landed at Port Royal, in 
the island of Jamaica, where he was at the 
time of the great earthquake in June of that 
year. It is unverified tradition that he com- 
manded one . of the vessels in the harbor 
whither the people then flocked for safety — the 
"Swan" and the "Siam Merchant." Thomas 
Jones figures in history as a regularly com- 
missioned privateer under King James II., 
for there is record of a trial for being a pirate, 
whereas his business differed essentially as 
may be shown. In his testimony he avers : 

"We accepted the King's commission and acted 
under it, and for which we were condemned as 
traitors, and we never received any protection from 
King William; but served all along as subjects to 
King James II., etc., etc., and that after the sur- 
render of Limerick we (and thousands more) were 
conveyed as enemies into France, with our arms, 
brass guns and ammunition, and that being thus 
convej-ed to France, continued to act under King 
James II., as our King, and he all along, while we 
were in Ireland and after, commissioned us as his 
subjects, and that the ship and goods we took by 
virtue of a commission as privateers, etc., etc., and 
that thereafter we ought to be treated as only ene- 
mies and prisoners of war, etc. Some of these 
men were executed, not all." 



The above shows the activity of the man in 
adventure and a portion of his life in following 
the sea. When he arrived in Rhode Island 
he held a commission as captain. This was 
in 1692. The governor of New York colony 
from 1692 to 1698 was Colonel Fletcher, and 
he it was most likely who allowed him the com- 
mission or recognized him as a captain to 
cruise against Spain while that country was 
at war with England. While in Rhode 
Island, he became associated with Captain 
Thomas Townsend, who was an active trader. 
He participated in his numerous enterprises 
and married his daughter Freelove. Captain 
Townsend was son of John Townsend and 
his wife Elizabeth, and had come to Rhode 
Island from their place on Long Island. The 
latter colony had proved a refuge for the 
Quakers when persecuted, and there Thomas 
Townsend, his father-in-law, died in or about 
1712. Thomas Townsend gave to Major 
Thomas Jones and Freelove Townsend Jones, 
his wife, in 1695, a large tract of land which 
had formerly belonged to the Massapequa 
Indians at Fort Neck, on the south side of 
Long Island. He had previously offered it 
to his son, John Townsend ; but the land 
seemed so distant from other built-up places 
that the son refused it, saying: "Does father 
want me to go out of the world?" 

Seven Indians from this place had come 
on November 27, 1655, fo f^^^' with Peter 
Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor at New Am- 
sterdam, representing the Marsepain, or Mar- 
sepingh tribes, whose chief was Tachpausaan, 
alias Meautinnemin, Fort Neck, Queens coun- 
ty, Indians. To this vast estate Major Thomas 
Tones and his wife removed in 1696 There 
he built a substantial house of brick, at the 
head of the creek, on the portion now known 
as the Massapequa Farm. Many relics of the 
tribes liave been dug up at this locality, and 
it is believed by what has been discovered that 
the Indian cemetery was on the north side of 
the turnpike, just west of Little Massapequa 
creek. Lord Cornbury, governor of the 
province of New York, commissioned Thomas 
Jones a captain of militia in Queens county, 
October 20, 1702. On October 14, 1704, he 
was appointed high sheriff of Queens county, 
and on April 3, 1706, he was made major 
of the Queens county regiment. Governor 
Hunter of New York appointed him ranger 
general of the Island of Nassau. The last- 



552 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



named commission bears date September 4, 
1710. Rangers general were sworn officers of 
the Crown, to whom were granted by the 
sovereign or his representative the royal rights 
or franchises, of waifs, estrays, hunting royal 
fish, treasure trove, mines, deodands, forfei- 
tures and the like. This particular office gave 
Major Jones the monopoly of the whale and 
other fisheries from both the north and south 
shores of Long Island Subsequent to Thomas 
Jones' settlement upon this domain, he ac- 
quired from the Indians and other owners, as 
well as by inheritance by his wife from her 
father, various tracts which included the West 
Neck and Umqua properties. By accumula- 
tion he was eventually the possessor of about 
6,000 acres of land, all contiguous, which at 
a later date was designated as follows : "That 
part extending from or near the Jerusalem 
South Creek, later called 'Verrity's,' or At- 
ianticville creek, now designated as Seaford 
creek, to the Little West Massapequa creek, 
was denominated 'West Neck From the 
West Massapequa creek to the east branch of 
Fort Neck creek was called Fort Neck, and 
from there east to Carman's creek, running 
south to Umqua Point, was designated as 
Umqua. The northern boundary of the es- 
tate ran very close to the village of Hard- 
scrable. now Farmingdale." The dwelling 
which he erected was for many years the 
wonder of the age, its cognomen being the 
"Old Brick House." Many strange and weird 
stories are told about it, one to the effect that 
after the death of Major Jones, strange noises 
were heard there, and that a small, cir- 
cular window, seen in the gable, could never 
be closed, for sashes, boards and even bricks 
held by mortar, placed over or in it, were in- 
stantly removed by an invisible power. This 
house was demolished in 1837, and for a long 
time afterward any negro passing by would 
shrink with terror, expecting the appearance 
of a ghost. The inlet from the Great South 
Bay into the ocean has for a long time been 
known as Jones" Inlet, and the long sand dune 
as Jones' Beach, taking the name directly 
from the progenitor of the family and original 
owner. Freelove Townsend Jones also re- 
ceived from her father a house and two lots 
in Oyster Bay, which Major Jones sold to 
George Townsend in 17 12. 

When Major Thomas Jones died, Decem- 
ber 13, 1713, he was buried in a small grave- 



yard on the bank of what was then called 
Brick House Creek, now known as Massa- 
pequa Creek. A brownstone headpiece marks 
the spot, on which was carved the inscription 
which he wrote: "Here Lyes Interd The 
Body of Major Thomas Jones, Who Came 
From Straubane, In the Kingdom of Ireland, 
Settled Here and Died December, 1713." Be- 
neath that : 

"From Distant Lands to This Wild Waste He Came, 
This Seat He Choose, And Here He Fixed His 

Name. 
Long May His Sons This Peace Full Spot Injoy, 
And No 111 Fate his Offspring Here Annoy." 

On May 21, 1709, Major Thomas Jones, 
Colonel Henry Smith, and Colonel Richard 
Floyd were ordered by Lieutenant-Governor 
Ingoldesby "to engage the Long Island In- 
dians to join the expedition into Canada.'' In 
171 1 he subscribed £2 Eng'ish towards build- 
ing Trinity Church steeple in New York City. 
As early as 1710 he held the office of super- 
visor of Oyster Bay, and was annually re- 
elected until he died. September 2, 1709, he 
was appointed assistant justice of court of 
common pleas for Queens county. His wi- 
dow, who was born December 29, 1674, mar- 
ried Major Timothy Bagley (no issue), and 
died July, 1726. Children: i. Sarah L., born 
1695, died August 18, 1696. 2. David, of 
whom further. 3. Freelove, born 1700, died 
before 1768. 4. Thomas, born 1701, died 
November 13, 1741. 5. Sarah, born 1703. 6. 
Margaret, born about 1706, died before 1768. 
7. William, born April 25, 1708, died August 
29, 1779 8. Elizabeth, born about 1710, died 
after 1768. 

(II) Judge David Jones, son of Major 
Thomas Jones and Freelove Townsend, was 
born at Fort Neck, Long Island, September 
16, 1699, and died there'^ in the "Old Brick 
House," October 11, 1775. As early as 1734 
he had from Governor Cosby, of New York, 
the appointment of judge of Queens county, 
fitting in the court of common pleas. On 
June 2, 1737. at an election for members of 
assembly, he had 390 votes and Colonel Isaac 
Hicks 432, the latter supported by the Quak- 
ers, who were of course numerous. From 
1737 to 1758 he was member of assem- 
bly and also in 1761. For thirteen years 
he presided as speaker of the house. It 
was here he made a decided mark in his- 
tory. On December 15, 1737, he introduced 
a bill to repeal so much of the law of this 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



553 



colony concerning the Quakers as required 
them to produce certificates. This bill was 
lost, Chief Justice de Lancey dissenting. Oc- 
tober 20, 1737, he introduced a bill "to restrain 
tavern keepers from selling strong liquors to 
servants and apprentices." It was passed. 
September 14, 1738, he, with Colonel Isaac 
Hicks and others, were appointed by the legis- 
lature as a committee to prepare an address 
of condolence to His Majesty on the lamented 
death of her late Majesty Queen Charlotte. 
November, 1739, a bill was introduced by him 
and passed, to prevent setting fire or burning 
the old grass on Hempstead Plains. October 
4, 1752, he was chosen speaker. July 4, 1753, 
he and John Townsend and others were ap- 
pointed commissioners to examine the en- 
croachments made on this province by neigh- 
boring colonies. 

Although Judge David Jones was an Epis- 
copalian, he was not of the high church party 
favored by his son, Thomas, and it is inferred 
that he inclined somewhat to the Presbyte- 
rians, because they were so largely his con- 
stituents. In 1754, while speaker of assembly, 
he had much to do in procuring the charter 
for King's College in the city of New York, 
now Columbia University. A clause in this 
charter provided that its president should al- 
ways be a member of the Church of England. 
This created a serious storm of opposition, and 
he was roundly abused for favoring it. His 
son has left a statement regarding the incident 
in these words : "It threw the whole Province 
into a ferment, and Presbyterian pulpits thun- 
dered sedition." In the election for Assembly, 
February 24, 1761, David Jones received 382 
votes ; Thomas Cornell 363 : Thomas Hicks 
342; and Zebulon Seaman 217. He was first 
appointed judge in 1758, and although the 
rule that an office-holder went out on the death 
of the monarch, he was reappointed in 1761, 
arid he continued to hold the position until, 
wishing to resign in 1773, his son Thomas took 
his place. 

He built a large house on his estate at Fort 
Neck, which he called Tryon Hall, in honor 
of the governor. He possessed the clearness 
of mind and incisiveness of character which 
is so marked a characteristic of his race, never 
"hesitating in doing anything he believed to be 
right, regrardless of consequences, and alwavs 
commanded the confidence of the public 
throughout his career. While speaker of as- 



sembly, he had the firmness to order the doors 
of the chamber closed against the governor 
until a bill, then under discussion, was acted 
upon, it being known that the governor was 
opposed and had determined to prevent action. 
Throughout his life he was an imyielding ad- 
vocate of the rights of the people against every 
species of royal encroachment. 

To Judge David Jones and his heirs in taile 
was devised the greater portion of his father's 
large estate located at South Oyster Bay, who 
by sufifering a common recovery the life estate 
thus devised to him was changed into a fee, 
which he devised to his son Thomas during 
his life, with remainder on failure of issue, 
to his daughter Arabella and her issue in- 
tail-male. The entailment of the property by 
Judge David Jones saved it from being for- 
feited, as he adhered to the royal cause during 
the revolution, and on the restoration of peace 
was "attainted" and forced to leave the coun- 
try for England, where he died without issue. 
The estate thus devised him under his father's 
will was by a provision in that will vested in 
the testator's daughter, Arabella, and her heirs 
in-taile-male. An abstract of this important 
will states : 

"All his beaches, lands, marshes and grounds cov- 
ered with water in Queens County, he gives to his 
son, Thomas, for his use during his life, and after 
his death to the use of the first son of his said son 
Thomas, and the heirs male of such first son, etc., 
and in failure of such issue to the use of the second 
son, and sons of his Said son Thomas during their 
lives. On the failure of heirs male of his son, 
Thomas, he gives all the said real estate to and for 
the use of the oldest daughter of his said son, 
Thomas, during life, etc. In case of a total failure 
of issue of his son Thomas, he gives the same to 
and for use of his grandson, David Richard Floyd, 
the oldest son of his daughter Arabella, for his life, 
and after his death to and for the use of the first 
son of his said grandson, in-tail forever, they taking 
the surname of Jones." 

Judge Jones made further provision, in case 
there was no male heir and no one of his fam- 
ily took the name of Jones. In either event 
the said lands were to go to King's College, 
New York; the rents and issues to be applied 
yearly to the maintenance of charity schools, 
two of such schools always to be in Queens 
county — one at Jamaica and the other in the 
town of Oyster Bay. 

Judge David Jones married, November 22, 
1722, Anna, then aged eighteen years, called 
the second daughter of Colonel William Wil- 
lett, of Willett's Point, Westchester county. 



554 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



New York, great-granddaughter of the settler, 
Thomas WiUett, of Bristol, England, who 
married Sarah Cornell, of New York, in 1643. 
She died January 31, 1750, and he later mar- 
ried Margaret, widow of John Treadwell, by 
whom no issue. She was a daughter of 
Colonel William Willett and- his wife Alice, 
daughter of Governor CoMen, therefore a 
niece of his first wife. Children: i. Anna, 
born May 11, 1724. 2. Sarah, born February 
12, 1728, died April, 1828. 3. Thomas, born 
April 20, 173 1, died July 25, 1792. 4. Ara- 
bella, born December 7, 1734, died May 29, 
1785 ; married, November 2, 1757, Colonel 
Richard Floyd (see foward). 5. David, born 
April 30, 1737, died September 9, 1758. 6. 
Mary, born April 29, 1743. 

(The Floyd-Jones Line.) 

(V) David Richard Floyd-Jones (formerly 
David Richard Floyd), son of Colonel Rich- 
ard Floyd and Arabella Jones, was born No- 
vember 14, 1764, and died February 10, 1826. 
He took possession of the Fort Neck estate 
about 1782 to 1783, it being with his mother's 
consent, and that of his uncle. Judge Thomas 
Jones, when the latter became civilly dead by 
reason of the Act of Attainder. As his grand- 
father. Judge David Jones, by his will entailed 
his Fort Neck property in-tail male upon his 
only son, Judge Thomas Jones, and in default 
of issue to his daughter Arabella in-tail male, 
by reason of such default David Richard 
Floyd inherited. But there was another pro- 
vision in the will, and that was to the effect 
that the son inheriting must take the surname 
of Jones or annex it. He therefore appealed 
to the legislature to be allowed to affix the 
name of Jones to his own. The Act of the 
Legislature reads : 

"Chap. 75, of the New York Laws of 1788; an Act 
to enable David Richard Floyd to add the name of 
Jones to his surname, passed March 14. 1788: 
Whereas, David Richard Floyd by his petition to 
the Legislature has prayed that the surname Jones 
may be added to his present name. Therefore. Be 
it enacted by the People of the State of New York, 
represented in Senate and Assembly, and it is hereby 
enacted by the authority of the same, that the sur- 
name of Jones be and the same is hereby added to 
the name of David Richard Floyd and that at all 
times hereafter he shall and may take upon himself 
the name David Richard Floyd-Jones, and by the 
same name be known and called in all cases what- 
soever," 

Shortly after his succeeding to the estate, he 
was admonished by his uncle. Judge Thomas 



Jones, as follows : "Behave with caution and 
prudence, and let me beg of you by your con- 
duct never to disgrace the families of your 
two grandfathers. Always remember one was 
first in Queens, the other in Suffolk." There 
is every evidence that he regarded this ad- 
vice, and lived Vifith probity and honor, as 
had his ancestors. It is known that he was 
a most faithful churchman, never failing to 
drive on Sunday mornings ten miles to St. 
George's Church at Hempstead, which was 
the nearest in the parish. 

David Richard Floyd-Jones married, Sep- 
tcinber 20, 1785, Sarah Onderdonk, born 
March 26, 1758, died February 29, 1844, 
daughter of Hendrick and Phoebe (Tread- 
well ) C)nderdonk. Her father-in-law was of 
the third generation in this country, being the 
son of Andries .and his wife, Gertrude Lott. 
He was born December 11, 1724; died March 
31, 180C); married May 20, 1750; and she was 
born July 12, 1730, died December 19, 1801, 
Children: i. David Thomas, born April 25, 
1787, died June 12, 1787. 2. Thomas, of 
whom further. 3. Arabella born February 6, 
1790, died May 5, 1790. 4. Henry Onderdonk, 
born January 3, 1792, died December 20, 1862; 
became a major-general ; married Helen, 
daughter of Charles Watts, of South Caro- 
lina, who was born November 24, 1792, and 
died July 18, 1872; seven children. 5. An- 
drew Onderdonk, born January 9, 1794, died 
February 11, 1794. 

(VI) Brigadier-General Thomas Floyd - 
Jones, son of David Richard Floyd-Jones and 
Sarah Onderdonk, was born July 23, 1788, 
and died August 23, 185 1. On the death of 
his father he succeeded to the estate at Fort 
Neck, which was in 1826, and was the last 
owner under the entail created by his great- 
grandfather. Judge David Jones. \\''hen the 
law of entail was abolished in 1830 he be- 
came possessor of the entire estate in fee 
simple. When he died in 185 1, intestate, his 
estate was divided among his four children so 
that each was the recipient of about 1,200 acres 
of the land which had been left from father 
to son since the time of the Indians. He was 
one of those contributing to the erection of 
Grace Church, at Massapequa, Long Island; 
in fact, he was the one to give the land there- 
for and was one of the two coninrising the 
building committee. Because of his love and 
affection for his brother, Henry Onderdonk 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



555 



Floyd-Jones, he deeded to him a good farm 
on the eastern part of the Fort Neck property, 
between the two branches of Fort Neck creek, 
on which a house of some size then stood, 
which was rebuik and the place named "Rose- 
dale." This brother was a member of assem- 
bly in 1829-30, and a member of the State 
senate in 1836-40, besides which he held the 
position of major-general of Queens county 
militia. Both the brothers received exceed- 
ingly long and interesting epistles from James 
Fenimore Cooper, which were published in a 
book entitled "England by an American." 
General Floyd-Jones commanded a company 
of detached militia in the Second Regiment 
of New York State Infantry, commanded by 
Colonel Daniel Bedell, at Fort Green, Brook- 
lyn, in the war with England, 1812-1815. He 
was regarded as a thoroughly representative 
man of the gentry of Queens county, and was 
esteemed by his neighbors. In 1837, he re- 
ceived the letters mentioned from his friend 
Cooper, who was making an extensive tour 
abroad and was a connection by marriage. 
General Thomas Floyd-Jones married January 
z8, 1812, Cornelia Haring Jones, born April 
22, 1796, died December 29, 1839, daughter of 
Major William and Kezia (Youngs) Jones, of 
Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, and thus a 
third cousin of her husband. Children: I. 
David Richard, of whom further. 2. William, 
born March 10, 1815, died February 7, 1896; 
married Caroline Amelia, daughter of Robert 
Blackwell, of New York, and who was born 
July 31, 1822, died December 9, 1886. 3. El- 
bert, born February 7, 1817, died February 
17, 1901 ; married (first) June 5, 1838, Emily, 
born 1815, died April 29, 1845, daughter of 
Plunket F. Glentworth, M.D., of Philadelphia, 
and Harriet Bostock, his wife. 4. Sarah Ma- 
ria, born December 10, 1818, died January 2, 
1892: married, 1854, Coleman Williams, born 
1805, died December 27, 1891, and formerly 
resided in Halifax Court House, Virginia. 

(VII) Lieutenant-Governor David Richard 
Floyd-Jones, son of Brigadier-General Thomas 
Floyd-Jones and CorneHa Haring Jones, was 
born at Fort Neck. Long Island, April 6, 1813, 
and died at the old homestead, January 8, 1871. 
He was buried in the ancient family burial- 
ground at Massapequa, Long Island. 

He received his early education at a public 
school near his father's residence at Fort Neck, 
and commenced his classical studies in Christ 



Church School at Manhasset. He then entered 
the sophomore class of Union College, gradu- 
ating in 1832. After that he studied law in 
the office of Judge Samuel W. Jones, of 
Schenectady, and began practice in 1835, with 
James P. Howard, in New York City. He 
started his political career in 1840, and identi- 
fied himself with the Democratic party. In 
1840 he was chosen a member of assembly of 
New York, and was re-elected in 1841, and 
again the following year. In 1843 he was 
elected to the senate from the first district, 
which then comprised the counties of New 
York, Kings and Richmond. He was a prom- 
inent and influential member of the constitu- 
tional convention of 1846 from New York 
City. On the close of his senatorial term, 
1847, and following the death of Jesse Oakley, 
he was appointed clerk of the superior court 
of New York City, by Chief Justice Oakley, 
Judges Sandford and Van der Poel, which 
office he filled faithfully until the death of his 
father, 1852, when he returned to his native 
place. Through 1858-59 he held the position 
of president of the Queens County Agricul- 
tural Society, for he had been as successful as 
a country gentleman as in politics. 

In 1856 he was lured from a pleasant retire- 
ment to be assemblyman and in the subse- 
quent session filled the speaker's chair. He 
was nominated with great unanimity of senti- 
ment for secretary of state by both wings of 
the Democratic party in the fall of 1859, and 
was triumphantly elected, holding the position 
at the breaking out of the civil war. He co- 
operated with Governor Morgan in enlisting 
and sending forward troops, and was a pa- 
triotic figure along these lines. He took a 
most decided stand against the dissolution of 
the Union, and made a ringing speech July 4, 
1862, which attracted wide attention and was 
published. It brought him more into the 
limelight of public life, and in the fall of that 
year he was elected lieutenant-governor on the 
ticket with Horatio Seymour heading it for 
governor. His oration upon assuming office, 
January 5, 1863, when he was the acting cx- 
officio president of the senate, was a burst of 
patriotism which stirred the souls of listeners. 
One who had known him intimately and had 
been his political opponent, spoke of him in thi? 
strain after his death : 

"He passed through life from the beginning to 
the end of it, I believe, without a single blemish 



556 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



upon his reputation or standing before the entire 
communitv of this State. No man in the heat of 
partj- strife or conflict, no man in the heat of debate 
upon the floor in either branch of the Legislature, 
was ever heard to say aught against his pure and 
upright character, and no man who watched him 
can say aught than that he worked with his whole 
heart and soul for the benefit of those who had 
placed him in position." 

In the work of the Episcopal church he was 
a devout and consistent helper. The Church 
Journal of 1871 has this to say: 

"His influence and usefulness in the councils of 
the church need no other record than the important 
positions which he filled in the Diocese of New 
York previous to its recent division, and subse- 
quently in the Diocese of Long Island. In the new 
diocese his important services were immediately rec- 
ognized and acknowledged at its primary convention 
by his being elected a member of the standing com- 
mittee, a deputy to the General Convention, and also 
a deputy to the Federal Council. He was appointed 
on the Special Committees on Canons, and on the 
Revision of the Constitution and Canons, in both of 
which he served with marked ability." 

Lieutenant-Governor David Richard Floyd- 
Jones married, at Albany, New York, June 25, 
1845, Mary Louisa Stanton, born August 14, 
1818, died at Massapequa, Long Island, July 
22, 1906, daughter of George W. Stanton, of 
Albany, and his wife Sally, daughter of Theo 
philus Morgan, of Killingworth, Connecticut 
Children: i. Stanton, born June 11, 1846, 
died February 17, 1848. 2. George Stanton, 
of whom further. 3. Thomas Richard, born 
December 15. 1851, died February 4, 1857. 4. 
Mary Louisa, born September 29, 1853. 5 
Henrietta, born October 22, 1855, died No- 
vember 13, 1897; graduate of St. Mary's Hall, 
Burlington, New Jersey; joined Sisterhood of 
St. John the Baptist. 6. Sarah Hall, born Sep- 
tember 18, 1857; married, June 28, 1892, Cap- 
tain Nathaniel W. Barnardiston, an officer in 
the Duke of Cambridge's "Own Middlesex 
Regiment," England, eldest son of Colonel 
Nathaniel, of the Ryes, Sudbury, Suffolk 
county, England, and Lady Florence Barnard- 
iston, daughter of the fourth Earl of Dart- 
mouth ; by whom : Joan, born January 31, 1897, 
at Colchester, England. 7. Thomas Langley, 
born October 7, 1859, died August 30, 1861. 

(VIII) George Stanton Floyd-Jones, son of 
Lieutenant-Governor David Richard Floyd- 
Jones and Mary Louisa Stanton, was born at 
Albany, New York, December 25, 1848. He 
received his early education at the Albany 
Academy, then at the Walnut Hill Academy 



in Geneva, New York, and followed this course 
with studies in the Oak Hill Academy at 
Yonkers. He became associated with the At- 
lantic Mutual Insurance Company, September 
25, 1865, and in 1913 was secretary of that 
corporation, having succeeded Mr. J. H. Chap- 
man in 1902. He is a member of the Demo- 
cratic party, and was an attendant of St. Igna- 
tius Episcopal Church in New York City and 
of Grace Church, Massapequa, and was a 
member of the vestries of each until 1894, 
when he and his wife joined the Roman Cath- 
olic church, attending St. Martin's Church, 
Long Island, and the Church of the Blessed 
Sacrament in New York City. His summer 
home is at Massapequa, Long Island, and is 
called "Seawan," and his city residence is at 
No. 207 West Seventieth Street, New York 
City. He is a member of several clubs and 
societies, among them the Union Club, Cath- 
olic Club, Automobile Club, Society Sons of 
the Revolution, Union Society of the Civil 
War, Society for the Protection of Game, etc. 

George Stanton Floyd-Jones married, at 
Christ Church, New York City, February 4, 
1880, Anita Owen. She was born in New 
York City, May 3, 1855, and was the daughtet 
of Thomas Jefferson Owen and Emilie Ket- 
cham Piatt, of New York City. 

(VI) Henry Onderdonk Floyd-Jones, son of 
David Richard and Sarah (Onderdonk) 
Floyd-Jones was born January 3, 1792, and 
died at his home in South Oyster Bay, Long 
Island, New York, December 20, 1862. He 
was member of assembly from Queens county 
in 1829 and 1830, and from 1836 to 1840 was 
State senator for the First District, compris- 
ing then Long Island, Staten Island and New 
York City. He was major-general of the 
Queens county militia. 

General Henry O. Floyd-Jones married 
Helen, daughter of Charles Watts, of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, who was born Novembe; 
24, 1792, and died at South Oyster Bay, July 
18, 1872. Children: i. Charles, born 1817, 
died 1874; married Isabella M. Semple, who 
died November 3, 1888, by whom: Robert, 
Semple and Edgar. 2. Sarah, born October i, 
181S, died August 10, 1900; unmarried. 3. 
Henry, born March 10, 1820, died February 
20, 1849; unmarried. 4. Edward, of whom 
further. 5. De Lancey, born January 20, 
1826, died January 19, 1902, New York City; 
married, June 24, 1852, Laura Jeannie Whit- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



557 



ney, daughter of Warcham Whitney, of Ro- 
chester, New York ; no issue. He was a West 
Point graduate, June, 1846, when twenty years 
old, and commissioned second Heutenant in 
the Seventh U. S. Regiment of Infantry, 
served under General Zachary Taylor in Mex- 
ico; in 1848 was made lieutenant because of 
his gallantry in the battle of Molino del Rey, 
and July 31, 1854, was commissioned cap- 
tain; was sent to California in 1856 to serve 
against the Kalmath Indians, and May 14, 
1861, was commissioned major of the Eleventh 
Infantry, serving in the battle of Yorktown, 
Gaines Mill and Malvern Hill. In 1863 he be- 
came lieutenant-colonel of the Nineteenth In- 
fantry, and on June 25, 1867, was made colonel 
of the Third Regiment Infantry, serving 
against the Indians during the period of terri- 
torial expansion, 1868 to 1879, when the red- 
man was supreme the breadth of the western 
prairies. In the latter year he retired, and 
living in New York City the remainder of his 
life was held in highest esteem. 6. Helen 
Watts, born December 9, 1827, died July 25, 
1855 ; unmarried. 7. Josephine K., born Au- 
gust, 1832, died November 15, 1905; married 
John D. Jones. 

(VII) Edward Floyd-Jones, son of Major- 
General Henry Onderdonk and Helen (Watts) 
Floyd-Jones, was born at South Oyster Bay, 
Long Island, New York, January 26, 1823, 
and died at New York City, January 23, 1901. 
He was buried in the ancient family burial- 
place at Massapequa, Long Island. 

He was educated at Easthampton and at 
the Union Academy, Jamaica, Long Island. 
Civil engineering was adopted for his profes- 
sion, and he followed this calling some years, 
being engaged in building railroads. In 1849, 
when the gold fever possessed so many and 
the people of the Eastern States were flock- 
ing in numbers to the gold lands of the Pacific 
coast, he made the trip by vessel around Cape 
Horn and landing in California engaged first 
in engineering work and afterward in the sale 
of agricultural implements and general mer- 
chandise. The firm was known as Jones & 
Hewlett, and was located at Stockton, Califor- 
nia. Later on Mr. Hewlett became president 
of the Bank of Stockton. Returning to the 
East in 1862 Mr. Floyd- Jones lived for a few 
years at Hempstead, Long Island, returned to 
Stockton in 1869 and came East permanently 
in 1872, living at Greenport till the death of 



his wife in 1874, when he settled in the old 
homestead at South Oyster Bay. He was 
chosen supervisor of the town of Oyster Bay 
in 1886, and in 1891 was elected State senator, 
receiving in Queens county 11,537 votes, while 
Roswell P. Flower, who was elected governor, 
received 11,543 votes. His district comprised 
Queens and Suffolk counties. 

Edward Floyd-Jones married, at Greenport, 
Long Island, December 10, 1862, Mary Smith 
Lord, of Greenport, Long Island. She was 
born at Sag Harbor, Long Island, December 
14- 1839, died at San Francisco, California, 
May 23, 1874, and was daughter of Dr. Fre- 
derick W. Lord and Louisa Ackerley. 

(VIII) Edward Henry Floyd- Jones, son of 
Edward Floyd-Jones and Mary Smith Lord, 
was born at Hempstead, Long Island, New 
York, January 2, 1869, and resides at Massa- 
pequa, Long Island, on the old estate of his 
ancestors. 

He received his preparatory education at 
St. Paul's School, in Garden City, Long Island, 
1878-1883, and at St. Paul's School, Concord, 
New Hampshire, 1883-1888. He then at- 
tended Yale University, 1888-1892, and gradu- 
ating, entered the New York Law School, 
where he studied, 1892- 1894, and entered the 
practice of law in New York City, with office 
at No. 49 Wall Street. He entered Squadron 
A, National Guard, New York, serving from 
1895 to 1897. He has usually voted the Demo- 
cratic ticket; is a member of the Protestant 
church, and a vestryman of Grace Church, 
South Oyster Bay, New York. Before resid- 
ing in Massapequa he had lived some time in 
Hempstead, Long Island, Stockton, California, 
and at Greenport, Long Island. He is a mem- 
ber of several clubs in New York City, among 
them the University, Yale, Graduates Club (of 
New Haven), City Midday, New York Bar 
Association, Automobile Club of America and 
the Aztec Club of 1847. He is also a member 
of the South Side Sportsmen's Club of Long 
Island. 

Edward H. Floyd-Jones married, November 
22, 1905, at the home of the bride's father. 
No. 33 West Forty-sixth Street, New York 
City, Miss Edith Carpender, who was born 
at No. 16 East Forty-second Street, April i, 
1880, and was the daughter of William Car- 
pender and Ella Floyd-Jones, daughter of 
William Floyd- Jones. 



558 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



This name is of English origin, and 

FISH was very early identified with Long 

Island. Little trace of it is found 

in New England, but it has long been well 

known in New York. 

Nathaniel, John and Jonathan Fish were, as 
early as 1637, among the founders of Sand 
wich, on Cape Cod, coming there from Lynn, 
Massachusetts. 

(I) Jonathan, the youngest of them, later 
moved to Oyster Bay on Long Island. He 
again appears in Middelburg, or Newtown, 
Long Island, as early as 1659, and was evi- 
dently a man of worth and standing. The 
records of that town show frequent mention of 
his name in official capacities as a magistrate. 
He was owner of a twenty-shilling right in the 
town lands, which secured him a share in the 
various divisions of the common lands. He died 
about 1663, leaving a widow, Mary, and three 
sons (John, Samuel and Nathan), all of whom 
were among the patentees of Newtown in 
1686. Samuel died in 1700 without issue, and 
John removed to New Jersey. 

(II) Nathan, son of Jonathan and Mary 
Fish, inherited from his father a right in the 
undivided lands of Newtown and continued to 
reside there, where he died August i, 1734. 

(III) Jonathan (2), eldest child of Nathan 
Fish, was born'October 11, 1680, in Newtown, 
and died there in November, 1723. He in- 
herited the ancestral homestead and other 
lands in the village of Newtown, where he re- 
sided. He occupied, and perhaps built, the 
house afterwards kept as an inn by his son, 
and long known as the "Corner House." In 
1715 he gave to the "Dissenting Presbyterian 
Congregation of Newtown" the land on which 
the old Presbyterian church stood until the 
present church was built in 1895 He served 
fifteen years as town clerk. He was survived 
by his wife Mary, but only two of his seven 
children appear to have reached maturity: 
Samuel, mentioned below, and Jane, born May 
26, 1721, married Charles Palmer. 

(IV) Captain Samuel Fish, only surviving 
son of Jonathan (2) and Mary Fish, was born 
November 24, 1704, in the village of New- 
town, and inherited from his father the "Cor- 
ner House," which became noted as an inn 
during his lifetime. He seems -to have been a 
useful citizen in various ways, and died Au- 
gust 27, 1767. He married (first) June 21, 
1727, Agnes, daughter of John Berrien; (sec- 



ond) April 22, 1748, Abigail, daughter of Ed- 
ward Howard; (third) November 19, 1752, 
Anna Betts, who survived him. Of his fifteen 
children the following appear in the records: 
Jonathan, mentioned below; Ruth, born May 
7, 1730; Samuel, April 13, 1734; Mary, July 
9, 1736; Sarah, February 24, 1739; Richard, 
August 9, 1743; Abigail, August 27, 1749; 
Elizabeth, August 24, 1753. 

(V) Jonathan (3), eldest child of Samuel 
and Agnes (Berrien) Fish, was born May 11. 
1728, in Newtown, where he died December 
26, 1779. He owned the homestead in New- 
town, on which he dwelt, with the exception 
of some years when he was a merchant in 
New York City and there resided. He mar- 
ried (first) October 5. 1750, Elizabeth, 
daughter of Joseph Sackett, who died April 9, 
1778; and (second) Elizabeth, daughter of 
Thomas Whitehead, who died October 26, 
1798. There were two children, both of the 
first marriage: Sarah, born October 22, 1755. 
married Terence Reilly; and Nicholas, men- 
tioned below. 

(VI) Nicholas, only son of Jonathan (3) 
and Elizabeth (Sackett) Fish, was born Au- 
gust 28, 1758, in New York City, and died 
there in his house. No. 21 Stuyvesant street, on 
June 20, 1833. He studied law in the office 
of John Morin Scott On the breaking out 
of the Revolutionary War he entered the ser- 
vice of the Colonies as a lieutenant in the 
First New York Regiment. On November 21, 
1776, he was appointed by Congress major of 
the Second New York Regiment of the Con- 
tinental army, and served with that rank 
throi'gbort the war. .A^t its close he was. by 
a resolution of Congress, commissioned as 
lieutenant-colonel. He participated in the bat- 
tle of Long Island, the battle of Monmouth, 
and General Sullivan's expedition against the 
Indians. He took an active part in the battles 
which led to the capture of Burgoyne at Sara- 
toga, and the surrender of Cornwallis, and 
with his lifelong friend, Hamilton, was in the 
final assault at Yorktown. He enjoyed the 
confidence of General Washington and of all 
his contemporaries, and was by him appointed 
a division inspector of the army in 1778 under 
General Steuben, who was inspector-general. 
He continued in the regular army for a few 
years after the close of the Revolutionary 
War, commanding a regiment of infantry at 
Fort Mcintosh and other points on the Ohio 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



559 



river in 1785-6. He was one of the original 
members of the Society of the Cincinnati, and 
assistant treasurer of the New York State So- 
ciety at its organization, and president thereof 
from 1797 to 1804. In 1786 he was appointed 
as the first adjutant-general of the State of 
New York, serving in that capacity until 1793. 
He was appointed Supervisor of the Revenue 
by President Washington in 1794, and served 
for several years. He was alderman of the 
Ninth Ward of the City of New York, 1806 to 
181 7, serving on the committee of defense dur- 
ing the War of 1812 with Great Britain. He 
was chairman of the board of trustees of Col- 
umbia College from 1824 to 1832, and in 1831 
was the last president of the Butchers and 
Drovers Bank. He was a devout communi- 
cant of the Protestant Episcopal church, 
and for some years a member of the 
standing committee of the Diocese of New 
York. As Colonel Fish's epitaph in St. 
Mark's Church in the Bowerie aptly rec- 
ords: "He was the faithful soldier of Christ 
and of his Country." He married, April 30, 
1803, Elizabeth, daughter of Petrus Stuyve- 
sant, a great-grandson of the last Dutch Gov- 
ernor of New Netherlands. Children: Susan 
Elizabeth, born July 25, 1805, married Daniel 
Le Roy, of New York ; Margaret Ann, Febru- 
ary II, 1807, married John (2) Neilson, of 
New York ; Hamilton, mentioned below ; 
Elizabeth Sarah, May 25, 1810, married Dr. 
Richard L. Morris; Petrus Stuyvesant, May 
13, 1813, died unmarried, November i, 1834. 
(VH) Hon. Hamilton Fish, eldest son of 
Colonel Nicholas and Elizabeth (Stuyvesant) 
Fish, was born August 3, 1808, in New York, 
and graduated from Columbia College in 1827. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1830, but early 
turned his attention to political affairs. He 
became prominent in the Whig party. In 
1842 he was elected to the National Congress 
from the Sixth New York District. In 1846 
he was the nominee of his party for the office 
of lieutenant-governor, with the Hon John 
Young as candidate for governor. Although 
the head of the ticket was elected, the oppo- 
sition of the anti-renters, whose plans Mr. 
Fish emphatically condemned, prevented his 
election. His successful competitor, Addison 
Gardner, .'^oon resigned the office to accept the 
position of judge of the Court of Appeals, and 
Mr. Fish was elected in 1847 ™ his place. In 
1848 Mr. Fish was elected governor of the 



State by a plurality of nearly 100,000, and in 
185 1 was chosen United States Senator and 
served for six years, following which he made 
an extended tour of Europe. While he was 
in the Senate, the Republican party was or- 
ganized, and Governor Fish, as he was always 
called, became one of its loyal supporters. On 
the outbreak of the Civil War he took a de- 
cided stand in defense of the Union and at- 
tained a commanding influence. In 1862 
President Lincoln appointed him a member of 
the Commission to visit the Union prisoners 
confined in Richmond, with a view to obtain- 
ing an exchange, which was eventually ef- 
fected. He also was chairman of the Union 
Defense Committee. In 1869 he was called 
to the cabinet of President Grant, hold- 
ing the high position of Secretary of 
State for eight years. Through his skill- 
ful and untiring efforts a peaceful settle- 
ment of the Alabama claims was made, 
through the Treaty of Washington in 1871 and 
the subsequent Geneva Arbitration in 1872. 
He became president general of the Order of 
the Cincinnati in 1854, and so continued until 
his death. He was also president of the New 
York Historical Society, of the Union League 
Club, and of the United Railroad and Canal 
Company of New Jersey, and from 1859 until 
1893 chairman of the board of trustees of 
Columbia College. Governor Fish served re- 
peatedly as a delegate from the Diocese of 
New York to the Triennial Conventions of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church and devoted 
much of his time to the study of and became 
an authority in respect to the canon law of the 
church. After a long, extremely active, and 
useful life, Mr. Fish passed awav at the age of 
eighty-five years, on September 7, 1893, at his 
country seat, "Glenclyffe," near Garrison, in 
Putnam county. New York, leaving behind 
him the memory of a patriotic citizen and 
an upright, able and honorable man. Mr. Fish 
built and for more than forty years lived in 
a house at the corner of Second avenue and 
Seventeenth street, fronting on Stuyvesant 
Square, the land occupied bv which public 
park had been given to the city by his uncle, 
Mr. Peter G Stuyvesant. The site of Mr. 
Fish's house and garden is now that of the 
Maternity Hospital. His country seat. "Glen- 
clyffe," embraced the famous "Beverley 
House," which had been the headquarters of 
General Benedict Arnold at the time of the 



56o 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



detection of his treason and from which he 
had fled to the British. 

Hamihon Fish married, December 17, 1836, 
Julia, daughter of Peter Kean, of Ursino, near 
Ehzabeth, New Jersey. Children: Sarah 
Morris, married Sidney Webster; Elizabeth 
Stuyvesant, married Frederic S. G. d"Haute- 
ville; Julia Kean, married Colonel S. N. Ben- 
jamin,' of the United States army; Susan Le- 
Roy, married William E. Rogers; Nicholas; 
Hamilton; Stuyvesant, and Edith Livingston, 
married Oliver Northcote. 

(Vni) The eldest son, Nicholas, born in 
New York, February 19, 1846, graduated from 
Columbia College in 1867 and from the Dane 
Law School of Harvard in 1869. In 1871 he 
was second secretary of the United States 
legation in Berlin, and first secretary in 1874. 
From 1877 to 1881 he was charge d'affairs to 
the Swiss Confederation, and Alinister to Bel- 
gium, 1882-86. He was subsequently engaged 
in banking and financial affairs in New York. 
He married Clemence S. Bryce, and had chil- 
dren : Elizabeth S. Claire, who was married 
to Robert Burnside Potter ; and Hamilton. 

(Vni) The second son, Hamilton {2) Fish, 
was born April 17, 1849, in Albany, while his 
father was governor, and graduated from Col- 
umbia College in 1869. For two years he 
served as secretary to his father, who was then 
Secretary of State. In 1873 he graduated 
from the law school of Columbia College, and 
ser\'ed several terms as member of assembly 
from Putnam county, New York. He was 
aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor John 
A. Dix, and was a leader in the Republican 
party, serving repeatedly as chairman of im- 
portant committees of the legislature, and in 
1895 ^"<^ 1896 as speaker. In 1884 he was a 
delegate to the National Republican Conven- 
tion. He was United States Assistant Treas- 
urer at New York from 1903 to 1908, and 
Member of Congress from 1909 to igii. He 
married (first) in 1880, Emily M., daughter 
of Hon. Francis N. Mann, of Troy, New 
York, and they had five children. He married 
(secondly) in 19 12, Florence Delaplaine, the 
widow of Gustav Amsinck. 

(VIH) The youngest son, Stuyvesant, was 
born June 24, 185 1, in New York, and gradu- 
ated from Columbia College in 1871. In Oc- 
tober, 1871, he became a clerk in the New 
York office of the Illinois Central railroad, 
serving as private secretary to W. H. Osborn, 



chairman, and later in Chicago to John Newell, 
president of that company. From 1872 to 
1876 he was connected with the banking house 
of Morton, Bliss & Company in New York, 
and Morton, Rose & Company, in London. 
From 1877 onward he devoted himself chiefly 
to railroad affairs. He became a director of 
the Illinois Central railroad, March 16, 1877, 
vice-president in 1883, and advanced to the 
presidency May 18, 1887, and continuing in 
that position until November 7, 1906. He is 
now interested in other railroads. Like his 
father, he has long been a trustee of the 
New York Life Insurance and Trust Com- 
pany. He is a director of the National Park 
Bank and other financial corporations. He 
was a member of the Monetary Commission 
created by the Indianapolis Monetary Con- 
ference in 1897; was president of the Ameri- 
can Railway Association in 1904-6, and chair- 
man of the Seventh International Railway 
Congress, held at Washington in 1905. Mr. 
Fish is identified with many clubs, including 
the Union, Metropolitan, Downtown, and is 
a member of the St. Nicholas Society of New 
York, of which his father was one of the 
founders. 

He married, June i, 1876, Marian G. An- 
thon, and they have three children. Mrs. Fish 
is the daughter of William Henry Anthon, one 
of the prominent members of the New York 
bar, born 1827. in New York, died in 1875 
In 185 1 Mr. Anthon was a member of the New 
York Assembly, and during the Civil War, 
judge advocate general on the staff of Gov- 
ernor Edwin D. Morgan. His grandfather. 
Dr. George Christian Anthon, was a native of 
Germany, who entered the British army and 
attained the rank of surgeon-general, serving 
from the commencement of the French War 
until after the close of the Revolutionary War. 
In 1784 he resigned from the British service 
and settled in New York. His son, John 
Anthon, was born in 1784, in Detroit, Michi- 
gan, and died in New York in 1863. Graduat- 
ing from Columbia College m 1801, he studied 
law, and was one of the founders of the New 
York Law Institute, which he served as presi- 
dent, and was author of numerous law re- 
ports and treatises. It was largely through his 
efforts that the Supreme Court of New York 
City was established. During the War of 
1812 he commanded a company of militia and 
served in defense of the city. His son. Wil- 





'O^^/li^ 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



561 



liam Henry, was father of Mrs. Stuyvesant 
Fish, as above noted. 



George SulHvan Ludlow was 
LUDLOW born at Neshanic, Somerset 
county, New Jersey, Septem- 
ber 16, 1873. His family removed to New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1888, where 
he prepared for college and entered Rutgers 
in 1891. In college he v/on distinction in 
athletics, particularly in football, and also in 
his studies, and graduated with honors in 1895, 
taking the degree of A.B. He entered the 
New York Law School in the fall of 1895, 
and was graduated therefrom in 1897 with the 
degree of LL.B., and was admitted to the bar 
of New York State shortly thereafter. In 
1898 he received the degree of A.M. from 
Rutgers College. Since his admission to the 
bar Mr. Ludlow has devoted himself to the 
practice of law in all the New York State 
and United States Courts. He married, De- 
cember I, 1908, Grace D. Fackler, daughter 
of George W. and Fanny (Trimble) Fackler. 
and has one daughter, Hope Ludlow, born 
January 4, 1913. Mr. Ludlow is an enthus- 
iastic golfer and is a member of the Engle- 
wood Country Club and the Deal Golf and 
Country Club. He is also a member of the 
Bar Association of the City of New York 
and of the Manhattan Club. Mr. Ludlow 
comes of a very r)1d and distinguished English 
family, which first came to New York City 
in 1694, and he is the first of his direct line 
to return to New York City as a place of resi- 
dence since his ancestor, John Ludlow, re- 
moved to New Jersey in 1734. Few families 
in the United States, certainly none in this 
state, can trace their descent back to noble 
and even royal ancestors with more certainty 
than the Ludlows. The genealogy, descending 
from King Edward III. of England, is clear 
and exact. 

The name "Lude-lawe" in Saxon means 
"lude," a ford, and "lawe" or "lowe," low 
ground. In the reign of Edward the Confes- 
sor "Ludelawe" was held by "Saisi the Sax- 
on," and at Domesday Survey it was held by 
Roger de Laci from Osberne Fitz Richard, 
who held it in chief from the crown. Lude- 
lawe Castle was built by Roger de Laci about 
the year 1086, and stands on a hill just above 
the old town of Ludelawe, which is clustered 



on low ground just around the ford from 
which it derives its name. The present family 
of Ludlow appears to owe its origin to (I) 
Simon de Ludelawe, who flourished in the 
reign of Stephen, 1135-1154, and was father 
of (II) Turstino (Thurstan), filius Simonis, 
castellan of Ludelawe Castle in 1177. His 
successors, and, presumably his eldest male 
line, as the office appears to have been heredi- 
tary, were (III) Willelmus, (IV) Rogerius, 
(V) Rogerius Tunerius, (VI) Willelmus, 
(VII) Henricus; and (VIII) Matthew de 
Ludelawe, castellan of Ludelawe Castle in 
1229, who married Petronilla, daughter of 
Norman de Swineton and Matilda de Misec, 
feudal lords of Ludelawe Castle at that time 

(IX) Nicholas de Ludelawe, son of Mat- 
thew de Ludelawe, was a merchant and a man 
of great wealth. He was much thought of by 
Edward I. who, in 1276, appointed him one 
of the special proctors to receive the sum of 
£4755 17s. sterling from Margaret, Countess 
of Flanders, due to merchants of England for 
wool exported into Holland. Ilis son, John, 
was burgess of Shrewsbury and Coventry, and 
Chancellor of the University of Oxford. His 
son, Thomas, was knighted by Edward I. for 
distinguished services in the Welch and Scot- 
tish wars. 

(X) Lawrence de Ludelawe, son of Nicho- 
las de Ludelawe, succeeded his father in busi- 
ness as a wool merchant. He became very 
wealthy, and in 1281 purchased the manor of 
Stoke Say, County Salop. He was appointed 
one of the three commissioners to take 4,000 
marks to France to Henry, Count de Bar, 
brother-in-law of Edward I. 

(XI) William de Ludelawe, son of Law 
rence de Ludelawe, was a member of Parlia- 
ment from Salop in 1307, assessor for the 
counties of Hereford and Salop, burgess of 
Shrewsbury, justice of the peace for Salop, 
and a judge oi Oyer and Terminer from 1313 
to his death in 1316. His son, Thomas, was 
appointed recorder of the City of London, 
November 20, 1362. and Baron of the Ex- 
chequer, May 7, 1378. 

(XII) Sir Lawrence de Ludelawe of Stoke 
Say, Hodnet and Great Merkeley, son of Wil- 
liam de Ludelawe, was born March 2, 1301. 
He was appointed one of the commissioners of 
the wool trade by Edward III. In 1349 he 
founded the House of St. Mary's of the 
White (Carmelite) Friars. He died October 



S62 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



14, 1353. His son and heir, Sir John de Lude- 
lawe, was born May 6, 1320, and died Febru- 
ary 17, 1382. He was high sheriff of Salop, 
justice of the peace for Worcester, one of 
the assessors and commissioners of array for 
Salop and was knighted by Edward HI. for 
long and faithful service to the king. 

(XHI) Roger, or Robert, de Ludelawe, sec- 
ond son of Sir Lawrence de Ludelawe, was 
high sheriff of Salop in 1379 and 1388, and 
justice of the peace in 1389 

(XIV) Sir William de Ludelawe, son of 
Roger or Robert de Ludelawe, was one of the 
deputy butlers to Henry IV., 1399-1412. His 
son, Richard, was made a Knight of the Bath 
by Henry VI. 

(XV) William de Ludlowe, son of Sir Wil- 
liam de Ludelawe, was one of the "Servitors 
of the Cellar" to Henry V. in 1414, and "Yeo- 
man of the Cellar" to Henry VI. in 1427. He 
acquired the estate of Hill Deverell, which 
remained in the family for over two centuries. 
He was parker of the Royal Park at Ludgers- 
hall, and represented that borough in Parlia- 
ment. He also occupied many other positions 
of honor and trust. 

(XVI) John Ludlowe, of Hill Deverell, son 
of William de Ludlowe, was constable of 
Carrisbroke Castle, parker of the Isle of 
Wight, assistant parker of Ludgershall, and 
mayor of Southampton in 1478. 

(XVII) John Ludlowe, of Hill Deverell, 
son of John Ludlowe, married Philippa, 
daughter of William Bulstrode, of London, 
and died in ISI9- 

(XVIII) William Ludlowe, of Hill 
Deverell, son of John Ludlowe, married Joane, 
daughter of Nicholas Moore, of Withford, 
County Hants, and died in 1533. 

(XIX) George Ludlowe, of Hill Deverell, 
son of William Ludlowe, was high sheriff 
of Wilts in 1559 He married Edith, third 
daughter of Andrew, first Lord Windsor, who 
through her mother could trace a lineal descent 
from Edward III. and Philippa of Hainault. 
Their third son, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, 
married Elizabeth, daughter of William de 
Burgh. Earl of Ulster, and had PhiHppa Plan- 
tagenet who married Edmund Mortimer, Earl 
of March. Thev had Elizabeth Mortimer, 
who married Sir Henry Percy, surnamed 
Hotspur," whose son Henrv. second Earl of 
Northumberland, married Eleanor, daughter 
of Ralph Neville, first Earl of Westmoreland, 



and had Henry, third Earl of Northumber- 
land, who married Eleanor, daughter of 
Richard, Lord Poynings, and had Eleanor 
Percy who married Sir Reginald, fourth Lord 
West and seventh Lord De la Warr. Lord 
West was also of royal descent in the direct 
line from Edward I. and Margaret, daughter 
of Philip IV. of France. Their daughter, 
Margaret West, married Thomas, Lord Ech- 
ingham, and had Margaret Echingham, who 
married William Blount and had Elizabeth 
Blount, who married Andrew, first Lord 
Windsor, and had Edith who married, as 
stated above, George Ludlowe, who died in 
1580. His eldest son was Sir Edmund Lud- 
lowe from whom descended the Earls of Lud- 
low, and the famous Lieutenant-General Ed- 
mund Ludlow, who was one of the judges who 
tried and condemned Charles I., and Lieuten- 
ant Philip Ludlow, who served in Admiral 
Blake's fleet and was buried in Westminster 
Abbey. 

(XX) Thomas Ludlowe, the younger son 
of George Ludlowe, acquired the estate of 
Baycliffe in the parish of Dinton, County 
Wilts. He married Jane, daughter of Thomas 
and sister of Sir Gabriel Pyle. He died in 
1607. His third son, Roger, came to New 
England with his youngest brother, George, 
in the "Mary and John" in M.iy, 1630. He 
was assistant to Governor Winthrop, 1630- 
34, deputy governor of Massachusetts Bay 
Colony, 1634-35, first deputy governor of Con- 
necticut, 1636, and member of Council of 
United Colonies of New England, 1651-53 
He married Mary, daughter of Governor John 
Endicott. He was the ancestor of Israel and 
John Ludlow, the founders of Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and of Governor and Supreme Court 
Justice, George C. Ludlow, of New Jersey. 
His youngest brother, George, went to Vir- 
ginia, where he was a member of the Gov- 
ernor's Council from 1642 unti' his death in 
1656. He owned 17,000 acres in York and 
Gloucester counties, and in his will he be- 
queathed his sixteenth part of the ship "May- 
flower" to his nephew, Thomas Ludlow, and 
ten pounds to Captain Augustine Warner, 
great-grandfather of George Washington. 

(XXI) Thomas Ludlow, son of Thomas 
Ludlowe, married Jane, daughter of John 
Bennett, of Steeple Ashton and Smallbrooke, 
County Wilts, and died in 1646. 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



563 



(XXII) Gabriel Ludlow, son of Thomas 
Ludlow, married Martha Gary at Gastle Gary, 
County Somerset, in 1662. 

(XXIII) Gabriel Ludlow, son of Gabriel 
Ludlow, was born at Gastle Gary, November 
2, 1663, and came to New York, November 
24, 1694. He was a merchant and also clerk 
in Governor Bellomont's office in 1698. He 
was clerk of the Assembly in 1699, a vestry- 
man of Trinity Parish, 1696-98, and a revenue 
officer of the Port of New York in 1722. He 
married, in Old Trinity, on April 5, 1697, 
Sarah Hanmer, daughter of Rev. Joseph Han- 
mer, D.D., the first Episcopal minister in New 
York. This lady was also of royal lineage 
by direct descent from Humphrey, fourth son 
of Henry IV. 

(XXIV) John Ludlow, third son of Gabriel 
Ludlow, was born January 20, 1706. He mar- 
ried Susannah, daughter of Gornelius Brad- 
bury. In 1734 he removed to New Jersey, 
and in 1739 Governor Lewis Morris appointed 
him one of the justices of the peace and 
quarter sessions for Essex county. He died 
November 4, 1775. 

(XXV) Richard Ludlow, fifth son of John 
Ludlow, was born August 17,. 1745. He served 
during the Revolutionary War as Major and 
Gornmissary of Issues, Commissary General's 
Department, New Jersey Militia. He mar- 
ried (first) Jane, daughter of John Van Nos- 
trand. He married (second) Elizabeth Van 
Camp, and died November 20, 1820. 

(XXVI) John Richard Ludlow, eldest child 
of Richard Ludlow, was born August 5, 1769. 
He married (first) Elizabeth Vreeland. He 
married (second) Catalina Ditmars, and died 
April 14, 1849. 

(XXVII) Gabriel Ludlow, third son of 
John Richard Ludlow, was born April 23, 
1797. He was graduated from Union College 
in 1817, and later from the New Brunswick 
Theological Seminary, which conferred on him 
the degree of Doctor of Diviniti' in 1850. He 
was ordained and installed as pastor of the 
Dutch Reformed Church at Neshanic, New 
Jersey, September 5, 1821, and held the pas- 
torate until his death, February 19, 1878. It 
is one of the record pastorates of the Dutch 
Reformed Church and it is remarkable that he 
ministered to the children, grandchildren and 
great-grandchildren of those who were present 
at his ordination. He married Susan Rapelyea, 
June 22, 1820, and had the follov/ing children: 



Elizabeth Vreeland Ludlow, Dr. Jacob Rapel- 
yea Ludlow, Mary Rapelyea Ludlow, Dr. John 
Richard, Anna Phoebe, Susan, Dr. Richard 
Gabriel Ludlow, and Caroline. His brother, 
John Ludlow, was also a celebrated divine 
in the same church. He was graduated from 
Union College in 1814 and from the New 
Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1817. He 
was professor of Biblical Literature and Ec- 
clesiastical History in the New Brunswick 
Theological Seminary, 1819-23, and Provost of 
the University of Pennsylvania from 1834 to 
1854, and later again professor in the New 
Brunswick Theological Seminary and in Rut- 
gers College. Union College gave him the de- 
gree of D.D. in 1827, and LL.D. later on. 
James Reily Ludlow, son of John Ludlow, was 
graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 
1843, which institution gave him the degree 
of LL.D. in 1870. He was admitted to the 
Philadelphia Bar in 1846, and in 1857 was 
chosen Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 
serving until 1875. Although a Democrat he 
was twice elected by votes of all parties. In 
1875, under the new constitution, he was trans- 
ferred to the President Judgeship of the Court 
of Common Pleas, serving until his death in 
1886. 

(XXVIII) Richard Gabriel Ludlow, third 
son of Gabriel Ludlow, was born May 29, 
1840. He entered Rutgers College in the class 
of 1862 but left before graduat'on to take up 
the study of medicine at the University of 
Pennsylvania, from which he received the de- 
gree of Doctor of Medicine in 1863. After 
graduation he served as resident physician at 
the Blockley Hospital in Philadelphia for a 
year, and thereafter served the Union cause 
in the Civil War as surgeon for over a year. 
After the war he settled at his old home in 
Neshanic, New Jersey, where he practiced his 
profession until his untimely death by accident 
on December 5, 1879. He married Jeannette 
Rapelyea Van Camp, daughter of Tunis and 
Ida (Schenck) Van Camp, in 1868, and had 
the following three sons : John Van Camp 
Ludlow, born April 29, 1870, and died just 
after he had entered Rutgers College in 1889; 
Gabriel Ludlow was born May 29, 1872, and 
was graduated from Rutgers College in 1895. 
He married Louise Richards, daughter of Wil- 
lard and Anna (Randolph) Richards, in 1900, 
and has two sons, Willard Richards Ludlow, 
born March 15, 1902, and Richard Gabriel 



5^4 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



He resides at 



Ludlow, born May 23, 1912. 
Macon, Georgia. 

(XXIX) George Sullivan Ludlow, third son 
of Richard Gabriel Ludlow, the subject of 
the above sketch. 



Hon. Alphonso T. 

CLEARWATER Clearwater, of King- 
ston, New York, prom- 
inent as a lawyer and jurist, historian and an- 
tiquarian, is descended from ancestors long 
prominent in the annals of Holland and 
France, who were noted for their patriotism 
and liberal contributions to the cause of re- 
ligion and learning. 

The present form of the name (Clearwater) 
was adopted in this country about the begin 
ning of the nineteenth century, being angli- 
cised from the original form of Klaarwater, as 
it exists in Holland at this day. There are as 
well changes in the spelling of the family 
names of his other ancestors. In France, Deyo 
was spelled Doiau, and the American patentee 
used the latter form. The original form of 
Tromper is yet in use in Holland, though there 
it frequently appears as Tromp ; it was angli- 
cised to Trumpbour about the time that 
Klaarwater became Clearwater. The original 
French name of Boudouin is retained in 
France ; here it was anglicised to Bowdoin in 
the eighteenth century. There are many vari- 
ant spellings of these names, there being 
twenty-seven different ways of spelling Deyo, 
and almost as many of spelling Clearwater, 
Boudoin and Tromper. 

In the fifteenth century the Clearwaters had 
large and valuable possessions in the vicinity 
of Hattem, Holland, where .a. d. 1414 they 
built a castle, and with it a cloister which was 
'dedicated by Roedericus, Bishop of Utrecht, 
and devoted to the Sisters of the Order of St 
Benedict. It was known as the Kloster Klaar- 
water, and was the home of the Benedictines 
until late in the seventeenth century. At the 
time of the Reformation in Holland it was 
the only cloister Ihe inmates of which escaped 
the censure of the Reformed Church. An in- 
teresting historical account of it has been 
published in Holland. 

Theunis Jacobson Klaarwater, a member of 
this ancient family, left Holland in the latter 
naif of the seventeenth century and with his 
son Jacob came to America, settling in Ulster 
county. New York. On May 24, 1709, with 



Colonel William Peartree, Governor Rip Van 
Dam, Adolphus Philipse, Dr. Gerardus Beek- 
man, Hendrick Vernooye and Abraham Deyo, 
he and his son Jacob obtained from Queen 
Anne the grant of a patent of four thousand 
acres of land in what was then the town of 
Shawangunk. Jacob married Marie, daughter 
of Pierre Deyo, one of the Huguenot patentees 
of New Paltz, he being the first Dutchman to 
marry into the Huguenot families of that set- 
tlement. Their son A.braham, who was bap- 
tized by the pastor of the Huguenot Church 
of New Paltz, July 3, 1699. was Judge Clear- 
water's great-great-grandfather. 

On his mother's side, Judge Clearwater is 
descended from Jacob Tromper, who was a 
great Dutch ship owner, and a city counsellor 
of Rotterdam, Holland, from 1524 to 1540; 
schepen, 1527-29-32; city treasurer from 1535 
to 1539; and burgomaster of that city from 
1527 to 1532. In 1533 he was unanimously 
chosen head of the Orphans Commission of 
Rotterdam, which looked after its still famous 
orphan asylums, the homes of the orphan 
children of the soldiers and sailors of Holland. 
He discharged these public and official duties 
without compensation, quietly; and quaintly 
saying, "Heaven and Holland have done much 
for me, and I must do a little bit (kleyn 
beetje) to help pay back.'' The Trompers 
were regarded as among the most public spir- 
ited and enterprising citizens of the Nether- 
lands. 

Nicolas Tromper came to America late in 
the seventeenth century, and married Jeanne 
Boudouin, a descendant of Pierre Boudouin, 
the distinguished Huguenot who've estates were 
confiscated and who was exiled from France 
at the time of the revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes in 1685, and from them Judge Clear- 
water's mother, Emily Boudouin. daughter of 
Peter Tromper and Jeanne Corquet, was de- 
scended. Among other descendants of Pierre 
Boudouin were James Boudouin, founder of 
Bowdoin College; and Robert C. Winthrop of 
Massachusetts. 

Judge Clearwater was born at West Point, 
New York, September 11, 184S, his father, 
Isaac Clearwater, being there under designa- 
tion by the Secretary of War to superintend 
the buildings then being constructed at the 
Military Academy under the Act of Congress. 
He was educated at the f.imous old Anthon 
Latin Grammar School in the City of New 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



565 



York, and at the Kingston (New York) 
Academy. He studied law at Kingston, with 
Senator Jacob Hardenburgh and Judge Au- 
gustus Schoonmaker, and was admitted to the 
bar in November, 1871. His notable public 
career began in 1877, when he was elected dis- 
trict attorney of Ulster county; he was re- 
elected in 1880 and a third time in 1883. In 
1884 and 1886 he declined the nomination for 
congress in the Ulster-Greene-Delaware dis- 
trict. In 1889 he was elected county judge of 
Ulster county, and re-elected in 1895. In 
1898, Alton B. Parker, having been elected 
chief judge of the Court of Appeals, Judge 
Clearwater was appointed by Governor Black 
to be justice of the Supreme Court in Judge 
Parker's stead. In 1909 he was appointed by 
Governor Hughes a member of the New York 
State Probation Commission to fill the va- 
cancy created by the resignation of Felix 
Warburg, was reappointed by Governor 
Hughes for the full term, and subsequently 
appointed for another full term by Governor 
Sulzer in 1913. 

Judge Clearwater has been notably active 
in public aiifairs aside from his professional 
and ofificial career. He is a trustee of Rutgers 
College, and chairman of the library commit- 
tee of the board ; he was a delegate of the 
New York State Bar Association to the Uni- 
versal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists, held 
in connection with the Louisiana Purchase Ex- 
position at St. Louis in 1904; he is and has 
been for several years chairman of the law 
reform committee of that association ; is 
chairman of its committee to suggest reform in 
the introduction of medical expert testimony 
in civil and criminal trials ; and at the request 
of the editor of the North American Review 
wrote an article upon "Medical Expert Tes- 
timony," which appeared in the June, 1909, 
number of that publication. He is chairman 
of the joint committees of the New York 
State Bar Association, the New State Medical 
Society, the Homoeopathic Medical Society of 
New York, the Academy of Medicine of New 
York City, and the Society of Medical Juris- 
prudence, to urge the passage by the legisla- 
ture of New York of a law regulating the in- 
troduction of such testimony in courts of jus- 
tice ; is chairman of the committee of the 
New York State Bar Association, to suggest 
matters to be brought to the attention and for 
the consideration of the aproaching Constitu- 



tional Convention to be held in 19 16 to re- 
vise the Constitution of the State of New 
York; and is a member of the committee upon 
workmen's compensation of the Association. 
To the subject of workmen's compensation, 
he has devoted much time and thought, fami- 
liarizing himself with the workmen's compen- 
sation acts of the different states of the Union, 
and of Great Britain and the countries of con- 
tinental Europe. He made strong addresses 
upon this subject at the annual meetings of 
the New York State Bar Association in 1912 
and 1913. 

Judge Clearwater was appointed by the gov- 
ernor of New York a member of the Hudson- 
Fulton Celebration Commission in 1906, and 
in 1907 edited an authoritative history of Ul- 
ster County. At the request of David Dudley 
Field, he prepared many of the provisions of 
the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal 
Procedure of New York. In 1895 he was ap- 
pointed commissioner to super\ise the trans- 
lation from Dutch into English of the Dutch 
records of Ulster county (1664-84), and 
completed the work in 1898. He was one of 
the founders and the first vice-president for 
Ulster county of the Holland Society, was 
president of that society in 191 1, and now is 
one of its trustees. He was one of the found- 
ers and since its formation has been a vice- 
president of the Huguenot Society of America : 
is president of the following organizations : 
The Farm Bureau of Ulster County, the Old 
Senate House Association of Kingston, the 
Ulster Historical Society, the Ulster County 
Bar Association, the Ulster County Bible So- 
ciety, and the Wiltwyck Rural Cemetery Asso- 
ciation. He is a member and one of the man- 
agers of the St. Nicholas Society of the City 
of New York; member of the American Bar 
Association, and of the Society of the Sons of 
the Revolution ; an honorary member of the 
St. Andrew's Society of Charleston, South 
Carolina ; a life member of the Huguenot So- 
ciety of South Carolina, and in 191 1, at the 
request of that society, delivered at Charles- 
ton the commemorative address on the occa- 
sion of the celebration of the two hundredth 
anniversary of the founding of civic govern- 
ment by the Huguenots in South Carolina ; is 
a member of the Huguenot Society of New 
Paltz ; a member of the Ex Libris Society of 
London ; a member of the American Peace 
Society, the New York Peace Society, the 



566 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



American Scenic and Historic Preservation 
Society, the Historical Society of Newburgh 
Bay and the Highlands, the Minnisink His- 
torical Society ; and is a corresponding member 
of the historical societies of many states. In 
191 1, he was made an honorary fellow for life 
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art of the 
City of New York, in recognition of his loans 
of old American silver to that museum, and a 
like member of the American Numismatic 
Society. 

He has delivered and is the author of many 
valuable monographs He delivered the ad- 
dress at the opening of the great Protestant 
Mission at Menilmontant, Paris, France, in 
June, 1888; and the response to the address 
of welcome to the Holland Society made by 
the burgomaster of Rotterdam, Holland, on 
the occasion of the visit of the Holland So- 
ciety to that country in the same year. He 
is a contributor to the North American Re- 
view, and is and has been an extensive con- 
tributor to the historical literature of New 
York. He is author of : "The Influence of the 
Dutch and Huguenots in the Formation of the 
American Republic," "Louis XIV. and the 
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes," "The 
Huguenot Settlement at New Paltz, in Ulster 
County," "Huguenot Medals in the British 
Museum," "Founders of New Amsterdam," 
"The Dutchmen of Albany and the Iroquois," 
"Dutch Governors of New York," "The Jur- 
ists of Holland," "Lord North and the Ameri- 
can Colonists," "Ulster in the War of the 
Revolution," "The Adoption of the First Con- 
stitution of New York, at Kingston, 1777," 
"The Struggle for the Highlands During the 
War of the Revolution," "The Inaugural of 
George Clinton, the First Constitutional Gov- 
ernor of New York, at Kingston." He has 
delivered notable memorial addresses upon the 
life and services of Abraham Lincoln, General 
Ulysses S. Grant, and William McKinley ; an 
address upon "Ulster in the War of the Re- 
bellion." "Protest Against the Destruction of 
the City Hall of New York," "The Significance 
of Dutch Local Names," "Antiquity of Free 
Masonry," "The Trial of Christ From the 
Standpoint of a Roman Lawyer of the Time 
of Tiberius." He has written extensively on 
criminological, legal and public matters, includ- 
ing "Heredity and Criminal Propensity," 
"Lombroso, and the Danger of Sentimental 
Criminology," "Moral Accountability of Crim- 



inals," "Goethe and the Sentimentalists," "The 
Disregard of Law," "The Deterioration of the 
Trial Jury." At the request of the New 
York Historical Association he prepared and 
in September, 1913, delivered the annual ad- 
dress at its fifteenth annual meeting at Os- 
wego, the subject being "The Undervaluation 
of American Citizenship." He was one of the 
founders and has been president of the King- 
ston Club; was one of the founders and is 
president of the Twaalf skill Golf Club; is a 
member of the Union League, Metropolitan 
and Grolier Clubs of New York City, and of 
the Automobile Club of America. He is and 
for many years has been a collector of early 
American silver; much of his collection he 
has loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art 
of the City of New York, and to the Museum 
of Fine Arts of the City of Boston. He has 
repeatedly been a delegate to national, state, 
judicial, congressional and senatorial conven- 
tions of the Republican party, with which he 
has always been identified. 

Judge Clearwater has twice been invited by 
Presidents of the United States to accept 
diplomatic positions abroad, and frequently 
asked by the Republican party to become a 
candidate for political office. He always has 
declined to accept any position not connected 
with the administration of justice, having fully 
determined when he entered the bar never 
to embark upon a political career. It is at 
the bar, and upon the bench, therefore, that 
his most important work has been done, the 
record of which appears in the annals of the 
Ulster Bar, in the records of the courts, and 
in the volumes published by the state of 
New York, which contain the decisions of the 
old, general term, the Appellate Divisions of 
the Supreme Court and of the Court of Ap 
peals. In 1903 he received the honorary de- 
gree of Doctor of Laws from Rutgers College 
for distinction in the public service 

He married, in 1875, Anna Houghtaling 
Farrand, daughter of Colonel William D. Far- 
rand, of San Francisco, California, and grand- 
daughter of Henry Houghtaling of Kingston. 
New York. 



This is one of the early Dutch 

CRUM names of this State and is now 

spelled differently from the form 

used in the early church records, where it 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



567 



occurs first as Krom and Crom. There are 
numerous descendants bearing the name now 
Hving in this State and New Jersey, who have 
done credit to a worthy ancestry. 

(I) According to the church records of Tap- 
pan, New York, Floris Willemsen Krom Hved 
at one time in Flatbush. His wife was Cata- 
lyntie Ariaens and they had baptized at the 
Dutch church in New Amsterdam (New 
York) May 3, 1685, a daughter, Willemyntie. 
Their son Dirck (Richard) was baptized No- 
vember 14, 1694, It is evident that they lived 
somewhere outside of New York at this time. 
A record at Hackensack shows that their son, 
Willem Florisse Crom, was married there in 
1699. 

(H) Dirck Crum, son of Floris Willemsen 
and Catalyntie (Ariaens) Krom, baptized as 
above noted in New York, resided at Tappan, 
New York. His wife, Catriena Kuyper 
(Cooper) Crum, was a daughter of Cornelius 
Kuyper and his wife, Aeltie (Bogert) Kuyper 
of Tappan and Schraalenburg. Cornelius 
Kuyper was a son of Claes Jansen, who came 
in 1647 from Permerond, a village near the 
Zuyder Zee, between Amsterdam and Hoorn, 
Holland, and settled at Brooklyn, where he 
married (first) Pietartie Brack Hoengie. of 
Gowanus. She died soon after and he re- 
moved to Bergen, New Jersey, where he mar- 
ried (second) November 11, 1656, Anna Van 
Vorst. He received a patent, January i, 1662, 
for a tract of land near Harsemus, New Jer- 
sey, on which he settled and remained until 
his death, November 20, 1688. His widow 
survived him many years, dying January 12, 
1726. He was an active and prominent citi- 
zen, a cooper by trade, hence is often referred 
to in the records as Kuyper, and from this 
time on the family adopted the surname now 
rendered Cooper. On April 10, 1671, he re- 
ceived a deed of two hundred and forty acres 
of land on the Hudson River, where the village 
of Nyack now stands. Subsequently he pur- 
chased four hundred and sixty-eight acres of 
meadow north of Nyack, being a partner in 
part of these lands with the Tallmans. He had 
fifteen children. The eldest son Cornelius set- 
tled at Tappan in 1689, but soon sold to Tall- 
man, and removed to Schraalenburg, New 
Jersey, where he bought two hundred and 
sixty-six acres on the Hackensack River. His 
daughter Catriena became the wife of Dirck 
Crum, as above noted. Children : Helena, born 



October 12, 1718;' Katharyna, August 15, 
1723; Willemyntie, October 9, 1725; Dirck, 
December 16, 1728; Cornelius, mentioned be- 
low; Maria, December 26, 1735; Johannes, 
January 5, 1740. 

(HI) Cornelius, second son of Dirck and 
Catriena (Kuyper) Crum, was born April 27, 
1 73 1, and baptized May 30, of the same year, 
at Tappan, where all of his father's children 
were baptized, and settled at Haverstraw, 
New York. 

(IV) Richard, son of Cornelius Crum, 
was born February 4, 1763, in Haverstraw, 
New York, where he grew to manhood. He 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, serv- 
ing first as a drummer boy and later becoming 
a matross in the Continental artillery. New 
York line, throughout that struggle. He was 
a member of Captain John Doughty's com- 
pany, under Colonel John Lamb, and saw many 
hardships. At one time he was stationed with 
a force at Fort Herkimer, during a severe 
winter, with the snow attaining a depth of 
more than four feet. The soldiers were forced 
to carry wood on their shoulders from the 
timber a half mile distant to keep from freez- 
ing. Because of the great depth of snow their 
food supply was very much reduced and many 
were glad to get a crust of bread. After the 
winter had somewhat moderated a supply of 
cattle was driven in and the soldiers fared bet- 
ter. Their clothing was ragged and filthy and 
when warmer weather came every one engaged 
in washing. Two members of his squad, Jacob 
Van Wart and John Paulding, were members 
of the party which captured Major Andre, and 
Richard Crum was present at the execution of 
that unfortunate officer. He witnessed the de- 
parture of General Arnold in his boat when 
he went on board the English frigate on the 
Hudson. He was a member of the party of 
ten men which defended a fort on the bank of 
the Hudson from an attack of Hessian soldiers, 
during which two field pieces in the fort 
mowed down the assaulting party with grape 
shot and successfully repulsed two attacks in 
this manner. Their fire was held until the 
Hessians were so close that they could see 
them wink their eyes, and the suddenness and 
deadly character of the fire caused a panic and 
compelled a retreat. After darkness came on 
the cannons were spiked and the little garrison 
fled up the river. At the same time the sol- 
diers were frequently attacked by Indian allies 



568 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



and British, and Mr. Crum was wont to say 
that they were "between the devil and the 
deep sea," with red coats on one side and In- 
dians on the other. He often engaged in 
friendly conversation with Indian girls, who 
passed the fort, and on one occasion one of 
these gave him an implement used by the In- 
dians for skinning deer and preparing the 
hides for tanning. This implement is now in 
possession of his son, and no one to whom it 
has been shown has been able to name the ma- 
terial of which it is made. The powder horn 
in which he carried his priming material for 
the artillery is also preserved by his son. After 
the men were discharged a barrel of whiskey 
was rolled out for their use, the head knocked 
out and the men helped themselves with their 
cups. This resulted in much fist fighting and 
General Lamb remarked that he "thought the 
war was over, but the hard fighting seemed to 
have just begun." After the war Richard 
Crum returned to his father's home at Haver- 
straw, but soon after went to New York 
There he boarded a schooner for Eatontown, 
New Jersey, whence he proceeded to what was 
at that time called the Liberty Pole in Shrews- 
bury township, Monmouth county, now the 
city of Long Branch. 

There he settled and married Elizabeth Gard- 
ner, born September 14, 1768, died 1827. He 
died in 1847. Children: i. Deborah, married 
Joseph West, a farmer and fisherman of Long 
Branch. 2. Nancy, married a Throckmorton. 
3. Hannah, became the wife of Joseph Brown, 
and resided in Long Branch. 4. John, a very 
powerful man, standing six feet, four and a 
half inches in his stockings. 5. Catherine, wife 
of Hugh Read, lived in Long Branch. 6. 
Gardner, was for some time a clergyman of 
the Methodist Episcopal church and later en- 
gaged in the practice of law. 7. Jacob. 8. 
Susannah, married a Baldwin. 9. Richard, men- 
tioned below. 10. Elizabeth, married Hugh 
Managhan. 11. William W., mentioned below. 
12. Sarah, married Barnabas Clark, who was 
a fish dealer in New York City. 13. Rebecca, 
wife of Isaac Emmons, a sailor, was the 
mother of Edward Emmons, of Long Branch. 
(V) Richard (2), fourth son of Richard 
(i) and Elizabeth (Gardner) Crum, was born 
March 31, 1803, at Long Branch, New Jer- 
sey, died September 19, 1847. He married, at 
Long Branch, July 26, 1831, Mary Brooks, 
born at Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsyl- 



vania, died April 23, 1873, daughter of Ben- 
jamin and Rebecca (Harkins) Brooks. 

(VI) Richard Benjamin Brooks, only child 
of Richard (2) and Mary (Brooks) Crum, 
was born November 23, 1832, at Long Branch, 
New Jersey, where he remained until he came 
of age. He then removed to Pennsylvania, 
where he was employed in the lumber woods 
for several years and settled in Gibson town- 
ship, Cameron county, Pennsylvania. Through 
successive changes in boundaries, although 
remaining on the same farm, he has lived suc- 
cessively in Lycoming, Elk and Cameron coun- 
ties. He has been quite active in public affairs, 
serving as school director, three years as con 
stable, four years as supervisor, and also as 
justice of the peace. For several years he 
travelled in the interest of the nursery busi- 
ness. He married, August 11, 1853, Sarah 
Jane Miller, born April 25, 1836, at Sinema- 
honing, Pennsylvania, daughter of John and 
Elizabeth (Loque) Miller. Children: i. Mary 
Elizabeth, widow of George H. Boardman. 2. 
Martin Luther, a real estate broker in Chicago, 
Illinois. 3. Charles Washington, a railroad 
engineer. 4. Victor Emanuel, resides in Si- 
nemahoning, Pennsylvania, where he is as- 
sistant superintendent of the Keystone Tire 
Company. 5. Richard McClelland, an exten- 
sive farmer, and state forestry warden of 
Pennsylvania. 6. Martha Rebecca Victoria 
Lucinda, wife of James W. Montgomery, a 
Pennsylvania railroad engineer. 7, Nancy 
Jane, married Abel Dent, a merchant and hotel 
proprietor. 8. John Calvin. 9. Roscoe Al- 
bert, a railroad conductor. 10. Melancthon 
Vespasius, engaged in business at Sinemahon- 
ing. II. James Harrison, was accidentally 
killed at Butte City, Montana, August i, 1902. 

(V) Rev. William W. Crum, fifth son of 
Richard (i) and Elizabeth (Gardner) Crum, 
was born January 24, 1807, at Long Branch, 
New Jersey, where he grew up and learned 
the blacksmith's trade. Having adopted the 
religion taught by the Methodist Episcopal 
church, he became a clergyman, and thus con- 
tinued until the end of his life. He was a 
pioneer minister in Western New York, es- 
tablishing many churches, and was later con- 
nected with the Michigan Conference. Dur- 
ing the civil war he served on the Christian 
Commission, bringing comfort to many soldiers 
of the Union army. He died September 16, 
1866. He married Sarah, daughter of Henry 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



569 



Latham, who was an earnest religious worker 
in co-operation with her husband, and held in 
high esteem on account of her excellent 
Christian character and earnest labors in every 
enterprise of the church. She was born Feb- 
ruary 13, 1808, in New York City, died Oc- 
tober 16, 1891. Her father was commander 
of the brig "Delia," and was lost at sea. Chil- 
dren: I. John, born November 26, 1828; was 
a soldier in the First Michigan Cavalry during 
the civil war, and served five years, dying as 
a result of that service ; he married, Decem- 
ber 22, 1855, Harriet Johnson. 2. Richard 
Donly, mentioned below. 3. William Henry, 
born November 23, 1832 ; has a large stock 
farm in Missouri, and is an honored citizen ; 
married, December 18, 1857, Ann Totten. 
4. Delia, born October i, 1834; married, Sep- 
tember II, 1851, William Hibbard, and was 
the mother of four children. Mr. Hibbard 
was a Union soldier, and died from wounds 
received in battle. 5. Sarah Elizabeth, born 
December 11, 1837; married, December 30, 
1855, George Sherman, and died without is- 
sue. 6. Ruth, born January 23, 1843 ! was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and a devoted Christian woman ; married, July 
31, 1858, Jerome Biteley. who was an officer in 
the First Michigan Cavalry, and served with 
distinction through the civil war ; he established 
the town of Biteley in Michigan, where he 
operated large lumber mills. 7. Hannah B., 
born January 17, 1845 • married, January 22, 
1863, Rev. M. H. McMahon, and now resides 
in Portland, Oregon, where in 1913 was cele- 
brated the golden anniversary of their mar- 
riage. Mr. McMahon is a veteran of the civil 
war, having served in Company G, Fifth New 
York Duryea Zouaves, one of the famous 
fighting regiments ; he was severely wounded 
at the second battle of Bull Run ; was dis- 
charged from the army at the age of twenty, 
and entered the ministry in 1878. Their daugh- 
ter, an accomplished artist, is the wife of Hon. 
Elisha A. Baker, formerly prominent in In- 
diana, and now residing in Portland, Oregon. 
8. George Latham, mentioned below. 

(VI) Richard Donly, second son of Rev. 
William W. and Sarah (Latham) Crum, was 
born February 11, 1831, in New York City, 
and was a small child when his parents settled 
in Schuyler county. New York. It was diffi- 
cult for a struggling clergyman in a pioneer 
region to sustain his increasing family, and 



Richard D. was bound out to a Methodist 
brother by the name of Archibald Tilford. 
Here he was reared in the fear of God, with 
plenty of work and little schooling thrown in, 
the latter consisting mainly of the double rule 
of three and the multiplication table. At the 
age of fifteen years he determined to learn a 
trade, and going to Watkins, the county seat, 
he served an apprenticeship for several years 
as wheelwright. In time he constructed a 
buggy, which he thought good enough for a 
bride, and with it drove back over the hills to 
a cross road named Oak Hill, where lived 
Mariah R. Du Vail, who was a descendant of 
the Mohawk Valley Dutch. On December 22, 
1852, they were married, and have dwelt in 
peace and harmony over sixty years. In 1853, 
on account of precarious health, Mr. Crum 
abandoned his trade, and engaged in photo- 
graphing. This business he followed for more 
than fifty years, when he retired. He was 
one of the pioneer photographers of views in 
and about Watkins Glen, in the days when 
the developing outfit must be carried to the 
scene of operations. He very greatly aided 
in making that section the popular resort which 
it is today. In the spring of 1898 he removed 
with his family to Long Branch, New Jersey, 
where he now resides. Children: i. Adelaide, 
born January 31, 1854; a talented musician 
and gifted artist in oils ; she married, Febru- 
ary 25, 1892, Levi H. Bower, formerly of 
Watkins, now of Long Branch ; they have one 
son, Richard Crum Bower. 2. Fred, born 
July 21, 1858, in Watkins; is a photographer 
in Syracuse, New York ; he married, in 1879, 
Sadie Bedient. 3. Ellen Gertrude, born March 
16, 1865 ; graduated, 1886, from the Woman's 
College of New York City ; died August 3, 
1898, at Long Branch. 4. Delia, born Decem- 
ber 12, 1873; now the wife of John Henry 
Brown, a merchant of Long Branch ; children : 
Joseph, Duvale, Helen Gertrude. 

(VI) George Latham, youngest child of 
Rev. William W. and Sarah (Latham) Crum, 
was born February 28, 1847, in Beaver Dam, 
Schuyler county. New York. 

He attended the public schools at Watkins, 
Schuyler county, New York, up to the age 
of twelve years, at which time his school days 
ended and he became a workman in the Fall 
Brook Company shipyard at Watkins, engaged 
in making coal barges for carrying coal down 
Seneca lake and Erie canal. He was employed 



570 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



at this until he was fifteen years and six months 
of age, when at the breaking out of the civil 
war he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred 
and Sixty-first New York Infantry Regiment, 
and served for three years and two months. 
His regiment was in the First Division, Third 
Brigade, Nineteenth Army Corps, under Gen- 
eral Banks, commander of the Department of 
the Mississippi Valley, and served through all 
the operations below Vicksburg, including the 
siege of Port Hudson, which continued forty- 
five days. On July 13, 1863, he participated 
in the battle of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, in 
which he lost a brother-in-law, William Hib- 
bard, husband of his sister Delia. After that 
battle he returned to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 
and in the spring of 1864, when the Red River 
campaign was organized and troops assembled 
at Algiers, he was among the sharpshooters 
assigned to gunboats, attached to the gunboat 
"Arizona," and took part in the engagement 
of Sabine Pass, where the gunboats, "Sachem" 
and "Clifton" were destroyed. As soon as the 
tide permitted, the gunboats withdrew, and the 
"Arizona" returned to Algiers, whence all the 
forces organized for the Red River campaign, 
marched about four hundred miles up and 
back. They came back to Morganza Bend, and 
at this point word was brought that the enemy 
was driving cattle across the river by the 
thousands for supplies for their army, and a 
detachment was sent out against them by Gen 
eral Guppy of the Twenty-third Wisconsin 
Regiment, its brigade commander. When 
some fourteen miles from headquarters, Gen- 
eral Guppy found it necessary to make another 
day's march into the interior to reconnoiter. 
Finding it necessary to send a messenger back 
to headquarters through an enemy-infested 
country, with orders for the wagon-train to 
come up with supplies, and after others re- 
fused to undertake the errand without an es- 
cort, which was practically impossible, young 
Crum was recommended by Colonel Kinsey 
of the One Hundred and Sixty-first New York 
State Volunteers. Readily accepting the com- 
mission, he made the dangerous trip, without 
mishap. This feat of courage was widely 
spoken of and commended in army circles. 
After leaving Morganza Bend, his regiment, 
the One Hundred and Sixty-first New York 
State Volunteers, was ordered to Vicksburg, 
and being largely made up of mechanics, was 
set to work repairing the rolling stock on the 



Jackson & Eastern Mississippi railroad. Here 
Mr. Crum was detailed on the staff of Major 
Alexander Shaler, who was put in charge of 
the Department of Arkansas, with headquar- 
ters at Duvall's Bluff. In the spring of 1865, 
the Mobile campaign being organized, he was 
directed to return to Carlton to his own regi- 
ment, and there was placed on the staff of 
Major-general Steele, in which capacity he re- 
mained until after the fall of Fort Blakley. The 
army was then ordered to Spanish Fort, thence 
to Mobile, Alabama. While on the march 
news of General Lee's surrender reached the 
troops. Finding that the fort had been eva- 
cuated, the troops moved against the city of 
Mobile, and after its evacuation marched into 
the city at night and went into camp in the 
suburbs. After several weeks his regiment 
was sent to Apalachicola, Florida, with other 
troops, to take care of the cotton which had 
accumulated there during the war, in hopes 
that the blockade runners might get in to carry 
it away, but which had not been done. This 
cotton was seized in the name of the govern- 
ment. Colonel B. Kinsey being detailed as 
judge advocate, under Major-general Ashboth, 
Mr. Crum assisted in trying cases against 
delinquent soldiers and officers. Here he spent 
two months, when he came home and was 
mustered out of service, October 25, 1865. He 
participated in thirty-three engagements dur- 
ing the war ; Avas on the staffs of Major-gen- 
eral Shaler, Major-general Steele, Brigadier- 
general Guppy and Colonel Kinsey; was con- 
tinuously under fire for forty-five days at the 
siege of Port Hudson. He fervently believes 
that his life was spared in answer to the fer- 
vent prayers of his righteous parents. 

After the war, he entered the New York 
Fire Department, and became a member of 
Engine Company No. 35, with which he re- 
mained nearly three years, when he became 
assistant foreman of Engine Company No. 7, 
and four months later was made foreman in 
command of Engine Company No. 4, at 39 
Liberty Street, New York City, with which 
he served fourteen years and seven months. 
He then became connected with the Mutual 
Life Insurance Company as assistant super- 
intendent of the real estate department of New 
York City, holding this position for two years, 
when he was sent to Boston to take charge of 
the real estate department of the same company 
in that city. He remained there three years, 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



571 



when failing health caused him to retire from 
active business for some time. When he re- 
signed his position with the Mutual Life, the 
company accepted his resignation and pre- 
sented to him a check amounting to three 
thousand dollars in evidence of appreciation 
of his long services. After regaining his health 
he became connected with the Equitable Life 
Assurance Society as a solicitor, and for the 
past twenty-four years has been acting in the 
capacity of agency manager. During this time 
he has probably written some twelve million 
dollars worth of policies. His offices are in 
the Singer Building, Broadway, New York, 
and he is a well-known figure in the insurance 
line, and most highly esteemed by every ex- 
ecutive officer of the company. This is evi- 
denced by the following letter : 

THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SO- 
CIETY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

June 17, 1913. 
My Dear Financier : 

I have followed your career with interest and 
pride for a quarter of a century or more. At one 
time I see you breaking into politics and making an 
impress on affairs of State— at another time, as the 
present, I see you breaking into the financial affairs 
of the world, vide your interest in the Long Branch 
Banking Company, "tlie pioneer concern along the 
Jersey coast," and all the while I know your heart 
is true to your first love, the Equitable, 'and I see 
you continuous in your endeavors to give your fellow 
men "protection that protects" by insuring them in 
the greatest company in the world. 

So here's to j-ou ! and long life, happiness and 
content to you ! 

Sincerely yours, 

(Signed) Geo. T. Wilson, 

GiiORGE L. Crum, Esq. Second Vice-President. 

Mr. Crum is a man of strong force of char- 
acter; is a director in several large corpora- 
tions and banks. He is a member of A. E. 
Kimball Post, Grand Army of the Republic, 
of New York, and of the Board of Trade at 
Long Branch, which is his home, and where 
he was candidate for mayor in 1910. In pol- 
itics he is a Republican. He has been a mem- 
ber of Harlem Lodge, No. 201, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, since 1868, and is also 
a member of what is known as the Half Mil- 
lion Club in insurance circles. He and his 
family attend the Methodist Episcopal church. 

He married (first) in 1866, Mary Lanzer, 
daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Mar- 
jory) Lanzer; she was born in New York City. 
Of this marriage two children were born: i. 
William K., born in New York City, August 



II, 1868; married Mamie Pasterelle, and they 
have four children : John, William, Patrice, 
George L. ; his residence is at College Point, 
Long Island ; he is a machinist, and employed 
by the Auto-Press Company there. 2. Ella 
Frances, married William G. Colling, of 
Brooklyn, New York ; they have a daughter, 
Marion. Mr. Crum married (second) Fannie 
L. Rabb, of New York City, a native of Aus- 
tria, who came to this country when a child. 
She is the mother of three children : 3. Maurice 
R., born in Boston, April 16, 1888, died at the 
age of two years. 4. Mercedee Latham, born 
November 11, 1890, in New York City; she 
was educated in the Long Branch high school, 
and was selected by the Long Branch Board 
of Trade as Queen of the Carnival of 1912, 
she is an ardent student of music. 5. Ortrude 
Latham, born in New York City, October 7, 
1893 '• she is a graduate of the Long Branch 
high school, and is an ardent student of music, 
and an elocutionist and vocalist of high order. 



Willem Florisse Crum, son of 
CRUM Floris Willemsen (q. v.) and 
Catalyntie (Ariaens) Krom, was 
probably baptized somewhere on Long Island, 
born about 1677-78. He was a small child 
when his father removed to Tappan, and there 
resided. He married, at Hackensack, Sep- 
tember 29, 1699, Geritje Van Houte, and the 
marriage record at Tappan describes him as 
a native of Flatbush, and his wife as a native 
of Harsamus. They had children baptized at 
Tappan: Floris Willemse, mentioned below; 
Theunis, April 14, 1703; Willem, July 4, 1705. 
Willem F. Crum died before October 15, 1707, 
on which date his widow married Jan Hogen- 
canb. 

(HI) Floris Willemse, eldest child of Wil- 
lem Florisse and Geritje (Van Houte) Crum, 
was born October 16, 1701, at Tappan, New 
York, and resided in that vicinity. He mar- 
ried Cytie (Seitje) Brouwer, and they had 
children baptized at Tappan : Johannes, men- 
tioned below ; Samuel, born May 14, 1731 ; 
Geritje, July 24, 1733; Willem, March g, 
1739; Margrietje, March 17, 1741 ; Theunis, 
November 27, 1743. 

(IV) Johannes, eldest child of Floris Wil- 
lemse and Cytie (Brouwer) Crum, was born 
July 31, 1728, baptized August 23, same year, 
at Tappan, New York, and resided in Upper 
Nyack. He married, at Clarkstown, Lena 



572 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Benson, daughter of Johannes and Lena Ben- 
son, and was described at the time of his mar- 
riage as a resident of Clarkstown. Only one 
of his children is recorded there and he evi- 
dently moved up the river in 1751-52. 

(V) Johannes (John) Benson, son of Jo- 
hannes and Lena (Benson) Crum, was bap- 
tized March i, 175 1, in Clarkstown, New 
York, and resided at Spring Valley, in the 
town of Ramapo. He was probably twice 
married. The family records show that he 
married Katee Sarvent, December 31, 1782. 
All of his children were born previous to that 
date. No record of the former marriage has 
been discovered. The Sarvent family is of 
French origin and- the name appears on the 
Dutch records of Tappan in various forms, the 
most usual being Server. It is also found as 
Sarven. Philip Sarvent, born about 1720-21, 
is described as coming from Holland at the age 
of thirteen years. He worked thirteen years 
for Cornelius Cooper in Clarkstown, whose 
farm of fifty-five acres he purchased in 1747. 
This is in Upper Nyack, and the stone house 
on the farm contains a chimney made of bricks 
brought from Holland. He died August 15, 
1786. His wife was Maria (Onderdonck) 
Crum, and they had children : Philip, Adrian, 
Garret, Abraham, born May 22, 1752, and 
probably Katee, wife of Johannes B. Crum 
The birth of the oldest son is recorded at 
Clarkstown, August 5, 1748. Katee was prob- 
ably born about 1752-53. Jacob Sarvent and 
Catrina De Beer had a son Abraham, born 
November 25, 1760. baptized December 7, at 
Clarkstown. Katee may have been theii 
daughter. Children of Johannes B. Crum : 
Elizabeth, born February 22, 1767; James, 
December 25, 1768; Thomas, January 27, 
1771 ; Katie, March 20, 1773; Jacob, January 
18, 1776; Henry, January 17, 1778; John, Jan- 
uary 12, 1781 ; Abram, mentioned below. 
These records are supplied by the family and 
cannot be found in any of the Rockland county 
or New Jersey churches. The family may 
have crossed the river for church privileges. 

(VI) Abram, son of Johannes (John) Ren- 
son and Katee (Sarvent) Crum, was born 
September 29. 1783, in Nyack, New York, 
died March 24, 1858. He probably resided in 
the town of Ramapo, as his marriage was per- 
formed bv Rev. George Brinkerhoff, pastoi 
of the Kakiat Dutch Church of that town. 
He was born just at the close of the revolu- 



tionary war, was imbued with the patriotic 
spirit of his ancestors, and served as a soldier 
from Rockland county in the war of 1812. He 
married, September 11, i8o8, Peggy (Mar- 
garet) Sarven. They had children: i. Mary, 
born August 30, 1810, married Levi Spring- 
steen, November 3, 1829; their children were: 
Theodore and Levi Jr. 2. John Abram, merv 
tioned below. 3. Abram Sarven, born Decem- 
ber 12, 1814; married, January 2, 1840, 
Uphemia Sickles ; they had one child, Martha 
Blanch, born December 28, 1840; married Dr. 
Alonzo C. Rembaugh in 1874, and has one 
child. Bertha, born in 1876, unmarried. 4. 
Theodore, born October 26, 1826, died in in- 
fancy. 5. Cyrus Mason, born September 29, 
1831 ; married (first) Laura Ann Dickey, 
September 29, 1857; married (second) Edith 
Mathilda Hope ; his children by first marriage 
were : Margaret and Florence. Children of 
second marriage: Margaret, Elizabeth, Helen, 
Louise, Harold. 

(VII) John Abram, eldest son of Abram 
and Peggy (Margaret) (Sarven) Crum, was 
born June 16, 1812, and baptized July 10, fol- 
lowing, at the Kakiat Church. He resided 
for many years in New York City, where he 
was a dry goods merchant, and retired upon 
a competence. Religiously he was a Presby- 
terian, and in politics acted with the Republi- 
can party. He married, October 25, 1870, at 
the Brick Church, New York City, Janet Mac- 
donald Rait, born March 22, 1836. died April 
^^. ^^77' daughter of James and Margaret 
(Dean) Rait. They had two children: Emma, 
born March 27, 1874; John Egbert, mentioned 
below. 

(VIII) John Egbert, only son of John 
Abram and Janet Macdonald (Rait) Crum, 
was born in Nyack, Rockland county. New 
York, March 26, 1876 When quite young 
he received private tuition in Nyack and was 
prepared to enter the public school. He finally 
attended the high school and in 1889 he grad- 
uated with his class with honors. He was 
then thirteen years old. Immediately upon 
his graduation he entered the employ of the 
Rochester Lamp Company in New York City 
as a clerk and salesman, and remained with 
them for about six years, when he resigned 
and accepted a position in the Shoe & Leather 
National Bank in New York City. LTpon the 
consolidation of the bank with the Metropoli- 
tan Bank in 1906. he became its general audi- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



573 



tor and is still connected with it, and is highly 
respected. John Egbert Crum is a Republican 
in politics, but has never held any public of- 
fice. He is a notary public and a commissioner 
of deeds of New York county. He is a mem- 
ber of Doric Lodge, No. 280, Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons, New York City ; Phoenix 
Chapter, No. 2, New York City; Sons of the 
Revolution; and is also an honorary member 
of the Orangetown Fire Company, No. i, 
Nyack, New York. He is a member of the 
First Presbyterian Church of Nyack. He 
married, June 12, 1906, in Tacoma, Wash- 
ington, Marie Agnes, born November 27, 
1874, in Coldwater, Mercer county, Ohio, 
daughter of George Rosenbeck. George Ro- 
senbeck was born August ig, 1836, in Ham- 
burg, Germany. He emigrated when young 
to America and finally became a prominent 
dry goods merchant in Coldwater, and also 
owned a large farm in the same place. He 
has now disposed of all his interest in Cold- 
water and leads a retired life in Los Angeles, 
California. He married Marie Elizabeth, born 
in Bantzen, Germany, daughter of Frederick 
Kalkhofif. Their children were: Catherine, 
born in 1872; Marie Agnes, mentioned above; 
Elizabeth, born in 1876; Josephine, born in 
1878. 



Gysbert Crum appeared in New 
CRUM York City when it was under 

English rule. The first mention 
of him is found in the land records at Albany, 
showing that he received a deed of confirma- 
tion of thirty acres at Marbletown, Esopus, 
October 11, 1671. He appears to have been 
living in New York in 1677, when he had a 
child baptized there. Possibly he may have 
been living at Marbletown at this time and 
brought the child to New York for baptism. 
The survey of one hundred and fifty-eight 
acres on the south side of Esopus Creek, in 
Marbletown, for him, was recorded April 13, 
1686. No record of his marriage is found in 
New York or Kingston but his wife was 
Giertie (Van Vliet) Crum. Their oldest child, 
Mayken, was baptized in New York, October 
31, 1677. Others, recorded in Kingston, are: 
Gysbert, born February 9, 1679; Henric, De- 
cember 9, 1683; Archie, January 31, 1686; 
Zacharias and Elizabeth (twins) March e,. 
1688. 

(U) Dirck, or Richard, undoubtedly the 



son of Gysbert and Giertie (Van Vliet) Crum, 
born about 1681, resided in the vicinity of 
Marbletown or Rochester, near Kingston. 
New York, where the baptisms of his chil- 
dren are recorded. No record of his own birth 
or baptism appears, or of his marriage. He 
married Eva de la Montanjen, baptized March 
23, 1683, in New York, daughter of William 
and Leonora (de Hooges) de la Montanjen. 
Children: Willem, baptized September i, 1709; 
Gysbert, mentioned below ; Geertjen, March 
I, 1713 ; Johannes, March 13, 1715 ; Elehonora, 
June 3, 1716; Henderick, January 12, 1718; 
Abraham, February 5, 1721 ; Elizabeth, March 
10, 1723; Lydia, January i, 1727. 

(HI) Gysbert (2), second son of Dirck 
or Richard and Eva (de la Montanjen) Crum, 
was baptized at Kingston, New York, No- 
vember 12, 1710, and appears to have been 
baptized a second time at Rochester, October 
18, 1724. He married, at Kingston, October 
2^1 > ^737 > Zara Bogaard, both being residents 
of Marbletown, where she was born. They 
had children baptized at Kingston: Marthen, 
February 26, 1738; Dyne, April 6, 1740; 
Henry, mentioned below; Anneke, December 
17, 1749; Marte, February 11, 1759. 

(IV) Henry, eldest son of Gysbert (2) and 
Zara (Bogaard) Crum, was born at Marble- 
town, New York, baptized September 4, 1743, 
at Kingston, and made his home in Marble- 
town. He married, at Kingston church, May 
4, 1777, Janneke Phoenix, a native and resi- 
dent of Hurley, baptized September 3, 1758, 
at Kingston, daughter of Matthew and Mary 
Phoenix. He was a soldier of the revolution, 
was shot in the legs and always a cripple there- 
after. He resided in the vicinity of Kingston 
until 1785, or later, and had children baptized 
at Kingston: Mathias, October 3. 1779; Re- 
becca, September 29, 1782; Willem, May i, 
1785. Tradition says he resided in Kingston 
or Saugerties. He brought no more children 
to Kingston for baptism. 

(V) Henry (2), son of Henry (i) and 
Janneke (Phoenix) Crum, was born in the 
vicinity of Kingston, New York, and died 
August 20, 1834, in Bergen county, New Jer- 
sey, where he was a farmer. For a time he 
lived in New York City. He was a Democrat 
politically, and affiliated with the Dutch Re- 
formed church. He married, March s, 1814. 
Maria Becker, who married (second), in 1839,. 
William Wyley. She died May 20, 1881. 



574 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Children : Henry, mentioned below ; Mary 
Ann, married George Bloomer; Peter James, 
born May 17, 1822; John William, February 
22, 1828; Theophilus Hanford, August 12, 
1830; Andrew Jackson, June 26, 1834. 

(VI) Henry (3), eldest child of Henry (2) 
and Maria (Becker) Crum, was born July 
27, 1815, in New York City, died there July 
19, 1849. He married, November 3, 1846, i'l 
New York City, Henrietta Frances Garns, 
born April 23, 1827, died February 11, 1906, 
daughter of Henry and Eliza (Herring) 
Garns. The last named was a daughter of 
Benjamin Herring, who was an officer under 
Washington and one of the Cincinnati Society. 
His wife, Catherine (Myers) Herring, was a 
daughter of Benjamin Myers, who was put 
aboard the prison ship "Jersey," and never 
heard of after. Children: Frederick Henry, 
mentioned below ; Emma Frances, born Ma> 
4. 1849, unmarried. 

(VH) Frederick Henry, only son of Henry 
(3) and Henrietta F. (Garns) Crum, was 
born September 27, 1847, at No. 83 Charlton 
Street, New York City. In 1862 he graduated 
at the Dutch Collegiate Institute of New York. 
In his sixteenth year, on March 9. 1863, he 
entered the employ of the North River Fire 
Insurance Company as a clerk and has risen 
through various positions in that establish- 
ment, being now its vice-president and secre- 
tary. He is also president of Crum & Forster 
fire underwriters; vice-president of the Hut- 
chins Security Company; director of the Nas- 
sau Fire Insurance Company; the United 
States Fire Insurance Company ; the Williams- 
burg City Fire Insurance Company; and ot 
the People's National Bank of Hackensack, 
New Jersev. Mr. Crum is a life member of 
the New York Historical Society, a member 
of the Economic Club of New York, and of 
the Episcopal church at Oradell. New Jersey 
He is active in the local councils of the Dem 
ocratic party, and is an esteemed and useful 
citizen of his home town. 

He married (first) February iq. 1871. Marv 
Laura Petrowitch. born in 1844. in New York 
City, died April 6. 1883. daughter of Chris- 
tian Petrowitch. He married (second) Feb- 
ruary II. 1903, Louise M'altbie Wortendyke. 
born June 9, 1869. Children of first wife: 
I. Frederick Henry, born November 3. 1871, 
died December 15, 1882. 2. Mary Laura, 
born June 3. 1873. 3. Helen Louise, born 



January 15, 1878; married, June, 1903, S. A. 
Van Der Water, M.D., of Oradell, and has 
a daughter Helen, born September 27, 1904. 
4. Hubert, born August 20, 1882; married, 
February 28, 1906, Lucy Sparks, and they 
have one child, Edith Lucile, born January 
22, 1907. Child of second wife: 5. Frederick 
Davenport, born August 20, 1904. 



Rev. William Leverich, the 
LEVERICH founder of this family, first 

appears as a student at 
Emanuel College, Cambridge, England, where 
he graduated in 1625. He died in Newtown, 
Long Island, before June 19, 1677, when letters 
of administration on his estate were granted 
to his son Eleazer. He came over to America 
in the ship "James." as minister to the church 
in Dover. New Hampshire, arriving at Salem, 
Massachusetts, October 10, 1633. Two years 
later he removed to Boston, and about 1637, 
he became assistant to the Rev. Mr. Partridge, 
at Duxbury. Massachusetts. Three years 
later, he accepted the charge of the church at 
Sandwich, on Cape Cod. and in 1653 he be- 
came a purchaser and settler of Oyster Bay, 
Long Island, the inhabitants agreeing to give 
him £15 a year as their minister among them. 
Here and at Huntington and Newtown. Long 
Island, he spent the remainder of his life. 
His wife's name is unknown. Children, so 
far as known : Caleb, referred to below ; 
Eleazer. married Rebecca Wright. 

(II) Caleb, son of Rev. William Leverich, 
came with his father to Newtown, Long 
Island, where he acquired much land and was 
one of the original members of the Presby- 
terian church. He died in 1717, aged seventy- 
nine years. He married Martha , who 

survived him. Children: John, referred to 
below ; Mary, married Job Wright ; Eleanor, 
married Joseph Reeder. 

(III) "John, son of Caleb and Martha 
Wright, was born in Newtown. Long Island, 
died there about 1705. He married Hannah 

. Children : John, born about 1696. died 

in 1780, married (first) December 14. 1720, 
Amy Moore, (second) Susanna, widow of 
John Sackett. and (third) Sarah (Titus) 
Cornish; William, died March 25, I7.=i4. mar- 
ried. July 23. 1722. Martha Way; Beniamin, 
referred to below ; Hannah, married James 
Way; Martha, married John Way. 

(IV) Benjamin, son of John and Hannah 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Leverich, was born in Newtown, Long Island, 
died there about 1732. He married Mary 
. Children: Caleb, referred to below. 

(V) Caleb (2), son of Benjamin and Mary 
Leverich, was born at Newtown, Long Island, 
died July 6, 1758, at Sabbath Day Point, on 
Lake George, while accompanying the ill-fated 
expedition of General Abercrombie. He be- 
gan business life early as a painter in New 
York City, but was induced to enlist for the 
French and Indian wars. He married Sus- 
anna, died September 11, 1814, aged eighty- 
eight years, daughter of William Burch. Chil- 
dren: Benjamin, referred to below; John, born 
September 4, 1758, died July 28, 1812, mar- 
ried Ann Chase. 

(VI) Benjamin (2), son of Caleb (2) and 
Susanna (Burch) Leverich, was born in New 
York City, and died in Cortlandtown, near 
Peekskill, Westchester county, New York, 
after 1790, in which year the census of the 
township, gives him three white males over 
sixteen years, including heads of families, 
three free white males under sixteen years, 
and four free white females over sixteen 
years, including heads of families. He is the 
only Leverich in Westchester county at that 
time except his third cousin John, who at that 
time was living at North Castle, but later wenl 
back to his paternal home in Newtown. 

(VII) John (2), son of Benjamin (2) Leve- 
rich, of Cortlandtown, Westchester county, 
New York, was a farmer in that county. His 
wife's name is unknown. Children : Benjamin, 
referred to below ; Caleb ; a daughter. 

(VIII) Benjamin (3), son of John (2) 
Leverich, was born in Cortlandtown, West- 
chester county, New York, January 22, 1793, 
died there April 14, 1878. He was a carpenter 
by trade and had a shop in Cortlandtown. He 
was somewhat of a lawyer and was looked up 
to by his neighbors, who would ask his advice 
as to the settling of their disputes. He was 
a Whig in politics, and served as justice of 
the peace and also as poormaster of the town. 
He served on Long Island in the war of 1812. 
He married (first) August 27, 1814, Eunice 
Outhout, who was born May 6, 1791 ; married 
(second) in 1856, Hannah Purdy. Children, 
all by first marriage : Hattie Ann, married 
George Cruger ; John W., born in 1819, died 
about 1880, married Elizabeth Ryder; Caleb; 
Mary Jane, married Gilbert Treadwell ; Wil 
liam, referred to below; Benjamin; George. 



(IX) William, son of Benjamin (3) and 
Eunice (Outhout) Leverich, was born in 
Cortlandtown, Westchester county. New York, 
October 26, 1822, and is now living in Kings- 
ton, Ulster county, New York. He received 
his education in the country schools of Cort- 
landtown, and learned the trade of mason, 
which he followed in that section of the 
country until 1848, when he removed to Tomp- 
kins Cove, Rockland county, New York, to 
set up an engine and boiler for the Tompkins 
Cove Stove Company, and to do other work 
for them. He remained here until 1850, when 
he went to Rondout, Ulster county. New York, 
where he did all the mason work for the 
Newark Lime and Cement Company, building 
all of their kilns, which are still standing. He 
also did numerous other masonry jobs, among 
them being the school house at Tompkins 
Cove, the Children's Church and the district 
school at Rondout, and for fifty-six years he 
was the boss mason of the town. He was a 
Republican in politics, and cast his first vote 
for Harrison and Tyler. He married, in 
Peekskill, Westchester county. New York, in 
1842, Catharine, daughter of James Gale, of 
Oregon, Westchester county, New York. Chil- 
dren: Minnie D., born in 1864; William H., 
referred to below. 

(X) William H., son of William and Cath- 
arine (Gale) Leverich. was born in Kingston, 
Ulster county, New York, May 9, 1866, and 
is now living with his father at Kingston. 



Captain John Seaman, the 
SEAMAN founder of this family, was 

with six of his sons one of the 
patentees of the town of Hempstead, Long 
Island. He was born about 1610, and died 
after August 5. 1694, the date of the writing 
of his will. He married (first) Elizabeth, 
daughter of John Stricland. and (second) 
Martha, daughter of Thomas and Martha 
(Youngs) Moore. Children by first marriage: 
John, married Hannah Williams; Jonathan, 

married Jane ; Benjamin, married 

Martha Titus; Solomon, died in 1743, married 
Elizabeth Linnington ; Elizabeth, married 
Colonel John Jackson ; Samuel, married Phebe 
Hicks; Thomas, married Mary ; Na- 
thaniel, mentioned below; Richard, born in 
1673, rnarried Jane Mott; Sarah, marrie-j 
John Mott ; Martha, married Nathaniel Pear- 
sail ; Deborah, married Kirk ; Hannah, 



576 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



married 



Carman ; Mary, married 



Pearsall ; daughter, died before 1694, 

married Carman; daughter died un- 
married. 

(II) Nathaniel, son of Captain John and 
Martha (Moore) Seaman, was born in Hemp- 
stead, Long Island, and died there October 9, 
1759. He married there, 9th mo., 8, 1695, 
Rachel, daughter of Henry and Mary 
(Pearce) Willis, who died August 20, 1759. 
Children: Rachel, born 5th mo. 26, 1696, died 
unmarried; Nathaniel, born nth mo. 18, 1699, 
died June 14, 1774, married, in 1722, Sarah 
Powell; Hester, born 9th mo. 8, 1701, mar- 
ried John Whitson ; Jacob, born 8th mo. 10, 
1703, died April 4, 1759, married, in 1726,, 
Mercy Powell; Abraham, born nth mo. 10, 
1706, married Deborah Townsend; Rachel, 
born 1st mo. 9, 1708, married, in 1738, Jere- 
miah Elfreth; Hezekiah, born 3rd mo. 11, 
171 1, married a daughter of Isaac Doughty; 
Thomas, born nth mo. 2, 1713, married, in 
1 741, Hannah Willets; Samuel, mentioned be- 
low. 

(HI) Samuel, son of Nathaniel and Rachel 
(Willis) Seaman, was born in Hempstead, 
Long Island, 4th mo. 13, 171 5. He married 
Martha, daughter of Obadiah and Martha 
(Willets) Valentine. Children: Willet, mar- 
ried Mary Searing; Valentine; Obadiah, mar- 
ried Deborah Valentine; Rachel, born in 174Z, 
died in 1797, married, February 3, 1762, Silas 
Hicks ; Martha, married Henry Titus ; Phebe, 
married Samuel Hicks; Miriam, married 
Stephen Robbins ; Samuel, mentioned below; 
Esther, married Samuel Sands ; Abigail, mar- 
ried Richard Willets; Marmaduke. 

(IV) Samuel (2). son of Samuel (i) and 
Martha (Valentine) Seaman, was born in 
Hempstead, Long Island, and died in Corn- 
wall. Orange county. New York. He married 
Kezia, daughter of Thomas and Martha 
(Powell) Titus, who was born in 17.^7. Chil- 
dren : Thomas, mentioned below ; Silas, mar- 
ried Hannah Green ; Martha, married Josiah 
Hazard; John, married Amy Pearsall;" Wil- 
liam ; Isaac ; Rachel, married Joseph Marshall ; 
Samuel, married (first) Anna Pearsall, (sec- 
ond) Phebe Pearsall. daughters of Wait and 
Hannah Pearsall. 

(V) Thomas, son of Samuel (2) and Kezia 
(Titus) Seaman, was born in 1780, died in the 
town of Monroe, Orange county. New York, 
February 23, 1848. He married Sarah Brown, 



who was born in 1780, died in May, 1864. 
Children : Jacob, mentioned below ; Kezia, 
married Daniel Cornell ; Martha ; Keturah, 
married Peter S. Titus. 

(VI) Jacob, son of Thomas and Sarah 
(Brown) Seaman, was born in Cornwall, 
Orange county. New York, in 1803, died in 
1888. He married, in 1826, Hannah Cocks, 
who was born in 1804, died in 1889. Chil- 
dren: Sarah Brown, born in 1827; Thomas, 
died in infancy ; Edmund, born in 1832, died 
in 1888, married Mary Willets; Thomas, bora 
August 17, 1835, died in November, 1886; 
Jacob T., November 26, 1838, died in 1864; 
Elizabeth K., September 24, 1841 ; James, 
referred to below ; Hannah Townsend, Janu- 
ary 20, 1848. 

(VII) James, son of Jacob and Hannah 
(Cocks) Seaman, was born in Cornwall, 
Orange county. New York, June 30, 1844, and 
is now living at Woodbury Falls, New York. 
He was born on a farm which was owned by 
his grandfather and part of which is still in 
his own possession. He received his educa- 
tion in the district and private schools of 
Mountainville, New York, and has been a 
successful farmer all his life. He is a Repub- 
lican in politics, and for six years, from 1900 
to 1902, and from 1904 to 1906, served as 
supervisor of the town of Woodbury. At one 
time he was postmaster at Woodbury Falls. 
He is a justice of the peace for Woodbury; 
a member and trustee in the Religious Society 
of Friends. He married, January 14, 1874, 
Elizabeth, born November 10, 1848, daughter 
of Charles Townsend and Martha (Weyant) 
Ford. Children: i. Charles Ford, born Jan- 
uary 29, 1875 ; married Lulu M. Viele, of Har- 
riman, New York; children: James and Mil- 
dred. 2. Jacob Townsend, born January 30, 
1877; married Mae L. Greenleaf ; children: 
Melissa G., Elizabeth and Elaine. 3. Mari- 
anna, born October 12, 1879; living' at home, 
unmarried. 4. Edmund, born May 20, 1883; 
married Edna Smith, of Harriman ; child: 
Elizabeth Meta, born August 4, 1913. 5. 
James Pierre, born March 6, 1885; a civil en- 
gineer in New York City. 



Under the fierce per • 
GIRAUD-GEROW secution following the 

Revocation of the 
Edict of Nantes, October, 1685, many of the 
nobility, and over three hundred thousand of 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



■577 



the most skillful artizans and leaders in indus- 
tries found refuge in America, which was 
benefited by what was lost to France. From 
the folk lore of this family we learn they fled, 
leaving all possessions behind them, some com- 
ing in slippers and laces. Candles were left 
burning in silver candle-sticks, and food left 
untouched on the table. 

At New Rochelle, New York, the two hun- 
dredth and twenty-fifth anniversay of the land- 
ing of the French Huguenots in America was 
celebrated. By pageant the scene was repro- 
duced, an exact replica of the caravel in which 
they came floated in the harbor, realistic In- 
dians surrounded the strange ship as when 
she appeared in the waters years ago. Among 
the invited guests were the President and Vice- 
President of the United States, Secretary of 
War Garrison, Secretary of Navy Daniels, the 
French Ambassador Jusserand and M. Chato- 
net, delegate from France to the celebration. 
In one of the addresses on "The Huguenot 
in America," it was said in closing: "The 
Huguenot was one of the most valuable agents 
God ever furnished for American Liberty and 
American Independence." In Hudson Park, 
New Rochelle, a granite monument has been 
erected by descendants of these early settlers, 
and on the bronze tablet are to be found the 
names of Giraud, Coutant, Chadeyane and 
others. From available records we have : 

(I) Etienne Giraud, of whom we have no 
information. 

(II) Daniel Giraud, who came from La 
Rochelle, France, in 1688, to New Rochelle, 
New York. He married and had three sons ; 
Daniel, of whom further ; Andrew, of Fish- 
kill, New York; Benjamin. 

(III) Daniel (2), son of Daniel (i) Giraud, 
born in 1724, was a resident of Cortland 
Manor. During the revolutionary war he ob- 
tained a pass to go through the lines and pur- 
chased a large tract of land from King 
George's agent, which is now known as Platte- 
kill, Ulster county. New York. The tract was 
then known as the "Ten Stone Meadow." The 
"Pass" and deed for the land is now in pos- 
session of a descendant. The deed was signed 
by "John Lake, Agent." Daniel Giraud mar- 
ried Elizabeth Coutant, sister of Jacob, Gilbert 
and Henry Coutant, and settled in Westchester 
county. New York. Children: Elias, of 
whom further; William, married Esther Cha- 
deyane; John, married Elizabeth Palmer; 



James went to St. John's, New Brunswick; 
Daniel went to St. John's, New Brunswick; 

Catharine married Yerksie; Deborah 

married James Denton ; Esther, married Wil- 
liam Clark; Betsy married James McCallum; 
Sarah married Jacob Russell; Jane married 

(first J Isaac Brown (second) Coutant; 

Mary married Adolphus Shuart. 

(IV) Elias Gerow, son of Daniel (2) and 
Elizabeth (Coutant) Giraud, was born April 
9, 1765, died 1838. He married Elizabeth, 
born May, 1768, daughter of Jacob Coutant. 
Children: Gilbert, of whom further; Annie 
married Ebenezer Cooley; Daniel married 
Lucy Haviland ; Phebe, deceased ; Hannah 
married Samuel P. Birdsall; Catherine mar- 
ried Smith Pine; Deborah married Daniel 
Birdsall, cousin of Samuel P. Birdsall; Wil- 
liam, deceased; Jacob married Jane Thorn; 
Lydia H., married Samuel Heaton ; Elias mar- 
ried Sally Ann Barber ; Isaac married Cornelia 
Ann, daughter of Adolphus and Mary 
(Giraud) Shuart. Elias Gerow had twelve 
children and sixty-four grandchildren, whose 
descendants are many, scattered far and wide, 
many of them living in the Hudson river 
towns, as also do the descendants of William, 
John, Sarah and Mary. The French Hugue- 
not name, Giraud, is still held with pride by 
many, others have accepted the name as pro- 
nounced, Gerow. At an early period the 
Christian fellowship of this family was with 
the Society of Friends (often called Quakers) 
and their influence for righteousness has left 
a benediction on succeeding generations. 

(V) Gilbert, son of Elias and Elizabeth 
(Coutant) Gerow, married Anna, daughter of 
Justus and Mehetable Cooley. Children: 
Louise married Harry Seeley; Emma Jane 
married John Jackson; Elias, mentioned be- 
low; Justus married Phebe Yoimg; Asahel 
married Mary Townsend ; John C, deceased; 
Mehetable married John Deming, of Cali- 
fornia. 

(VI) Elias (2), son of Gilbert and Anna 
(Cooley) Gerow, married Sarah Cooper. 
Children : Charles Cooley, married Margaret 
Culbert; Gilbert Haviland, mentioned below; 
Henrietta Van Cleft, married Charles Hull; 
Mary, died in early life ; Emma Jane, married 
William V. Many; Joseph Cooper, married 
Jennie Hathaway, and occupies the homestead 
at Blooming Grove, Orange county. New 
York. 



578 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



(VII) Gilbert Haviland, son of Elias (2) 
and Sarah (Cooper) Gerow, was born in the 
town of Blooming Grove, Orange county, New 
York, August 12, 1844, died at Washington- 
ville, Orange county, New York, March 19, 
191 1. He was educated in the district schools 
of Blooming Grove and at Antioch College, 
Ohio. W'ith his brother, Charles C. Gerow, 
and William Beattie, he was engaged in mill- 
ing and coal business at Salisbury Mills, New 
York. Later he purchased property at Vail's 
Gate, New York, where for about twenty-five 
years he conducted a general store, coal yard, 
and lumber and feed business. After this he 
formed a partnership under the name of 
Gerow & King, and continued the business for 
several years, and this was followed by the 
firms of Gerow & Son, Gerow & Stone, Stone 
Brothers, the latter for a term of ten years. 
Mr. Gerow was one of the organizers of the 
Newburgh Carpet Company, of Newburgh, 
New York, of which he was treasurer. He was 
an honorary member of the Tenth Separate 
Company of New York State, having served 
the required term of years, also honorary 
member of the Fire Department, \Vashington- 
ville. He was early a member of the Congre- 
gational church of Blooming Grove, and later 
of the First Presbyterian Church of Wash- 
ingtonville. 

He married, October 23, 1872, Alletta Rem- 
sen, daughter of the Rev. James Rapelye and 
Catherine (White) Lente, who was born at 
Napanoch, Ulster county. New York ( see 
Lente VIIL). Children: i. Charles Halcott, 
born December 31, 1873, died March 16, 1875. 
2. James Frank, born May 6, 1876, died May 
19, 1878. 3. Arthur Riker, born April 8, 1879 ; 
now with the Newburgh Carpet Company, 
Newburgh, New York. 4. Lyman Abbott, 
born October 4, 1880; graduate of Rutgers 
College, 1906. 5. Walter Haviland, born July 
16, 1884; now at Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation at Poughkeepsie, New York. 6. Gil- 
bert Westcott, born April 25, 1886; now en- 
gaged in coal and feed business at the original 
Vail's Gate stand which was established in 
i860 by the late Gilbert H. Gerow. 
(The Riker-Lent Lines.) 

From European genealogy we learn that the 
Rykers were located at a very remote period 
in Lower Saxony, where they enjoyed a state 
of allodial independence, at that day constitut- 



mg nobility. There they possessed the estate 
or Manor of Ryken, from which they took 
their name, written von Ryken. Subsequently 
the name suffered changes: de Ryke, de Ryk, 
Rieche, etc., von Lentum, von Lent, Lent, 
Lente. 

Hans von Ryken, with his cousin, Mel- 
choir von Ryken, a valiant knight, who 
lived in Holland, went in the First Crusade to 
the Holy Land in 1096, heading eight hundred 
crusaders in the army of Walter the Penniless. 
Melchoir von Ryken lived to return, but Hans 
von Ryken perished in that ill-fated expedi- 
tion. The coat-of-arms borne by the family 
is thus explained : The shield azure, em- 
blematic of knighthood ; the horns, indicating 
physical strength ; the golden stars, a striving 
for glory, and the white roses, symbol of dis- 
cretion and fidelity. Ln time the descendants 
of Melchoir von Ryken extended from Hol- 
land to Switzerland and America. Before the 
family is mentioned in America we learn they 
occupied places of public trust for two cen- 
turies, until the Spanish war occasioned great 
reverses in their fortunes. Captain Jacobus 
Simonsz de Ryken. of Amsterdam, a warm 
partisan of the Prince of Orange, distin- 
guished himself by military services when that 
Prince defended Dutch liberty, and the family 
for successive generations during the struggle 
with Spain followed a military career. ( Rik- 
er's Annals of Newtown.) 

(I) Gysbert or Guisbert Rycken, founder of 
the family in America, emigrated to New Am- 
sterdam from Holland about 1630. Prac- 
tically all that is known about him is the in- 
scription on the gravestone of his grandson, 
Abraham, son of Abraham and Margaret 
Riker, which reads : "The grave of Abraham 
Riker, son of Abraham and Margaret Riker; 
born 1655. died August 20, 1746, in the 91st 
year of his age ; and in memory of his grand- 
sire, Guisbert Riker, a native of Holland, who 
came to America in 1630, obtained a patent 
for land at the Bowery bearing date 1632." 

(II) Abraham, son of Gy.sbert or Guisbert 
Rycken. was born in 1619, died in 1689. He 
married Grietje Hendrickse, daughter of Hen- 
drick Harmensen. In 1642 he purchased prop- 
erty on the Heeren Gracht, now Broad street. 
His children were baptized in the church at 
Fort Amsterdam. Children : Ryck Abraham- 
sen, mentioned below: Jacobus, born 1640, 
died in infancy; Jacobus, born 1643; Hen- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



579 



drick, born in 1646, died young; Marytje, born 
in 1649, married Sibout Krankheyt ; Jan, born 
in 1651, married Sara Schouten ; Alletta, born 
in 1553, married Captain John Harmensen; 
Abraham, born in 1655, died August 20, 1746, 
married Grietje Janse van Buytenhuysen ; 
Hendrick, born in 1662, joined his brothers, 
Ryck A. and Jacobus, in Westchester county. 
New York, and changed his name to Lent, 

(III) Ryck Abrahamsen, son of Abra- 
ham Gysbrechtsen and Grietje (Hendrickse) 
Rycken, was born on Long Island, died in 
Westchester county, New York. He changed 
his name to Lent, and with his brother Hen- 
drick became the ancestors of the family of 
that name. In 1685 he bought from the In- 
dians an extensive tract of land, eighteen hun- 
dred acres, in Westchester county, which sub- 
sequently became famous under the name of 
"Ryck's Patent." He was an elder in the 
Dutch Church at Sleepy Hollow, and died 
between March 30, 1720, and March 28, 1723, 
the dates of the writing and proving of his 
will. He married Catrina, daughter of Harck 
Siboutsen and Wyntje Teunis. Children: 
Elizabeth, married Thomas Hyers ; Abraham, 
mentioned below; Ryck, born in 1678, married 
Marytje Blauvelt ; Harck or Hercules, born 
in 1681, died in 1766, married Cornelia Van 
Wart ; Margaret, married Thomas Bepson ; 
Catharine, married Joseph Jones. 

(IV) Abraham Lent, son of Ryck Abra- 
hamsen and Catrina Lent, was born in West- 
chester county. New York, March 10, 1674, 
died in Newtown, Long Island, February 5, 
1746. He lived for some years in Westchester 
county, and in 1729 settled in Newtown. He 
married, late in 1698, Anna Catrina, daughter 
of Adolph and Maria (Verveelen) Meyer, 
who died July 2'i, 1762, aged eighty-six years. 
Her father was a deacon in the church at 
Sleepy Hollow. Children : Ryck, died in 
1732, married, December 26, 1722, Cornelia 
Waldron ; Adolph, born in 1703 ; Isaac, mar- 
ried Sara Luyster; Abraham, married Mar- 
garet Snediker ; Jacob ; Jacobus, mentioned be- 
low; Catrina, married Elbert Herring; Eliza- 
beth, married Jacob Brinckerhoff ; Maria, mar- 
ried John Rapelye; Wyntje, married Jeromus 
Rapelye; Ann, married Jan BrinckerhofT. 

(V) Jacobus, son of Abraham and Catrina 
(Meyer) Lent, was born in Westchester 
county. New York, July 3, 1714, died in New- 
town, Long Island, December 13, 1779. He 



married Margaret, daughter of Daniel Rape- 
lye, who died September 11, 1794, in her 
seventy-fourth year. Children : Abraham, 
born February 15, 1745, died April 13, 1816, 
married Diana Lawrence; Alletta, born April 
24, 1747, married George Rapelye; Daniel, 
mentioned below. 

(VI) Daniel, son of Jacobus and Margaret 
(Rapelye) Lent, was born in Newtown, Long 
Island, May 31, 1754, died there, April 20, 
1797. He was the last of the family to live on 
the original Rycken-Lent estate at Armen 
Bouwerie. He married, December 9, 1792, 
Rensie, daughter of Martin Rapelye. Child: 
Daniel, mentioned below. Four children died 
in infancy. 

(VII) Daniel (2), son of Daniel (i) and 
Rensie (Rapelye) Lent, was born in Newtown, 
Long Island, August 30, 1797, died in Flush- 
ing Bay, Long Island. He was a merchant in 
New York City, and in later life bought a 
farm at Flushing Bay. He married, June 6, 
182 1. Jane Catharine, daughter of Cornelius 
Rapelye Remsen. Children: James Rapelye, 
mentioned below ; Cornelius Remsen, married 
Ama Nafis ; Charles Henry, married Ama 
Thorborn ; Elizabeth Catharine, married 
Charles Halcott, deceased; Theodore, died in 
infancy. 

The name of van Lente was retained 
by some of the family until the last century, 
when it was dropped and the plain Lent was 
i^sed. A few also spelled their name with a 
final "e," Lente, as the best abbreviation of the 
name at one time taken, van Lenten, from a 
maternal inheritance. The Rev. James Ra- 
pelye Lente, of Washingtonville, of more than 
ninety years of age, and his son, Edward 
Prime Lente, are probably the only ones bear- 
ing this rendering at the present time. It is 
recorded that the Lents lived friendly with 
the native Indians, no record of any trouble 
arising between them having been found. The 
Lents were numerous in the Continental army 
They voluntarily took up arms and fought 
bravely for freedom from the yoke of Great 
Britain. Sir Henry Clinton said he could 
neither "buy nor conquer these Dutchmen." 

(VIII) The Rev. James Rapelye Lente, son 
of Daniel (2) and Jane Catharine (Remsen) 
Lent, was born in Flushing, Long Island, 
April 18, 1822, and is now living at Washing- 
tonville, Orange county. New York. After 
being tutored by Rev. Garrett J. Gar- 



S8o 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



retson, pastor of the Reformed Dutch 
Church of Newtown, Long Island, he 
prepared for college at Erasmus Hall 
and graduated from Rutgers College in 
1842. After teaching at Erasmus Hall (Pre- 
paratory School) for three years, he entered 
the New Brunswick Theological Seminary and 
graduated in 1850. He took charge for a few 
months of the Reformed Dutch Church at 
Coxsackie Landing, Greene county, New 
York, in the absence of the pastor, then be- 
came pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church 
at Napanoch, New York. Two years later he 
became pastor of the Collegiate churches at 
Bloomingdale and Rosendale, New York, and 
ten years later, in 1864, he retired on account 
of ill health and has since lived at Washing- 
tonville, New York. He married Catherine. 
daughter of Colonel John White, who was 
born January 22, 1825, died May 27, 1887. 
Children: Alletta Remsen, born September 
23, 1853, married, October 23, 1872, Gilbert 
Haviland Gerow (see Gerow VH) ; Edward 
Prime, born November 5, 1857, unmarried. 



The name Thornton is 
THORNTON said to have been derived 
from Thor, the ancient 
northern deity. A different origin is, however, 
suggested by the coats-of-arms of two of the 
oldest Thornton families of England, the 
Thorntons of Yorkshire, and the Thorntons 
of Tiersall, which bear upon them three haw- 
thorn trees or bushes which suggest the com- 
bination of the "thorn" and "town." The 
name de Thornton also appears in the early 
annals, indicating a possible Norman ancestry. 
There are many families in Ireland and Scot- 
land bearing the name of Thornton, but in 
these cases it is said that the patronymic is 
usually an English rendering of the Gaelic 
Mac Skenaghan or Mac Sceinaghan, the root 
of the name being from the Gaelic word 
"sceine," a knife. Lower derives the English 
name in some cases from parishes and places 
in the counties in England of Buckingham- 
shire, Durham, and adjacent districts. York- 
shire abounds with places so-called. Thome 
appears to have been an old Anglo-Saxon per- 
sonal name ; and hence Thornton may have 
been in some cases the homestead of Thorne. 
There are numerous families bearing the 
name of Thornton in the United States. One 
of the earliest Thornton emigrants to America 



was William Thornton, who came from York- 
shire, England, prior to 1646, and settled in 
York county, Virginia. This William Thorn- 
ton was the ancestor of a large number of 
prominent descendants, some of whom became 
connected by marriage with the family of 
George Washington, and some with the family 
of President Zachary Taylor. Dr. John N. F. 
Thornton, who married Mary, daughter of 
President William Henry Harrison, was prob- 
ably of this family. Another early immigrant 
to America was John Thornton, who was one 
of the founders of the First Baptist Church 
of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1648. The Rev. 
Thomas Thornton, who came from England 
in 1663, and settled at Yarmouth, Massachu- 
setts, was the ancestor of descendants of emi- 
nence. James Thornton, father of the Hon. 
Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, emigrated from 
Ireland to America in 1718. There were other 
Thornton families that settled in Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania 
and Virginia. 

( I ) James Thornton, the immigrant ances- 
tor in America of the Thornton family here 
dealt with, was born near Londonderry, Ire- 
land, in 1684, died November 7, 1754, at East 
Derry, New Hampshire. The family of James 
Thornton lived on a farm about a mile from 
the city of Londonderry and were subject to 
frequent visits from King James's troops. 
James and his family is said to have been one 
of one hundred and twenty families, who in 
five small ships arrived at Boston, Massachu- 
setts, August 5, 1718, and in the fall of that 
year went to Falmouth, now Portland, Maine, 
where they spent the winter on shipboard, en- 
during great hardships. They then went to 
Wiscasset, Maine, and after a stay there of a 
few years they moved to Worcester, Massa- 
chusetts. In Worcester they lived on a farm 
near Tactknuck Hill, adjoining the town of 
Leicester. The only record that has been 
found of the wife of James Thornton is in 
the deed of the Worcester family, dated Feb- 
ruary 14, 1730-40, in which "Keturah" Thorn- 
ton joins. In 1740 James Thornton moved 
from Worcester to Pelham, Massachusetts, 
of which town he was one of the founders 
and principal proprietors. He remained in 
Pelham, where he held various town offices, 
until 1748, when he moved to Londonderry, 
New Hampshire, where he r-sided until his 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



581 



death, November 7, 1754. He is buried in 
Forest Hills cemetery, East Derry, New 
Hampshire, beside his daughter, Hannah Wal- 
lace. He married Nancy Smith. Children; 
I. James. 2. Andrew. 3. Matthew, born near 
Londonderry, Ireland, in 1714, died June 24, 
1803 ; he was the most prominent member of 
the Thornton family; he settled in New 
Hampshire, where he became distinguished as 
a physician, judge, statesman, and patriot in 
the revolution ; he was one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence for the State 
of New Hampshire, and the history of his life 
is to be found among the Lives of the Signers. 
He was buried at Thornton's Ferry, New 
Hampshire, where a monument to his memory 
was erected in 1872 by the State of New 
Hampshire. 4. Agnes. 5. William, mentioned 
below. 6. Samuel. 7. Hannah. 8. Esther. 

(H) William, fourth son of James and 
Nancy (Smith) Thornton, was with his father 
one of the settlers of Pelham, Massachusetts, 
in 1740, and as a surveyor he assisted in the 
laying out of the town. In 1744 he left Pel- 
ham and moved to Kingsfield (now Palmer), 
Massachusetts,, where he had a farm on the 
east side of Dumplin Hill. Here his sons, 
William, Matthew and James, were probably 
born. In March, 1748, William sold his farm 
at Palmer and became the first settler of Dub- 
lin, New Hampshire, which town was granted 
in 1749 to the Hon. Matthew Thornton and 
others. The farm in Dublin on which William 
Thornton, settled was owned by the Hon. 
Matthew Thornton and was subsequently sold 
by him to Deacon Isaac Appleton. A small 
monument has been erected on this farm to 
mark the settlement of the town. Two chil- 
dren were born to William Thornton during 
his residence in Dublin, a daughter, Molly, in 
1749, said to have been the first white child 
born in the town, and a son, Thomas. William 
Thornton remained in Dublin until about 1753, 
when he left on account of the Indians, and 
with his family moved to Schenectady, New 
York, where his son John was born in 1753. 
William Thornton and his sons, Matthew and 
James, served in the border warfare, their 
names appearing on the muster roll of Captain 
Daniel Campbell's company, of Schenectady, 
on May 12, 1767. From a deed dated Febru- 
ary 3. 1770, it appears that William Thornton 
was then of Curry's Brook or Bush, near 
Princeton, Albany county. New York. He re- 



turned to New Hampshire, and after living in 
Londonderry in 1773 and 1774, he went to 
Thornton, New Hampshire, where he re- 
mained until his death. Children: i. William, 
born in 1745, married Dolly Bayley, of Can- 
dia. New Hampshire ; they had seven children 
born between 1784 and 1799. 2. Matthew, born 
December 6, 1746, undoubtedly at Palmer, 
Massachusetts, where his father then lived ; he 
was probably with his father when the latter 
became the first settler of Dublin, New Hamp- 
shire, about the year 1748, and moved with 
him to Schenectady, New York, in 1753; he 
married, March 30, 1768, Mary Crawford, and 
their first child, Dorcas, born March 12, 1770, 
was baptized at Schenectady, New York, June 
12, 1770. 3. James, born about 1747, probably 
at Palmer, Massachusetts, went with his 
father's family to Dublin, New Hampshire, 
about the year 1748, and moved with them to 
Schenectady, New York, in 1753 ; the muster 
roll of Captain Dan Campbell's company, of 
Schenectady, May 12, 1767, gives the names of 
James Thornton and of his father and brother, 
Matthew ; James also served in the war of the 
revolution in the Second Regiment, Albany 
county; he married Antje Schermerhorn and 
had three children, May, William, Margarieta. 
4. Molly, born in Dublin, New Hampshire, 
about the year 1749. 5. Thomas, born in 1751, 
probably in Dublin, New Hampshire; he 
moved to Schenectady, New York, with his 
father in 1753; he was a school teacher and 
served in the war of revolution in the Second 
Regiment, Albany county ; he married Eliza- 
beth Richardson, sister of Paris Richardson, 
aide to General Washington; they had seven 
children, William, Euretta, Elizabeth, Thomas, 
Charles, Wallace, George. 6. John, mentioned 
below. 

(Ill) Major John Thornton, youngest son 
of William Thornton, was born at Schenec- 
tady, New York, in 1753. He served with dis- 
tinction in the war of the revolution. He was 
first lieutenant in Captain Thomas Wasson's 
company in the Second Regiment, Schenec- 
tady division. His brothers, James and 
Thomas, served in the same war. Captain, 
later Major, John Thornton served with 
Colonel Willets along the Mohawk Valley, and 
as major he commanded the escort to General 
Washington and General Clinton from Fort 
Plain to Cherry Valley and Otsego Lake and 
return, during the summer of 1783. On Jan- 



c82 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



uary 25, 1786, Major Thornton purchased a 
farm of one hundred acres at Curry's Bush 
(or Brook) in the town of Princeton, Albany 
county, New York, which farm had been 
owned by Daniel Clyde in 1771. He married 
Ann (Adelia) Clyde, daughter of Colonel 
Samuel Clyde, born October 25, 1764. Chil- 
dren : William A., mentioned below ; George, 
died young; Adelia, married Volney Freeman, 
of Schenectady ; Catherine, who died un- 
married. 

(IV) William A., eldest son of Major John 
and Ann or Adelia (Clyde) Thornton, was 
born August 29, 1802, at Albany, New York, 
died April 6, 1866, on Governor's Island. He 
attended the public schools of Albany, and was 
appinted cadet at West Point in 1821, gradu- 
ating in 1S25. He was appointed lieutenant of 
artillery on the staff of General Scott in the 
Black Hawk campaign, and later served in the 
Seminole Indian war, Florida. When the 
ordnance corps was created by congress, he 
was assigned to that corps, where he remained 
until the time of his death. He was made 
brevet-major for meritorious service in the 
Mexican war and brevet-brigadier-general for 
distinguished service in the civil war. His 
rank was colonel of ordnance, United States 
Army. At different times he was stationed at 
Watervliet, New York, Watertown, Massa- 
chusetts, and on Governor's Island, New York 
Harbor. He married, in 1833, Helen, daughter 
of Dr. Gilbert Smith, of New York City. Mrs. 
Thornton's mother was Helena De Witt, and 
connected with the De Witt family of revolu- 
tionary fame along the Hudson. Children : 
Adelia, married Colonel James S. Casey, 
United States Army, died in 1875 ' William A., 
who was a paymaster during the war and died 
in 1872; George De Witt, who died in 1883; 
Nora, who married John H. Walsh, died in 
1904; Howard, mentioned below. 

(V) Howard, son of William A. and Helen 
(Smith) Thornton, was born on Governor's 
Island, New York, February 25, 1849. He 
was educated in the public schools of New 
York City, and for a time was a student of the 
College of the City of New York, later of 
Union College, Schenectady, where he gradu- 
ated in the class of 1872 with the degree of 
A.B. He then settled in Newburgh, where he 
read law in the office of Eugene A. Brewster, 
and in 1874 graduated from the Albany Law 
School with degree of LL.B. He continued 



in his profession for a number of years in 
Newburgh, where he still retains an office. In 
1892-93-94 he was a member of the New York 
State assembly and chairman of the judiciary 
committee in 1894. He is a member of the 
Military Order of the Loyal Legion, Sons of 
the American Revolution, University and 
Transportation clubs, of New York City, 01 
the City and Powelton clubs of Newburgh. 
He was a member of the board of education 
of the city of Newburgh from 1906 for four 
years. In 1909 he was elected president of 
the National Bank of Newburgh, a position 
he still holds. He was trustee of the Washing- 
ton Headquarters, and part of the time presi- 
dent of the board. He is a past master of 
Hudson River Lodge, No. 607, Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons.. He married, October 19, 
1897, Julia B. Sterling, daughter of Charles H. 
Burr, of Astoria, Long Island. 

Colonel Samuel Clyde was born at Wind- 
ham, Rockingham county. New Hampshire, 
April II, 1732. The family of Clyde were 
originally from the banks of that river in Scot- 
land, whose name they bore. They had set- 
tled in Ireland in the time of Cromwell and a 
branch came to this country in that large emi- 
gration from Londonderry in Ireland, which 
settled the town of the same name in New 
Hampshire. They were mostly farmers. The 
father of Colonel Clyde owned and cultivated 
a small farm on which the son labored until 
he was nearly twenty years of age. He was 
well educated for a farmer's son in those times, 
and being of an enterprising character sought 
a wider field of labor. He first engaged in 
the trade of shipbuilder and later joined in 
the war in this country between England and 
France. Captain Clyde was in the disastrous 
attack on Ticonderoga. In 1761 he married 
Catherine Wasson at Schenectady. He was 
prominent in the war of the revolution, and 
one of the small forts in the Mohawk Valley 
was named Fort Clyde in his honor. He was 
appointed high sheriff' of the county of Mont- 
gomery in 1785 and this office he held for 
several years. The county seat was at John- 
ston, and the office of sheriff of such an ex- 
tensive county was one of great labor and 
responsibility. He was greatly beloved by his 
fellow-officers and soldiers and a vacancy hav- 
ing happened in the office of brigadier, in the 
brigade to which his regiment was attached, 
he was earnestly urged by those under his im- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



583 



mediate command to accept the appointment, 
but he dechned, giving the honor to men hold- 
ing older commissions. He was from the 
commencement to the close of the war chair- 
man for the committee of safety for the 
county, and he was also elected a member of 
the legislature from the county of Tryon. 
Colonel Clyde died on his farm at Cherry Val- 
ley, November 30, 1790, in his fifty-eighth 
year. 



The surname, Seeger, is Ger- 
SEEGER man in origin. It is pronounced 

"Sager" in that language. The 
name is well known in Germany, but it is not 
what could be called a popular name. There 
is also an English form of the name derived 
from Segar and Seager. This name is derived 
from the Anglo-Saxon word, akin to that of 
German, namely, "sigora," meaning a "con- 
queror," or "sigor," meaning "victorious." 
In this form it was an ancient personal name 
before surnames came into use, and occurs in 
the Domesday Book under the forms of Segar, 
Sigar and Sigarus. Another derivation of the 
English name is from the northern counties, 
pronunciation of or rather provincialism for 
"sawyer," from the Anglo-Saxon "saga," 
meaning "a saw." In Poiton, moreover, there 
is a local surname — De Segur. From this 
Norman surname it is possible that the English 
form or variation may be derived. Of course 
it is not contended that there is any relation- 
ship between the bearers of this surname. 
They have in all cases come by it by chance 
and there is no more connection between them, 
beyond similarity of the name, than if one 
had fallen into the name of Baker, and the 
other had taken that of Butcher. This may be 
said of nearly all occupational names. They 
were assumed in an entirely independent and 
arbitrary manner, and there is consequently no 
sense whatever in such phrases, common 
among those who try their hand at genealogv. 
as "the Smith family" or the "Tanner family," 
and so on. The German Seegers were of good 
social standing in the old country, and many 
of them had the right to bear arms. 

(I) Louis Seeger, M.D,, the ancestor in Ger- 
many of the Seeger family in America here 
dealt with, was a practising physician in his 
own country, but died early in life in the village 
of Feldrennach on the borders of the Schwarz- 



wald, or Black Forest. Among his children 
was John, mentioned below. 

(II) John, son of Louis Seeger, M.D., was 
born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, in the year 1835, and died at Newburgh, 
Orange county, New York, in 1888. He was 
a cabinetmaker by trade, and he was a member 
of a sharpshooter corps in Germany before 
coming to the United States. He came to 
America in the year i860, and he was engaged 
at his trade in Goshen, and later at Newburgh, 
Orange county. New York, where he became a 
stair builder for Charles Volckmer. In reli- 
gious faith he was a Lutheran. He married 
Louise Hammer, who was born at Laufen, on 
the Neckar, in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, 
Germany. Children: Albert H. F., mentioned 
below, and several daughters. 

(III) Albert H. F., son of John and Louise 
(Hammer) Seeger, was born at Stuttgart, in 
the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, Feb 
ruary 20, 1859. He came to the United States 
in April, 1861, at the age of two years, with 
his mother, his father having come over from 
Germany six months previously. Young See- 
ger and his mother made the trip from Bremen 
to Baltimore, Maryland, in a sailing vessel 
The ship encountered calm weather, and the 
trip occupied seventy-two days. For some 
time Mrs. Seeger and one of her daughters, 
Catherine M. Seeger, made their home at No. 
247 First street, Newburgh, Orange county. 
New York, where Albert H. F. Seeger also 
at one time resided. 

The Seeger family first resided in Goshen, 
Orange county, New York, but came to New- 
burgh in 1867. Young Seeger saw the founda- 
tion of the third ward grammar school (now 
the South Street school) laid, living near the 
site of the building, which he saw erected, and 
where he afterwards attended school, starting 
the first day the school was opened. After his 
graduation from there he attended the New- 
burgh Academy, from which he was graduated 
in 1875. The same year he entered the law 
office of Colonel William D. Dickey in the 
Stern Building at Water and Third streets, 
in Newburgh. He was clerk for Colonel 
Dickey until 1886, and was admitted to the 
bar. May 14, 1880. In 1886 he entered into 
partnership with the- late L. W. Y. McCrosk- 
ery, a son of former Mayor John J. S. Mc- 
Croskery. This partnership continued two 
years, and after that Mr. Seeger and the late 



584 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



i-'rank H. Cassedy became partners in the prac- 
tice of the law, the partnership continuing for 
six months. Since that time Judge Seeger has 
practiced alone. One of Judge Seeger's stu- 
dents was Henry Kohl, a prominent and suc- 
cessful lawyer of Newburgh, later its corpora- 
tion counsel. Another was Addison C. Orms- 
bee, a graduate of Cornell University, who 
after leaving Judge Seeger's office entered into 
partnership with Mr. Kohl. They practiced 
law for some years together, and then Mr. 
Ormsbee went to New York, where he prac- 
ticed until his death in 1908. Another student 
of his was Edward J. Collins, formerly of Port 
Jervis, who is a successful practicing lawyer 
in Newburgh. Still another was Peter Can- 
tine, a rising lawyer of the city of Newburgh, 
and at present its recorder. 

During these years Judge Seeger did not 
make speciahies, but engaged in all branches 
of the law, both civil and criminal. He has 
been counsel for a number of towns in Orange 
county, also for Newburgh City and Town 
Home and the Board of Education of the same 
city. Judge Seeger was admitted to practice 
in the district court of the United States and 
the United States circuit court in 1886. He 
has been engaged in the trial of many impor- 
tant cases. In 1886 he tried the case of Town- 
send versus George in the United States cir- 
cuit court in New York City. This was stub- 
bornly contested and he was successful in re- 
covering some mining leases on the Townsend 
farm, in the town of Cornwall. In 1888 the 
failure of the firm of John R. Willsie & Son 
occurred in Newburgh. John M. Pollock, of 
the firm, had been a schoolmate of Judge 
Seeger, and appealed to him for assistance, 
and Judge Seeger defended him. Although 
Pollock was at first convicted and sentenced to 
five years' imprisonment in Sing Sing prison. 
Judge Seeger took an appeal and succeeded in 
securing a reversal of judgment and the dis- 
missal of several indictments against Pollock. 
Since that time Judge Seeger has had numer- 
ous important cases. One of his most cele- 
brated cases was that of Quackenbush versus 
the Hon. William P. Richardson, who was 
formerly state senator from the district of 
Newburgh. This was an action to recover for 
alleged malicious prosecution. The plaintiflF, 
who was a debtor of the defendant, on account 
of the illness of his wife, left the state with 
her, the impression following that he had ab- 



sconded. Senator Richardson, who was a resi- 
dent of the town of Goshen, subsequently had 
Quackenbush arrested. Judge Seeger, who up 
to that time had not held any public office, se- 
cured the release of Quackenbush, and then 
had what proved to be a clear case against 
Senator Richardson. He conducted the case 
to a speedy finish and secured a judgment for 
his client against the senator for a considerable 
amount, in fact for the largest sum ever real- 
ized in a similar case in that county up to that 
time. 

Judge Seeger has always been a Republican. 
He has held elective office but twice, having 
been chosen district attorney to succeed A. V. 
N. Powelson, in 1903, he having been Mr. 
Powelson's assistant for seven years previously 
by appointment. While the number of con- 
victions secured by District Attorney Seeger 
was large, he takes pride in the fact that he 
has never procured the conviction of an inno- 
cent person. As district attorney he gave such 
satisfaction that he was elected county judge 
in 1900 by a large majority for a term of six 
years. He is making a fine record in the posi- 
tion. 

Judge Seeger is a member of Hudson River 
Lodge, No. 607, Free and Accepted Masons 
("raised" in 1895) ; also of Highland Chapter, 
No. 52, Royal Arch Masons, and of Hudson 
River Commandery, No. 35, Knights Templar, 
and Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member 
of Bismarck Lodge, No. 420, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows (of which his father 
was a charter member, besides being a 
D.D.G.M. of that Odd Fellows district), 
and a member Newburgh Lodge, No. 247, 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. 
Among the other organizations in which Judge 
Seeger holds membership is the Republican 
Club of the City of New York, the Newburgh 
Mannerchor, the Newburgh Turn Verein, the 
Newburgh City Club, the Newburgh Wheel- 
men, the Newburgh Canoe and Boating Asso- 
ciation, the Ringgold Hose Company, the New 
burgh Volunteer Firemen's Association and 
Brookside Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. 
Judge Seeger is one of the most genial and 
approachable of men. He is affable and plea- 
sant to everybody. He is not only learned in 
the law and successful, but he is a man among 
men, whom it is a delight to know and one 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



585 



whom his fellow citizens are likely to honor 
to an extent still greater than they have al- 
ready done. 

He married," in Newburgh, Orange county, 
New York, in 1884, May E. Riker, of New- 
burgh, a former resident of Chester, where she 
was born. They have one son, John Albert, 
who has been studying law with his father. 

The original name of the Ryker (Riker) 
family was Rycken. In the first crusade in 
the Holy Land Hans Von Rycken, Lord of 
the Manor of Rycken in Saxony, was accre- 
dited the honor of being the first to establish 
a perfunctory form of emancipation. His 
coat-of-arms was a shield, horns, stars and 
roses. As the family name was changed to 
De Ryck, the insignia was changed to a heap 
of bears. In 1329 Louis the Fifth, Emperor 
of Germany, presented the family with a new 
coat-of-arms, bearing crossed spears and a 
fish. Jacob Simonez de Rycke, grandfather of 
Abraham de Rycke, is accredited with being 
the head of the family in America. Passing 
on down to 1614, we find four brothers of 
the de Ryckes in New Netherlands : Abraham, 
Geysbert, Rynier, and Hendrick, bringing with 
them much wealth and honor. Abraham de 
Rycke was the progenitor of the family in 
America ; and they assumed the name of Riker 
and were the first owners of Ricker's Island. 
His son, Abraham, married Elizabeth Conkhn ; 
their issue being John, Sophia, Abraham, Mar- 
garet, Mathias, Gerardus, Maria, James, 
Henry, Peter, Samuel, Tunis. Tunis was born 
August 10, 1770. He married Ellen Moore. 
He was commissioned as major in the United 
States militia under James Madison, and 
served as such in the war of the United States 
and Great Britain at Mexico in the years 1812 
and 1813. At the close of that war he was 
honorably discharged, then retiring with a life 
pension of three hundred dollars annually. 
The issue of his marriage was Abraham. 
Thomas, Samuel, Anthony, Perry, James, 
Maria, Jane, Eliza, all of Spencer, New York! 
where he died in 1863. His son, Abraham, 
married Ellen Sackett and their issue was 
Jane,_ Wesley, Ellen, Eliza, Jackson. Wesley 
married Hannah Ackly, and their issue was 
Catharine, Robert, Augustus, Wheeler and 
May E., mentioned above, who married Tudee 
Albert H. F. Seeger. 



Allan Ainsworth was 
AINSWORTH born in Denton, Lan- 
cashire, England, in 1841. 
The Ainsworth family undoubtedly takes its 
name from the chapelry Ainsworth (i. e., 
Aynes or Haynes enclosure) commonly called 
Cockey Moor, situated in the parish of Mid- 
dleton, Salford hundred, in the county pala- 
tine of Lancaster, England. So long ago as 
1639 ^•i-'v John Ainsworth was of that ilk and 
owned lands there, but "Bayne's Directory" 
for 1825 gave no one of the name as an in- 
habitant; there were then no Ainsworths or 
Ainsworth, The place was always small, and 
the census of 1881 states its population as only 
1,729 and its area as 1,309 acres. Burke's 
"General Armory" gives four coats-of-arms as 
those of Lancashire Ainsworths that are prob- 
ably ancient, two of these differ only as to 
their tincture (i. e., colors). The description 
given by Burke in the technical language of 
heraldry is as follows: i. Gules, three battle 
axes argent ; Crest — two battle axes in saltire 
proper. Motto — Courage Sans Peitr. 2. 
Azure, three spades argent, another within a 
border. Crest — two battle axes in saltire 
proper. 3. Azure, on a bend sable three cres- 
cents of the first. 4. Sable, on a bend argent 
three crescents of the field. In view of the 
later American history of the family, these 
coals-of-arms are not inappropriate ; spades 
are emblematic of the agricultural occupation 
of the great majority of the individuals repre- 
senting the name, the battle axes symbolizing 
their aptness and devotion to military service. 
Every war here has seen the name of Ains- 
worth repeated on its muster rolls, and the 
number who died in the French and Indian 
war and in the revolutionary war seems out of 
proportion to the number who have borne the 
name. The motto, "Fearless Courage," has 
evidently been sustained by the family in 
America. 

Allan Ainsworth received a common school 
education in Denton, and afterward learned 
the manufacturing of hats as a trade. He was 
a very young man when he came to this coun- 
try and established himself in Yonkers, later 
in Newburgh, and subsequently in Matteawan, 
New York, continuing the hat manufacturing 
trade. He married Delia Carey, in New 
York City, about 1870; Delia Carey was born 
in New York City, about 1850. There were 
six children to this union : Lena, Arthur, 



586 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Edith, Ida, Walter F. and Harry. They be- 
longed to the Episcopal church. 

Walter Francis, fifth child of Allan and 
Delia Ainsworth, was born July 31, 1878, in 
Newburgh, Orange county, New York. He 
went to public school and later to high school 
in ]Matteawan. After graduating he entered 
De Garmo Institute, and subsequently Spen- 
cer's Business College, Newburgh, from 
which he was graduated in 1895. He 
was employed by the West Shore Rail- 
road Company at Newburgh as a clerk 
for three years ; later he was transferred 
to the superintendent's office, where he 
remained about one year; after that he was 
employed by the New York, New Haven & 
Hartford Railroad Company at Fishkill, 
where he remained for one year. After that 
he entered in the coal business for himself for 
four years at Fishkill Landing. He sold out 
his business and accepted a position with the 
Matteawan Savings Bank as assistant treas- 
urer for two years, when he came to New 
York and re-entered in the coal business with 
Whitney & Kemmerer, and finally entered the 
firm of W. A. Marshell & Co. as secretary, 
and was also secretary and treasurer of the 
Lincoln Coal Company and the Maple Ridge 
Coal Company. Mr. Ainsworth is owner and 
operator of the Belmont Ouemahoning Coal 
Company. He is founding a settlement at 
Acosta, Pennsylvania, near one of his proper- 
ties. Mr. Ainsworth lives in New York City. 

He married Beatrice Martin, in New York 
City, in 1892 ; she was the daughter of Charles 
Martin and Minnie Raynor. Mr. Martin was 
a wholesale produce merchant. 



There has been much specula- 
ODELL tion concerning this surname, 

which first appears in American 
records as borne by William Odell, who came 
to New England in the early part of the sev- 
enteenth century. Some genealogists give the 
name an English origin. According to these 
the name is said to have been variously writ- 
ten in the public records of England as Wade- 
helle, Wahulle, de Wahul, Wodhull. Wood- 
hull. Wodell, Odell, Odill and Odle. The 
parish registers of Bedfordshire, England, 
show a very extensive settlement of the family 
in that county and the name appears to have 
undergone many variations in spelling, such 



as Wodell, Woddell, Woodell, Woddle, Odill. 
Odell and Odle. The seat of the families 
bearing these variegated surnames was origin- 
ally the ancient castle and barony of Wahull, 
also called Wodhull, Woodhull, Woodhill, 
etc. This place is now described as Odell on 
the maps of the county, this being a later 
orthography. In the parish registers of Then- 
ford, Northamptonshire, and MoUington, Ox- 
fordshire, the common spelling of the name 
is Wodhull and Woodhull ; in MoUington 
Church, however, is a tomb to the memory of 
Mrs. Elizabeth (Merse) Woodhull, late wife 
of Richard Woodhull, of MoUington. In 
America the families of Woodhull have not 
traced any relationship, though Richard 
Woodhull. born about 1620, who is considered 
the progenitor of most of the Woodhulls in 
this country, was sometimes described on the 
public records as Richard Odell, and William 
Odell, Jr., of R3'e, New York, signed as Wil- 
liam Woodhull in 1668. 

The Q'Dells or Odells of Ireland are a well 
known Milesian family of the race of Heber. 
a branch of the family of Ring or O'Villrin. 
The surname is derived from Dall ("dall" in 
Gaelic meaning "Wind"), the christian name 
of a military commander who is the hundred 
and second on the O'Mllrin or Ring pedigree. 
It has been variously anglicised O'Dally, 
O'Dell, Odell and Dale. The family is of dis- 
tinguished ancestry, Dall, who appears to 
have been present at the battle of Clontarf 
(1014 A.D.), having been a descendant in the 
fourteenth generation of Daire Cearb a 
brother of Lughaidh, son of Olioll Flann-beag, 
king of Munster for thirty years, and great- 
grandson of the celebrated Olioll Olum, king 
of both Munsters in the third century, from 
whom were descended all the Heberian nobil- 
ity and gentry of Thomond and Desmond. 

(I) William Odell, the founder and first 
immigrant ancestor of the Odell family here 
dealt with, was born either in Britain or Ire- 
land, died in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1676. 
He came to New England in the early part of 
the seventeenth century, and he is first traced 
at Concord, Massachusetts, where his name 
appears in the town records as early as 1639. 
He removed to Fairfield, Connecticut, about 
1644, and became the owner of a large estate. 
His name appears there in the probate records 
with the comparatively rare prefix of "Mr.," 




"W. ^. ^immcKd 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



587 



which in those early days was a distinctive 
and honorable title. His will, recorded at 
Fairfield, Connecticut, and dated June 6, 1676, 
mentions his sons William and John, his 
daughter Rebecca, who had married Thomas 
Moorehouse, his daughter-in-law, Mary 
Odell, and others. In this will he bequeathed 
lands in Concord and Fairfield and makes 
his son, John Odell, and his son-in-law, Sam- 
uel Moorehouse, his executors. William 
Odell married before coming to America, it 
is thought, but the name of his wife has re- 
mained unknown. There is no trace of Mrs. 
Odell's residence in Concord, the first book 
of the records of that town having been lost. 
In the early records of Boston, however, may 
be found "A Register of the births and burials 
in Concord for the years 1639 until the first 
month of 1644, according to Or account." In 
this register are the following entries : 
"James the sonne of William Odle was born 
the 2 of the 11 month 1639, and was buried 
4 (2) 1 64 1." "Rebecca, the daughter of Wil- 
liam Odle was borne the 17 (5) 1642." It is 
supposed that Mrs. Odell died before 1644, 
the year of her husband's removal to Fair- 
field, Connecticut, as the records of the town 
make no mention of her name, nor does Mr. 
Odell's will, made in 1676, refer to her. Chil- 
dren : William, mentioned below; James, 
born in 1639, died in 1641 ; John, married 
Abigail Walker; Rebecca, married Thomas 
Moorehouse. 

(II) William (2), eldest son of William 
(i) Odell, was born about 1634, died about 
1700 at Rye, New York. In 1659 he pur- 
chased land in Fairfield from Thomas Moore- 
house, and in 1668, when he appears to have 
been residing at Rye, he signed a petition as 
"William \^'oodhull."' such a name appearing 
on the record and considered to have been 
signed by him. In 1681 he owned about four 
hundred acres in Fairfield, and in 1684 he 
gave a deed of land in Rye, New York, to his 
son Samuel. There is also a record of his 
giving a deed of land to his eldest son, John 
Odell, in 1693. He married a daughter of 
Richard Vowles, Esq.,' of Rye, New York, 
who was of Fairfield, in 1650, and was a Free- 
man in 1662. Children: i. John, mentioned 
below. 2. Samuel, who lived at Rye, New 
York, and in 1700, gave Abraham Smith a 
deed of land which formerly belonged to his 
father. 3. Jonathan, who was of White Plains 



in 1697 and signed the oath of allegiance to 
King William. 4. Sarah, married, in 1686, 
John Archer, Esq., lord of the manor of Ford- 
ham, New York, and had issue. 5. Hackahal, 
who is mentioned in Rye town records as wit- 
nessing Robert Bloomer's deed. 6. Isaac, lived 
at Eastchester, New York, and gave to Misses 
Hoit a deed of land in Eastchester. 7. 
Stephen, who is said to have removed to 
Dutchess county, New York. 8. Michael, who 
is said to have married one Bussing. 

(III) John, eldest son of William (2) and 

(Vowles) Odell, was probably born at 

Fairfield, Connecticut, died at Fordham, New 
York. There is a record of his signing as a 
witness in 1683, and in 1706 he sold to George 
Knififen, of Rye, New York, his interest in 
the undivided lands "below the marked trees 
which belong to the eighteenth," being a thirty- 
sixth part of the land which belonged to his 
deceased father, William Odell. He married 
Joanna Turner, who in 1688 was mentioned 
as Hannah, wife of John Odle, in an account 
of the attempt of Nicholas Bayard to take pos- 
session of the Dutch church of New York. 
Lawrence Turner was the founder of this 
family in Westchester county; his estate was 
administered by his widow Martha and her 
children in 1688. Children: i. Johannes, 
mentioned below. 2. Michael, of whom no 
trace has been found beyond the mention of 
his name as an executor of the will of Johan- 
nes Odell, of Fordham, New York, in which 
instrument he is called by the testator "My 
brother, Michael Odell." 

(IV) Joannes, eldest son of John and 
Joanna (Turner) Odell, was born probably at 
Rye, New York, and died about 1738. He 
lived at Fordham Manor, New York. His 
will in New York City dated September 25, 
1735. and proved July 27, 1738, mentions his 
"honored father" John Odell, and appoints 
his wife, his brother Michael, and his son John 
as executors. He married Joanna, daughter 
of Joannes and Altien (Waldron) Vermelje 
(Vermilye) of Harlem. Joannes Vermelje 
was in 1670 magistrate and in 1689 member of 
the committee of safety and of Leisler's coun- 
cil. Isaac Vermeille, the founder of the fam- 
ily in this country, was the son of Jean and 
Marie (Roubley) Vermeille, who were among 
the Walloon refugees in London in the latter 
part of the sixteenth century. Children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Odell: i. John, married Anne, 



588 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



daughter of Benjamin and Mary Benson, of 
Harlem. 2. Isaac, married Lena Devaux and 
had three sons : Isaac, who served in the revo- 
lutionary war; John, Jonathan. 3. Abraham, 
born April 22, 1725, died 1819; married Re- 
becca, daughter of Joseph and Jannetje (Kier- 
sen) Dyckman. 4. Jonathan, mentioned be- 
low. 5. Hannah. 6. Altien. 

(V) Jonathan, son of Joannes and Joanna 
(Vermilye) Odell, was born December 26, 
1730, died September 23, 1818, at Tarrytown, 
New York, being buried in Sleepy Hollow 
cemetery in that neighborhood. He lived at 
Tarrytown, New York, and owned a large 
estate in Westchester county. New York. He 
served in the revolutionary war and was im- 
prisoned by the British for loyalty to the 
American cause. His will is dated May 29, 
1812, and mentions his sons and daughters. 
He married Margaret, daughter of Jacob and 
Jannetie (Kiersen) Dyckman. She was born 
in 1736, died March 20, 1783, granddaughter 
of Jan Dyckman, the founder of the family, 
who came from Bentheim, Westphalia, and 
was a landholder in Harlem as early as 1666. 
Children: i. Jacob, born February 26, 1752, 
died October 15, 1798; married Hannah, 
daughter of Jasper and Auly Stymus, of 
Greenburg, New York. 2. Lieutenant John, 
born October 25, 1756, died October 26, 1835 ; 
was an officer in Colonel Morris Graham's 
regiment and mounted guide to the American 
army during the war of the revolution ; mar- 
ried Hannah, daughter of John and Ann Mac- 
Chain, of Cortlandt, Westchester county, 
New York. 3. Abraham, born January 4, 
1760, died February 26, 1820; married Anne, 
daughter of Cornells and Rachel (Horton) 
Mandeville, of Cortlandt Manor, New York : 
he served in the American army in Colonel 
Van Bergen's regiment during the war of the 
revolution. 4. William, mentioned below. 

( VT) William, youngest son of Jonathan and 
Margaret (Dyckman) Odell, was born in New 
York, December 18, 1762, died at Kendall, 
Orleans county. New York, February 14, 
1856. He served in Colonel Van Bergen's 
regiment during the war of the revolution and 
later held a colonel's commission in a West- 
chester county regiment. In 1812 he was 
named in his father's will with a bequest of 
an estate called the Homestead. He was for 
some years proprietor of the Bull's Head 
Tavern. In 1835 he settled at Kendall, 



Orleans county, New York, buying a tract of 
land for the purpose of improving it. He 
married Johanna, born December 30, 1769, 
daughter of Daniel S. and Rebecca (Brown) 
Willsea, of Greenburg. Children: i. Isaac, 
mentioned below. 2. Abram, who settled in 
Little Britain, near New Windsor, Orange 
county. New York. 

(VII) Isaac, eldest son of William and 
Johanna (Willsea) Odell, was born in New 
York City, about 1799, died at Newburgh 
Orange county, New York. He went with his 
father to Orleans county, New York 
and afterwards settled in Little Britain, near 
New Windsor, Orange county. New York, 
where they settled on the De Witt Clinton 
farm. He married Mary Ann Barker, born 
in Westchester county, New York, died in 
New York City at the age of eighty-one. 
Children: i. Benjamin, mentioned below. 2. 
Caleb, born at New Windsor, Orange county, 
New York, June 28, 1827, died on Thanks- 
giving Day, 1 88 1. 

(VIII) Benjamin, eldest son of Isaac and 
Mary Ann (Barker) Odell, was born at New 
Windsor, Orange county. New York, Septem- 
ber 10, 1825, in the same house in which 
Governor Clinton was born. He attended 
school as a boy, and at the age of fifteen 
was bound out to Abram Weller of the 
town of Montgomery, as a farm hand. He 
remained with Mr. Weller three years, and in 
the meantime attended school part of the time 
at the Clineman school house, near Walden. 
Mr. Odell went to Newburgh in 1843 and en- 
tered the employ of Benjamin W. Van Nort, 
with whom he remained four years, when he 
began business for himself. In 1863 he bought 
from J. R. Dickson the Muchattoes Lake ice 
property. In 1886 he organized the Muchat- 
toes Lake Ice Company, of which he is still 
president. He was a trustee of the former 
village of Newburgh and has been an alder- 
man in the third ward of Newburgh and a 
supervisor of New Windsor. He was sheriff 
of Orange county in 1880-83, and has served 
six terms of two years each as mayor of New- 
burgh. He has always faithfully fulfilled 
every trust reposed in him. He is a staunch 
Republican, and has been ever since the open- 
ing of the rebellion in 1861. He has always 
been a farseeing and capable politician. As 
regards religion Mr. Odell belongs to the 
American Reformed church, of which he is 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



589 



an elder. He married, in 1850, Ophelia, 
daughter of Hiram Bookstaver, of Newburgh, 
New York. Children: i. Benjamin B., men- 
tioned below. 2. Hiram B., mentioned below. 
3. George C. D. 4. Clara. 5. Ophelia. 

(IX) Benjamin B., eldest son of Benjamin 
and Ophelia (Bookstaver) Odell, was born at 
Newburgh, Orange county, New York, Janu- 
ary 14, 1854. He was educated in the public 
schools of Newburgh and at Bethany College, 
West Virginia. From 1873 to 1875 he was a 
student at Columbia College. He engaged for 
a number of years in banking, electric light- 
ing and other commercial enterprises in New- 
burgh with his father. He was a member of 
the Republican State committee from 1884 to 
1900, and chairman of the Republican state 
executive committee from 1898 to 1900. He 
was a member of congress from the seven- 
teenth district of New York from 1895 to 
1899, but declined renomination. He earned 
considerable distinction as governor of New 
York from 1901 to 1905. He married (first) 
in 1877, Estelle Crist, who died in 1888; (sec- 
ond) in 1891, Mrs. Linda (Crist) Traphagen, 
widow of Mr. Traphagen, and sister of the 
first Mrs. Odell. 

(IX) Hiram B., second son of Benjamin 
and Ophelia (Bookstaver) Odell, was born in 
Newburgh, Orange county. New York, Au- 
gust 21, 1856. He was educated in the public 
schools of his native city. Soon after leaving 
school in 1871 he began work with his father 
in the ice business, the elder Odell being presi- 
dent of the Muchattoes Lake Ice Company. 
He has remained in that business and has long 
been an officer in the company. In 18S0 he 
was appointed under sheriff in charge of the 
Goshen court house and jail by his father, who 
had been elected sheriff of Orange county the 
previous November. He served in that office 
during a term of three years and his work 
gave general satisfaction. On March 7, 1893, 
Mr. Odell was elected alderman in the New- 
burgh common council to represent the third 
ward. He served in that office one term of 
two years and declined re-election. The next 
office held by Mr. Odell was that of postmas- 
ter of Newburgh, in which he served his third 
term of four years. He was first appointed 
in March, 1900, by President McKinley and 
was reappointed by President Roosevelt in 
1904 and again in 1908. Mr. Odell, it is said 
locally, has made an admirable postmas- 



ter and there have been many improve- 
ments made in the postal system of the 
city since he began to hold the position. 
He has been connected with the fire 
department for seven years, and was secre- 
tary of the Ringgold Hose Company sev- 
eral years. He was a charter member of Com- 
pany E, Seventeenth Battalion (now the 
Tenth Separate Company) in 1878. He was 
appointed first corporal by Captain Joseph M. 
Dickey, and took rank as second lieutenant, 
February 8, 1884, and as first lieutenant, May 
22, 1885. He served seven years in the Na- 
tional Guard, and left the company August 10, 
1886. He married, in April, 1886, Edith, 
daughter of James Ashley and Catherine 
Booth, of Wilbur, a suburb of Kingston, 
Ulster county, New York. Children: Mil- 
dred, Edith, Hiram B., Jr. 



(VIII) Caleb Odell, second son 
ODELL of Isaac (q. v.) and Mary Ann 
(Barker) Odell, was born at New 
Windsor, Orange county. New York, June 28, 
1827, and died on Thanksgiving Day in 1881, 
at Newburg, Orange county, New York. He 
attended the district schools in the vicinity of 
New Windsor and later in life settled in New- 
burg, where, with his brother, Benjamin B. 
Odell, he conducted a restaurant. Later he 
was proprietor of the old Van Ort House, 
one of the leading hotels of that day. He 
managed the Van Ort Hotel for a number of 
years, and when it was torn down he engaged 
again in the restaurant business, though he did 
not continue very long in this second venture. 
He was a very genial man and his jovial 
character and conversation had much to do 
with his success in his catering business. Gay 
as he was he retained a firm belief in the value 
of practical religion and was a regular at- 
tendant with his family at the Old Dutch 
church. He married, June 25, 1849, J^"^' 
daughter of Joseph and Ann (Dunning) Cas- 
telline (see Castelline VI). Children: Mary 
Ann, who married William Ernest; George 
W. ; Ophelia, who died in infancy ; Caleb ; Wil- 
liam; Adelaide, who married William Corn- 
wall; Katherine, who married H. E. Limmer; 
Laura V., mentioned below ; Harriet E., who 
married (first) Clarence Whitehill, and (sec- 
ond) Dr. J. L. Rathburn ; and Cora, who died 
in infancy. 



590 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



(IX J Laura V., daughter of Caleb and Jane 
(.Castellmej Odell, was born in Newburg, 
Orange county, New York. She married, No- 
vember 2^, 1898, Samuel L. Carhsle, who was 
born at Newburg, Orange county. New York, 
June 30, 1832, and died at Newburgh, Novem- 
ber 9, 191 1. Beginning hfe in Newburgh in 
obscurity, he died one of the most honored 
citizens of the district, having been a represen- 
tative in tlie state legislature, where he served 
un important committees during the term of 
1884-5. Mr. Carlisle's early education was 
secured in public schools and while attending 
school he was employed as a newsboy by 
Stephen Hoyt. After leaving school he started 
a brush factory and later went to New York 
City to learn the dry goods business, but left 
It to enter the service of the Singer Sewing 
Machine Company, at their works in Brook- 
lyn, New York. He entered the establish- 
ment as an office boy, worked through the sev- 
eral grades to that of buyer, and then became 
a stockholder and director, holding a position 
on the board of directors at the time of his 
death. 

After becoming associated with the Singer 
Company in an official capacity Mr. Carlisle 
organized in Brooklyn what was for years 
known the country round as the "Carlisle Bat- 
tery," an organization used exclusively for 
political purposes. After Mr. Carlisle went to 
Newburg to live a retired life in 1881, the 
battery was reorganized and is now known as 
the "Francis William Battery." In 1884 when 
the Blaine and Logan campaign was on Mr. 
Carlisle entered the political field locally, and 
one of the largest demonstrations ever given 
in the district was brought about at his sug- 
gestion and with his assistance. This was the 
occasion of visits from clubs representing all 
river cities and towns. The closing years of 
Mr. Carlisle's life were somewhat over- 
shadowed by illness. He was a member of 
Newburg Lodge, No. 308, Free and Accepted 
Masons, and of Hudson River Commandery, 
No. 35, Knights Templar. Mr. Samuel Lud- 
low Carlisle, by his first marriage, had one son, 
William, who died in December, 1910. Wil- 
liam married Anna P. Daly, of Brooklyn, and 
had three children : Avrill, who has been pri- 
vate tutor to a son of Mr. William Randolph 
Hearst, the newspaper proprietor ; SamueJ Car- 
lisle, who is with the Remington Typewriter 
Company, and Emilie. who married Martin C. 



Stewart, professor of German at Union 
College. 

(The Castelline Line.) 
The name Castelline is manifestly Latin in 
origin, and particularly French. In America 
it has appeared in various forms, the chief be- 
ing the ordinary and probably correct form of 
Castelline, and the still prevalent form of Cas- 
terline, which is simply an anglicised form of 
the other. The tradition is that the family 
arrived on the coast of New Jersey from 
France at an early period in the seventeenth 
century. The name Castelline has reference 
to some castle or stronghold apparently con- 
nected with the original family. This was a 
very common form for French or Norman 
names to assume, surnames in France being 
usually taken from the appellation of some 
town or territory or district or feature of the 
landscape, more particularly in the case of 
families having pretensions to wealth and 
social position. 

(I) Francis Castelline or Casterline, the 
founder of the family in America bearing the 
name and its variations, was born in France, 
probably about 1672, and died at Rockaway, 
Morris county. New Jersey, December 16, 
1768, aged ninety-six. According to the tradi- 
tion handed down in the family he arrived 
in New Jersey from France and settled near 
Union or Franklin in that state, about the 
year 1690. His son Francis is said to have 
been a mere babe at the time and had to be 
carried in his mother's arms. There is no 
record as to the name of the mother. Francis 
was probably a farmer and he seems to have 
owned some land in the place where he set- 
tled, near Rockaway, Morris county, New 
Jersey. 

(II) Francis (2), son of Francis (i) Cas- 
telline, was probably born in France about 
1690. and died in 1796 at Rockaway, Morris 
county. New Jersey, at the age of one hundred 
and six. He married three times and had 
twenty-six children. The records as far as 
known give : Abraham, Amariah, Jacob, 
Stephen. Benjamin. Samuel, Francis, Phebe, 
James, and Joseph, mentioned below. 

(III) Joseph, son of Francis (2) Castelline, 
was born at Rockaway, Morris county. New 
Jersey, June 10, 1736, and died at the same 
place April t8, 1832. He lived at Rockaway 
and was a farmer. He married (first) Mav 
16, 1772, Susannah Lyon, by whom he had 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



591 



eleven children; and he married (second) 
Penniah Searing, March 24, 1799; by this 
marriage he had ten children. Children: 1. 
Daniel, mentioned below. 2. Sarah. 3. Susan, 
who married Stephen Freeman. 4. Hannah, 
who married (first) one Tompkins, (second) 
one Harris. 5. Phebe. 6. Huldah. 7. Simeon, 
who died March 14, 1888, married (first) Re- 
becca Duly, of Minkey, (second) Eveline 
Atno of Succasunna, and (third) Susan 
Sharf of Madison, born September 25, 1799, 
died April i, 1879. 8. Jane, died July 7, 1875 ; 
married (first) Hiram Henry Baxter, August 
2, 1822, and had two children, one of whom 
died young, and the other, William Henry, 
born June 10, 1825, died in California; mar 
ried (second) a Mr. Harrison of Caldwell. 
Penniah Searing, the second wife of Joseph 
Castelline, was the daughter of William and 
Penniah { Burnett ) Searing, the seventh 
daughter of a seventh daughter, and was pos- 
sessed, according to the belief of some, of 
great healing powers by the "laying on of 
hands." 

(IV) Daniel, son of Joseph and Susannah 
(Lyon) Castelline, was born at Rockaway, 
Morris county. New Jersey, in 1774. He mar- 
ried a lady whose first name was Elizabeth, 
but whose maiden surname remains unknown. 
They had several children, but the records 
contain the name of only one of them. There 
is no means of surmising the probable date 
of the death of Daniel or his wife, or of any 
special incidents in their lives. 

(V) Joseph, son of Daniel and Elizabeth 
Castelline, was born in Rockaway, Morris 
county, New Jersey, May 26, 1798, and died 
at Dover, November 26, 1852, being buried 
in Berkshire Valley. He settled in Orange 
county, New York, and married Ann Dunning. 
One of their children was Jane, mentioned 
below. 

(VI) Jane, daughter of Joseph and Ann 
(Dunning) Castelline, was born November 
19, 1827, and died February 11, 1903, at New- 
burg, Orange county, New York. She mar- 
ried, June 25, 1849, Caleb Odell. son of Isaac 
and Mary Ann (Barker) Odell, (see Odell 
VIII). 



It is claimed that the surname 

HOPPER Hopper is of French origin and 

was originally spelled Hoppe. 

There are in America three distinct Hopper 



families. One is of Irish descent, another 
came from the county of Durham, England, 
and the third, by far the most numerous, is 
of Dutch ancestry. The immigrant ancestor 
of the Holland Hoppers was Andries Hopper, 
and the New Jersey and New York Hoppers 
are descended from him. Members of the 
family have represented their districts in the 
legislature, others have worn the judicial 
ermine with dignity and respectability, still 
others have held from time to time county and 
township offices, and some have become fam- 
ous as physicians, clergymen, lawyers, mayors 
of cities, publicists, mechanics, sailors, soldiers 
and agriculturists. 

(I) Andries Hopper came from Amster- 
dam, Holland, in 1652, accompanied by his 
wife and two or three children, and settled in 
New Amsterdam (now New York City). In 
1657 he was granted the privileges of a small 
burgher. He acquired considerable property 
but did not live long to enjoy it, as he died in 
1659. He had entered into an agreement with 
one Jacob Stol to purchase the Bronx lands, 
but owing to the death of both, the trans- 
action was not completed. The maiden name 
of his wife was Giertie Hendricks, and she 
bore him several children. Those born in 
America were: i. William, 1654; 2. Hendrick, 
mentioned below. 3. Matthew Adolphus. 
(N. B. The Hoppers of Saddle River, Ridge- 
wood and Midland townships, Bergen county, 
are all descended from these brothers.) In 
1660 Andries Hopper's widow married (sec- 
ond) Dirck Gerritsen Van Tricht, thereby 
securing to each of her three children the sum 
of two hundred guilders. 

(II) Hendrick, second son of Andries and 
Giertie (Hendricks) Hopper, was born in New 
Amsterdam, New Netherland, in 1656, re- 
moved to Bergen, East Jersey, with his 
parents in 1680, and was married, March 14, 
1680, in the Dutch church in New Nether- 
lands, to Maria Johns Van Barkum (or 
Maria Jans, as the name is written in the mar- 
riage record). They removed to Hackensack, 
North Bergen, in 1687. Children: i. Andrew, 
born 1681 ; married, July, 1707, Abigail Ack- 
erman and had three daughters. 2. Johannes, 
born 1682; married, July, 1707, Rachel Ter- 
hune. 3. William, born 1684. 4. Catherine, 
1685. 5. Garret, mentioned below. 6. Ger- 
trude, 1699. 7. Lea. 

(III) Garret, fourth son of Hendrick and 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Maria (Jans Van Barkum) Hopper, was bap- 
tized December 25, 1696, in Hackensack, New 
Jersey, and was an elder of the church there 
in 1748 and 1758. He married (first) about 
1725, Catherine Kejoyne, who left one son, 
Jacob G., mentioned below. He married 
(second) in Hackensack, October 31, 1741, 
Hendrickjen Terhuen, both described as resi- 
dents of Paramus. A careful search of the 
church records of New York, Hackensack, 
Schraalenburg and Tappan, discovers record 
of only two children of this marriage, namely > 
Andries, baptized November 19, 1742, and 
Lidea, August 5, 1744, at Hackensack. There 
were undoubtedly several others, not recorded 
in any of the records just mentioned. 

(IV) Jacob Garretson, only son of Garret 
and Catherine (Kejoyne) Hopper, was born 
in 1727, on his father's farm near Saddle 
River, and died in 1815. He married, at 
Hackensack, September 22, 1750, Cornelia 
Ackerman. The following children are men- 
tioned in his will: Catrina, Cornelius, Garret, 
Elizabeth. Henry and John J. Four of these 
are recorded as baptized in Hackensack. It 
is presumable that his eldest son, Jacob, left 
home in early life and so was not named in 
the will. 

(V) Jacob, son of Jacob Garretson Hopper, 
born about 1768, resided in New York City, 
where his children were born. He married, 
in 1795, Lydia Manwaring, born March 31, 
1768, daughter of John and Lydia (Plumb) 
Manwaring. of New London, Connecticut. 
Their children, born in New York, were : Ja- 
cob Mulford, March 7, 1797; James Manwar- 
ing, mentioned below ; Lydia Ann, June 4, 
1804; Daniel Manwaring, March 10, 1807. 
Lydia Plumb was born June 10, 1732, and was 
married at New London, February 4, 1762, 
to John Manwaring. She was descended from 
John Plumb, of county Essex, England (see 
Plumb VIII). 

(VI) James Manwaring, second son of 
Jacob and Lydia (Manwaring) Hopper, was 
born March 26, 1798, in New York, where 
he resided. He superintended the loading and 
unloading of ships along the North river docks 
in New York City. He was a member of the 
Dutch Reformed church, and lived to see the 
organization of the Republican party, which 
he supported to the time of his death. He 
married. September 5. 1820, Mary Faulkner. 
a native of New York City, and they had 



children : Jacob Manwaring, born July 24, 
1822, died May 17, 1890; George Faulkner, 
April 26, 1824; Mary Faulkner, January 25, 
1826; Eliza Parker, May 17, 1828; James 
Alexander, mentioned below. 

(VII) James Alexander, third son of James 
M. and Mary (Faulkner) Hopper, was born 
July 17, 1831, in New York City, and died 
December 11, 1900, in San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia. He became a brass turner, locksmith 
and gunsmith, and was highly skilled as a 
mechanic. In 1855-56 he was engaged on the 
famous "'Hobb's Lock," which was sent to 
London in 1856 and successfully competed in 
the great World's Fair. His employers were 
Day & Newell, who finally secured a number 
of contracts. Following this Mr. Hopper and 
his family sailed from Boston. Massachusetts, 
in 1859, to Honolulu, via Cape Horn, the 
voyage taking one hundred and fourteen days, 
where he established a brass and machine 
foundry and began manufacturing whaling 
guns and general ship work. After the loss 
of the Arctic fleet he turned his attention to 
the production of sugar and rice milling ma- 
chinery and was very successful in that line of 
industry. He invested in rice fields and plan- 
tations, and by his thrift and energy built up 
a successful business as a rice merchant. In 
political principles he was a Republican. He 
married, October 4, 1853, in New York City, 
Ellen Lewers, born April 12. 1832, in New 
York, died August 5. 1910. in San Francisco. 
Children: i. William Lewers. mentioned be- 
low. 2. Mary Jane, born August 9, 1859. mar- 
ried Elisha Wells Peterson and had children : 
Margaret Lewers. James Hopper. Dorothy 
Faulkner. Ernest Wells and Lewers Clark. 

3. Margaret Lewers, born December 19, 1861, 
in Honolulu, resides in Honolulu ; unmarried. 

4. Ellen Reaney. born February 3. 1873, in 
Honolulu : married Willard Elias Brown and 
had children: Willard Everett and Winifred 
Lewers. 

(VIII) William Lewers, eldest child of 
James A. and Ellen (Lewers) Hopper, was 
born February 20, 1856, at his parents' resi- 
dence on Elizabeth street. New York City, 
and was a small child when his parents located 
in Honolulu. There he continued under the 
instruction of public tutors until i86q, when 
he entered in the Oahu College at Honolulu 
and remained until 1871. Following this he 
was a student in grammar school number 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



593 



thirty-five of New York City, and passed a 
successful examination in 1872 for entry in 
the College of the City of New York. He 
then pursued a course in Bryant, Stratton & 
Clark's Business College, of Brooklyn, grad- 
uating April 18, 1873, receiving a diploma as 
an accountant. Upon leaving school he went 
to Honolulu and was employed in his father's 
business as a clerk of the machine shop and 
foundry. He was admitted into partnership 
with his father in the rice business, and con- 
tinued actively engaged in this business until 
1907, when it was discontinued. He is now 
president of the James Alexander Hopper Es- 
tate, Limited, and is chiefly engaged in the 
care of his properties. Politically, he has al- 
ways been a Republican, but has never sought 
any connection with public afifairs. He is a 
member of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' As- 
sociation. 

He married, September 14, 1882, in Os- 
borne, Osborne county, Kansas, May Temple- 
ton, born September 16, 1862, in West Middle- 
ton, Washington county, Pennsylvania. Chil- 
dren : I. Elizabeth Templeton, born Decem- 
ber 25, 1883, graduated at Washington (D. 
C.) Seminary in May, 1904. 2. Katherine 
Matthews, October 6, 1886, graduated at Oahu 
College, Honolulu ; became the wife of Chester 
Gilbert Livingston and is the mother of one 
child, William Hopper. 3. Mary Ellen, April 
24. 1888, died two weeks old. 4^ Alice Lewers, 
June 20, 1890. 

(The Plumb Line.) 

The origin of the surname Plumb (Plume, 
Plumbe and its other variations) is unknown, 
but it was in use in England among the earliest 
family names. The American family of Plumb 
is descended from the English family of 
county Essex. There are numerous coats-of- 
arms of this family, but that to which the 
Essex branch has claim is described: Ermine 
a bend vaire or and gules cottised vert. Crest: 
Out of a ducal coronet or a plume of ostrich 
feathers argent. The name of Robertus 
Plumme appears in the Great Roll of Nor- 
mandy, in A. D. 1 180; also Robert Plome. 
John Plume was in Hertfordshire in 1240, 
and in 1274 the surname is found in Somerset- 
shire, Cambridge and Norfolk. One branch 
of the Connecticut Plumbs traces its ancestry 
direct to John Plumb, or Plume, of Toppes- 
field, county Essex, England, born about 1505 ; 



of this line, John Plumb, of Wethersfield, 
was the immigrant and progenitor of a widely 
dispersed hne. 

(I) John Plumb, of Terling, county Essex, 
was born about 15 10, and was doubtless closely 
related to the other John. He married Johana 

, and he was buried January 25, 1548-49. 

Children : Elizabeth ; Jane, baptized February 
23. 1538-39; Margaret, baptized May 18, 1540; 
Philip, May 4, 1542; Johana, May 22, 1543; 
Thomasin, April 4, 1545; George, mentioned 
below. 

(H) George, son of John Plumb, was bap- 
tized at Terling, April 23, 1547; was buried 
there October 11, 1586, aged thirty-nine years, 
five months and eighteen days. The names of 
his children are not known, but there is good 
reason to believe that he and his sons lived at 
Inworth, the register of which is lost. 

(IV) George Plumb (or Plume), grandson, 
it appears to be proved, of George Plumb, 
was born about 1607. His will, dated July 
25, 1667, bequeathing to wife Grace and sons 
John and Timothy, was proved July 18, 1670, 
and shows that he was father of Timothy, of 
Hartford and Wethersfield, and of John, men- 
tioned below. He had a second wife Sarah, 
who proved the will. George was buried in 
June, 1670, at Inworth, Essex, England, 
where he lived. 

(V) John (2), son of George Plumb, was 
born in Essex, England, in 1634, and died 
about 1696. He deposed at Hartford, Con- 
necticut, July II, 1666, that he was about 
thirty-two years old. He lived many years 
at Hartford, but moved to New London, 
Connecticut ; was constable there in 1680 and 
also inn-holder there. His wife joined the 
church in 1691. He was a shipowner and 
master and owned the ketch "Hartford." His 
wife was fined for selling liquor to the 
Indians. He was a bearer of dispatches from 
New London to the governor at Hartford, 
in January, 1675-76, in King Philip's war, and 
was afterward granted land for service in this 
war. He was given power of attorney, when 
he was of Hartford, to collect debts at Charles- 
town, Massachusetts, for creditors in England, 
and was named a son of George Plumb, of 
Inworth, Essex. He married Elizabeth 
Green. Children : John, mentioned below ; 
Samuel, born about 1670; Joseph, about 1671 ; 
Green, about 1673; Mercy, 1677; George, 
1679: Sarah, 1682. 



594 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



(VI) John (3), eldest son of John (2) and 
Elizabeth (Green) Plumb, was born about 
1666, and resided in New London, where he 
died in the latter part of the year 1732, his 
will being proved December 4, of that year. 
With his wife he joined the New London 
church in 1693, was judge of the county 
court in 1710-12, and had long been probate 
judge at the time of his death. He married, 
December 13, 1689, Elizabeth Hempstead, 
who died in September, 1733. Children: Eliza- 
beth, born February 27, 1691 ; John, Novembei 
21, 1692; Abigail, January i, 1695; Joshua, 
August 3, 1697; Sarah, December 22, 1699; 
Peter, mentioned below ; Lydia, April 24, 
1703 ; Hannah, July 10, 1705 ; Daniel, June 
12, 1708; Patience, March 4, 1710; Elisha, 
March 10, 1712. 

(VH) Peter, third son of John (3) and 
Elizabeth (Hempstead) Plumb, was born De- 
cember 26, 1701, in New London, and there 
resided, where the inventory of his estate wa? 
made, February 21, 1749. In 1732 he was 
associated with others in forming a stock com- 
pany to engage in trade by sea. He married, 
about 1729, Hannah Morgan, born December 
17, 1706, daughter of Captain John (2) and 
Ruth (Shapley) Morgan, of New London 
(see Morgan IV). Children: Lucretia ; Ly- 
dia, mentioned below ; Peter, born about 1733- 
34; Green, about 1735-36. 

(VIII) Lydia, second daughter of Peter 
and Hannah (Morgan) Plumb, became the 
wife of John Manwaring. Their daughter, 
Lydia, married Jacob Hopper (see Hopper 
V). 

(The Morgan Line.) 

(I) James Morgan, immigrant ancestor, 
was born in Wales, probably at Llandaff, 
Glamorgan county, but the family appears to 
have removed to Bristol, England, before 
1636. The name of his father is unknown. 
but there is some traditionary evidence that it 
was William. In March, 1636, he and two 
younger brothers, John and Miles, sailed from 
Bristol and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, 
in April. John Morgan, who appears to have 
been a High churchman, soon left Boston for 
the more congenial society of Virginia. Miles 
Morgan settled in Springfield. James Mor- 
gan settled at Roxbury before 1640 and lived 
there for ten years or more. He was admitted 
a freeman May 10, 1643. Early in 1650 he 



was granted land at Pequot, later called New 
London, Connecticut, and soon occupied by 
him as a homestead, on the path to New street 
(now Ashcraft street), near the present third 
burial ground in the western suburbs of the 
present city. He continued to occupy this 
homestead on the path to New street, or Cape 
Ann Lane (as it was called, in honor of the 
Cape Ann Company, who chiefly settled there) 
until about March, 1657. He sold his home- 
stead, however, in December, 1656, and re- 
moved with others across the river to sites 
granted them in the present town of GroTon. 
That town and Ledyard, set off in 1836, hav: 
been the places of residence of his descendants 
to the present time. He was a large owner 
and dealer in land and distinguished in public 
enterprises ; he was often employed by the 
public in land surveys, establishing highways, 
determining boundaries, adjusting civil diffi- 
culties as a magistrate, and ecclesiastical diffi- 
culties as a good neighbor and Christian. He 
was one of the townsmen, or selectmen, of 
New London, and one of the first deputies to 
the general court at Hartford (May, 1657) and 
was nine times afterward elected a deputy. 
In 1661 he was one of a committee to seat 
the meeting house, a difficult task, because the 
seating determined the social standing of all 
the people. The spot where he built his house 
in Groton in 1657 and ever afterward resided, 
and where he died, is a few rods southeast 
of the Elijah S. Morgan house, three miles 
from the Groton ferry, on the road to Po- 
quonoc bridge, and this homestead has de- 
scended down to the present generation by in- 
heritance. He died in 1685, aged seventy-eight 
years, and his estate was soon after divided 
among his four surviving children. 

He married, August 6, 1640, Margery Hill, 
of Roxbury. Children, born in Roxbury, ex- 
cept perhaps the youngest: i. Hannah, born 
May 18, 1642; married, November 20, 1660, 
Henehiam Royce. 2. James, March 3, 1644; 
married, in November, 1666, Mary Vine. 3. 
John, mentioned below. 4. Joseph, Novem- 
iaer 29, 1646. 5. Abraham. September 3, 1648. 
died August, 1649. 6. Daughter, November 
17, 1650, died young. 

(II) Captain John Morgan, son of James 
Morgan, was born March 30, 1645. He was 
a prominent man and served as Indian com- 
missioner or advisor. He was deputy to the 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



59S 



general court from New London in 1689-90, 
and from Preston in 1693-94. He removed 
to Preston about 1692. His will was dated 
August 23, 171 1, proved February 12, 1712. 
The probate of the will was appealed from, 
as he made no mention of his son Joseph, who 
appeared as a party in the proceedings. He 
married (first) November 16, 1665, Rachel, 
daughter of John Dymond. He married (sec- 
ond) Elizabeth (Jones) Williams, widow, 
daughter of Lieutenant Governor William 
Jones, of New Haven, and granddaughter of 
Governor Theophilus Eaton. Children of 
first wife : John, mentioned below ; Samuel, 
born September 9, 1669; Isaac, October 24, 
1670; Hannah, January 8, 1674; Mercy, May, 
1675; Sarah, April 13, 1678; James, about 
1680. Children of second wife: Elizabeth, 
born about 1690, died young; William, 1693; 
Rachel, baptized April 19, 1697 ; Audrea, bap- 
tized same day ; Margery, baptized July 9, 
1699 ; Joseph, April 27, 1701 ; Theophilus. 
May 16, 1703; Mary, married John Norton. 

(HI) Captain John (2) Morgan, eldest son 
of Captain John (i) and Rachel (Dymond) 
Morgan, was born June 10, 1667, in Groton, 
and died about the age of seventy-nine years, 
between May 30, 1744, and March i, 1746, 
the respective dates of making and proving his 
will. He was lieutenant of the first train band 
or militia company of Groton, being commis- 
sioned April 30, 1692, at the same time that 
his uncle, James Morgan, was made captain of 
the company. The nephew succeeded the lat- 
ter, October 8, 1714, as captain, and continued 
in that office until October 12, 1730. He left 
a large estate in both real and personal prop- 
erty. The latter was bequeathed to his daugh- 
ters, while the lands descended to his only 
son. He married Ruth, daughter of Benjamin 
and Mary (Rickett) Shapley, of Groton, whom 
he survived. Children: Ruth, born August 
29, 1697; Mary, December 18, 1698; John, 
January 4. 1700; Sarah, February 24, 1702; 
Experience, March 24, 1704; Hannah, men- 
tioned below; Rachel, July 5, 1709; Martha, 
December 12, 171 1; Elizabeth, June 12, 1713; 
Jemima, May 5, 1715. 

(IV) Hannah, fifth daughter of Captain 
John (2) and Ruth (Shapley) Morgan, was 
born December 17, 1706, in Groton, and he 
came the wife of Peter Plumb, of that town 
(see Plumb VII). 



This family is one of the old- 
DOLSON est in Manhattan, coming to 
New Amsterdam from Holland 
before 1648. Riker's History gives space to 
the family and has something to say of the 
Dutch town in Holland of similar name where 
the family came from. 

By chance Captain Dolson, progenitor of 
the family in America, came from Workum 
on the coast of Friesland instead of direct 
from the home town in Holland. At New 
Amsterdam, in 1667, he built the first vessel 
of size put upon the stocks here; it was ,a 
merchant yacht for Captain Thomas Bradley. 
Captain Dolson married the daughter of 
Teunis Kray (Grey), who returned to New 
Amsterdam in 1658. where he had already 
lived for several years. Teunis Kray went 
over to bring back his family, and in 1660, 
at New Amsterdam, his daughter, Gerritee. 
and Captain Dolson were married. They 
lived in New .'Xmsterdam until the Dutch lost 
New York, and then for a time in New Eng- 
land where their daughter Gerritee was born, 
later returning to New Amsterdam and the 
adjoining town of New Harlem. Their chil- 
dren, omitting the first two who died young, 
were: Teunis, born 1664, married, in 1696, 
Sarah Vermilie ; Gerritee, born 1667, married, 
in 1685, Jans Kiersen ; Annetie, born 1669, 
married, in 1690, Johannas Waldron ; Peter, 
born 1671 ; Tryntie, born 1674, married John 
Meyer; Jacob, born 1679; Lyabet, born 1682; 
Jannetie, born 1685. 

In 1670 Captain Dolson sold his residence 
to Resolved Waldron, but subsequently owned 
another and appears among the feofholders, 
1681-83, having his home here and sailing an 
open boat out of New York. It is recorded 
in the council's minutes of January 28, 1684. 
that he desired some land at Harlem, where 
he formerly had owned land. It was agreed 
by those of Harlem to give him a piece of 
ground for him and his heirs provided he 
would not sell it. but for want of heirs it 
should relapse to the township. After this he 
and his son-in-law, Jans Kiersen, got a lease 
of the Great Maize Land, an Indian clearing 
not far from Fort Washington, on March 30, 
1686. These lands were laid out and allotted 
in 1691, and Kiersen on July 2, 1694, bought 
for 1,000 guilders in money the lots Nos. 16 
and 18 from Thomas Tourneur as purchased 
by him from Holmes and Waldron, the 



596 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



original drawers. In March, 1696, Kiersen 
obtained the signature of every inhabitant of 
the town to a paper granting him a half mor- 
gen of land from the common woods, lying 
at the southeast hook of the land that Samuel 
Waldron has drawn out of the common woods, 
which half morgen of land he (Kiersen) may 
build upon, thereon setting a house, barn and 
garden, for which he promises to let lie a 
morgen of land upon the northeast hook of 
the aforesaid lot, leaving a suitable road or 
King's way between his house and the lot of 
Samuel Waldron. Kiersen built his house, 
and on March 7, 1700, the town officer gave 
him a deed. Here Kiersen and his wife, who 
was Gerritee Dolson, lived. This was the 
first settlement on the now well known Jumel 
Homestead and believed to be the first spot 
permanently occupied on these heights. 

In 1690 Johannes Waldron. son of Resolved 
Waldron, married Annetie, daughter of Cap- 
tain Dolson. To begin housekeeping he bought 
from his brother, Samuel Waldron, the new 
house the latter had just completed west of 
the road. This modest home was just north 
of One Hundred and Thirty-third Street. 
Johannes Waldron added to this property by 
purchasing more ground, from the town, run- 
ning back to the Hills. From this fact he and 
his wife became known, as they prospered, 
as the Waldrons of the Hill, and in 1748 sold 
all their lands to their son Samuel for £400. 
Samuel Waldron's daughter, Angel, the wife 
of Samuel Myer, sold the farm in July, 1776, 
to John De Lancey for £1,720. He was a 
grandson of the great Huguenot merchant 
who built and occupied the old building known 
as Fraunce's Tavern at the corner of Pearl 
and Broad streets. This property passed into 
the hands of Archibald Watts in 1826, and has 
become well known as the Watts- Pickney es- 
tate. Thus it will be seen that two of Captain 
Dolson's children were the original residen- 
tees on two estates destined to become of the 
best known of the old estates of New York. 

As proof of the high esteem that his fellow 
citizens had for Captain Dolson it is interest- 
ing to note that Lubbert Gerritsen who de- 
parted this life on November 21, 1673, and 
who had held several public offices in the 
town, being chosen adelborst in 1663, and serv- 
ing as overseer the year before he died, chose 
Captain Dolson as guardian of his children's 
inheritance. 



Captain Dolson appears in the tax list of 
February 14, 1682, and in 1683 he with Jo- 
hannes Vermilye and Jan Dyckman and others 
paid a total of 608 guilders for the estate of 
the deceased Thomas Hedding. 

Captain Dolson's son Teunis received the 
appointment of constable, September 29 1697. 
He is credited with being the first male child 
born in this city (New York) after it was 
ceded to the English by the Dutch. He mar- 
ried Sarah \'ermilye, daughter of Captain 
John Vermilye, in New Amsterdam (New 
York) in 1696 and later lived in W'estchester 
county and advancing to different localities 
up the Hudson river, finally locating in and 
about Goshen, New York, where is established 
the town of Dolsontown. He resided here 
until his death, August 30, 1766, at the age of 
one hundred and two years. The Dolsons of 
Orange county, New York, are his descend- 
ants. 

Some of his children were baptized at 
Poughkeepsie and others at Fishkill. The 
first house at Dolsontown was a log house 
loopholed for musketry and this was followed 
by a stone house which was used as a forti- 
fication as well as the block house when the 
Indians were troublesome and during the 
French and Indian war of 1756. Near this 
fortification the Indians had had an apple or- 
chard, one of the very old trees of which was 
still standing in 1846. At times travel between 
Goshen, Dolsontown and Napanoch was only 
possible under an escort of soldiers on account 
of the lurking savages. 

Teunis Dolson had several children among 
whom were: i. Johannas, who married Eliza- 
beth Buys; children: Maria, born 1731 : Joh- 
annis, born 1735; Isaac, born 1739; Abraham, 
born 1741 ; Samuel, born 1744: Peter, Sally, 
Betsey. 2. Jacob, married Maria Buys, Janu- 
ary 12, 1734, having children: Teunis. born 
r)ctober 6. 1735; Johannas. born May 15. 
1737: Isaac, born May 27, 1739; Aeltie. born 
April 28, 1745. 3. Abraham, married 
Marytje Slot, having children : Jannetje, born 
1739; Margaret, born 1740; Abraham, born 
1741 : Aeltje. born 1743: Marytje. born 1745. 
4. Isaac, married Polly Hussey, having chil- 
dren : James, married Phoebe Meeker : Isaac, 
said to have never married. James, son of 
Isaac, was living in 1846, aged eighty-two 
years. 

Of Jacob Dolson's sons. Teunis and John, 



SOU'JJJERN NEW YORK 



597 



we are now chiefly interested ; they lived in 
and about the vicinity of Newburg-Ivlarlboro, 
where they signed the revolutionary pledge 
in 1767. They and their children served in 
the American army during the revolution. 
Teunis Dolson, after the war was over, took 
up lot No. 118, three hundred and ninety acres 
in town of Chemung-Big Hats, 1788, his son 
John accompanying him. This John also 
served in the revolution and also in the war 
of 1812. He was born in 1752, married, in 
181 1, and lived at Big Hats, moving in 1837- 
38 to Battle Creek, Michigan, and in 1913 his 
daughter, a Mrs. Andrews, still resides in Des 
Moines, Iowa, aged eighty-four years ; she 
says her father, John Dolson, son of Teunir 
Dolson, died at age of eighty-six years ; that 
there were nine children by his last wife, in- 
cluding herself, and that her mother died in 
November, 1849. 

John Dolson, born 1737, brother of Teunis, 
born 1735, and uncle of the younger John, 
born 1752, continued after his servi,ce in the 
revolutionary army to live in the Newburg- 
Marlboro vicinity. His last wife was named 
Sarah and outlived him. His son, Teunis, born 
1783, married twice and had a total of ten 
children, one of them, James, born 1812, liv- 
ing to very old age at Tuttletown, Ulster coun- 
ty. New York; he remembered his step-grand- 
mother, Sarah Dolson. Teunis, born 178^, 
had half-brothers, Jacob, born 1791, and Wil- 
liam, born October 28, 1794. William mar- 
ried Lydia Polhemus. born June 29, 1804, died 
March 4, 1869, and buried at Haverstraw, 
New York, in the J W. Dolson plot. She 
was the daughter of Cornelius Polhemus, who 
had a brother, Josiah Webb Polhemus. Their 
children were: Hiram, born July 11, 1819; 
Sarah, born March 18, 1821 ; Anna, born 
March 22, 1823; Dorcas; born May 13, 1825; 
Josiah W., born July 27, 1827, died January 
21, 1890; Catherine M., born February 13, 
1830; Margaret, born June 30, 1832; Charles 
M., born September 23, 184^. Sarah, who 
was named after her grandmother, remem- 
bered her very well and told Josiah's sons 
many facts of interest about her grandparents. 

Josiah W. and his brother, Charles M. Dol- 
son, could not both go to the civil war and 
they arranged for the younger brother, Charles 
M., to go, Josiah W. endeavoring to support 
the families of each. Charles M. served from 
start to finish, was a prisoner in Libby Prison 



and when freed through an exchange of 
prisoners he re-enlisted at Haverstraw, New 
/ork, the Edward Pye Post Company. Josiah 
W. later paid draft money as an operation on 
his jaw made him unfit for army service, and 
supported the two families through the means 
of the brick business in which he was then 
engaged. The last brick manufacturing ven- 
ture of Josiah W. Dolson was at Haverstraw, 
New York, about 1890, in partnership with 
his brother-in-law, Hon. Samuel Carlisle, of 
Newburg, New York. To get their brick to 
New York they built what was at that time the 
largest brick barge sailing on the Hudson 
river, a boat capable of carrying about 300,000 
bricks as one load. This boat was named 
"Josiah W. Dolson"' and is still in service. 

Josiah W. Dolson married several times, hii 
first wife being Phoebe Ann Loveless, born 
May 7, 1832 ; they were married December 5, 
1849; she died May 27, 1856. Their children 
were: Cornelius, born July 7, 1850, died De- 
cember 4, 1853; Josiah W., born December 
7, 1851, died September 6, 1859; Samuel Car- 
lisle, born September 28, 1853, still living in 
1913; Frederick B., born May 8, 1856, died 
August 8, 1856; Lucy C, twin of Frederick 
B., died October 13, 1856. Mr. Dolson mar- 
ried (second) Jane Constant, born October 
31, 1821, died November 25, 1867. He mar- 
ried (third) Cornelia M. Constant, born April 
13, 1840, died February 16, 1873. Children 
by these marriages: Anthony Constant, born 
June 4, i860, died same day; Lewis Constant, 
born May 23, 1861, died April 27, 1865 ; 
Frank, born July 26, 1863, died August 10, 
1863. He married (fourth) Anna Hamilton 
Conklin, born October 17, 1845, died Novem- 
ber 9, 1895, daughter of Mannings Conklin 
and the widow of Alfred Conklin, who was 
also her second cousin. She was the mother 
of two children by her first husband, namely 
Abram J., born January 31, 1865, living at 
the present time, and Alfreta, born June 10, 
1868, died July i, 1903. On July 19. 1874, 
she married Josiah W. Dolson, and their chil- 
dren are : Josiah W., Florence Jones, William 
Hamilton, Esther Phoebe Carlisle, all born 
at Haverstraw, New York. These children are 
all living at the present time and reside in 
New York City with the exception of Florence 
J., who is married to Walter Rauscher and 
resides in Bloomfield, New Jersey. William 
H. Dolson is the founder of the Rockland 



59^ 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



County Society and Josiah W. is at present 
the secretary of that organization. 

This is a Dutch name con- 
SIMONSON forming to the usual custom 

of adding "son" to the bap- 
tismal name of the father for a surname. It 
was of French origin, and begins with one 
who fled from persecution in France to Fries- 
land in Holland. His son, Simon La Blau 
(also written Blan and Blant), was born about 
1590 in Friesland, and went to Amsterdam, 
where he settled and married. 

(I) Willem, son of Simon La Blau, born 
in 1632, in Amsterdam, was the ancestor of 
a very large progeny, now scattered ovei 
America. He was entered on the passenger 
list of the ship "Fox," Captain Jacob Jans 
Huys, master, which sailed from Amsterdam, 
August 31, 1662, and lived in and about New 
Amsterdam, finally settling on Staten Island. 
He first wrote his name William Simon's son, 
which soon came to be written Simonson, and 
thus the name has remained in this country. 
But few records concerning him can now be 
found. He married, in 1662, Janneken Bar- 
entsen, widow of Jan Quistout, and accord- 
ing to the records of the Dutch church in New 
York died in 1664. The Dutch church record, 
of New Amsterdam show that he had a daugh- 
ter, Lysbeth, baptized June 16, 1663. Records 
furnished by the family indicate that he had 
a son, Aert, born 1664. 

(II) The records of Long Island show that 
Aert Simonson took the oath of allegiance as 
a native of Brooklyn, in 1687. Nothing fur- 
ther concerning him has been discovered. From 
the next generation forward the line seems 
to be clearly established. Aert Simonson had 
four sons : Barnt, Aert, Simon and Isaac. An 
original tract of land of one hundred and 
sixty acres was granted to Aert ( i ) Simonson 
in 1 72 1, by Queen Anne, at Carls Neck, now 
known as New Springville, Staten Island. 

(III) Isaac, son of Aert Simonson, was 
born about 1690. He appears to have had two 
wives; married (first) Antje Van Der Vliet, 
daughter of Jacob Janse and Marretje (Der- 
ickse) \'an Der Vliet, who was the mothei 
of Jeremias, baptized June 12, 1720, and Maria 
Simonson, July 8, 1722. The Dutch church 
records of New Amsterdam show that Isaac 
Simonson's wife, in 1732. was Neeltje Cortel- 
you. a granddaughter of Jacques Cortelyou. 



who came to America about 1652, died 1693. 
His son, Peter Cortelyou, born about 1664, 
died April 10, 1757, married Deborah De Witt, 
and they were tne parents of Neeltje Cortel- 
you, who became the wife of Isaac Simon- 
son. 

(IV) Isaac (2), son of Isaac (i) and Neel- 
tje (Cortelyou) Simonson, was born August 
4 1732, and baptized December 17, 1732, at 
the church in New Amsterdam. He was an 
officer of the old Dutch Reformed church, at 
Port Richmond, and in 1795 signed the call of 
the Rev. Thomas Kirby as pastor. He mar- 
ried, July 28, 1757, Elizabeth Wood. 

(V) Joseph, son of Isaac (2) and Eliza- 
beth (Wood) Simonson, was born on Staten 
Island, and purchased forty-one acres of land 
at what is now New Springville, Staten 
Island. He probably owned other lands in 
that vicinity. He married Elizabeth Winant, 
born July 29, 1774, daughter of John and 
Hannah Winant. They had children: John. 
David ; i^raham ; Joseph ; Jacob, of whom 
further ; Eliza ; Joanna, married John B. Hill- 
yer, born 1808, died 1908, aged over one hun- 
dred years, their marriage taking place in 
1829, at New Springville. Staten Island, and 
they became the parents of James Hillyer, of 
Port Richmond ; Mary ; Jemima. 

(VI) Jacob, son of Joseph and Elizabeth 
(Winant) Simonson, was born in 1798, on 
Staten Island, and settled on the original home- 
stead of his father at New Springville, where 
the records show he purchased twenty-three 
acres of land. He was supervisor of the town 
of Northfield from 1833 to 1840, again in 1849, 
and was elected sheriff of Richmond county 
in 1840. He located at New Spring\'ille, Sta- 
ten Island, where he died April 4, 1883. He 
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and was a Republican in politics, aftei 
the organization of the party of that name. 
He married (first) Ann Eliza Bedell, daugh- 
ter of Israel and Lena (Crocheron) Bedell, 
and (second) Caroline Jacques. By the first 
marriage he had a son, John William, of whom 
further. By the second marriage he had chil- 
dren : Isaac Jacques, Joseph, Eliza Jane, Jacob, 
the daughter married Philip Waters, of New 
York. 

(VII) John William, son of Jacob and Ann 
E. (Bedell) Simonson, was born December 
23, 1826, died December 28, 1882, at West 
New Brighton. He became agent of the Con- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



599 



tinental Fire Insurance Company in i860, and 
soon after was made secretary of the old New 
York & Yonkers Fire Insurance Company. He 
was afterward president of the New York City 
Fire Insurance Company, which was ulti- 
mately absorbed by the Standard In- 
surance Company, of London, England. 
Following this he was resident manager 
of this concern until his death. He filled 
various offices of trust in political affairs, was 
an ardent Republican in politics, and a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal church. He married, 
January 18, 185 1, Charlotte Ann Stephens, 
born February 24, 1832, daughter of Stephen 
Dover and Elizabeth (Johnson) Stephens. The 
latter was born January 28, 181 1, daughter of 
WiUiam and Elizabeth (Latourette) Johnson. 
Stephen D. Stephens was a great-grandson of 
John Stephens, born about 1714, married 
April 2'6, 1736, Mary Harding. Their son, 
John (2) Stephens, born 1743, married, De- 
cember 8, 1763, Elizabeth DeBow. They were 
the parents of Stephen, born December 31, 
1774, married, March 5, 1803, Ann Dover, 
born Actober 17, 1781. Stephen Dover 
Stephens, their son, was the father of Char 
lotte Ann, wife of John W. Simonson, as above 
noted. They had children : Stephen Dover, 
born August 20, 1853, died unmarried, Octo- 
ber 4, 1905 ; John William, July 14, i860, died 
in his fifth year; Ann Eliza, July 20, 1862, died 
unmarried at the age of thirty-seven years ; 
Charles Edgar, of whom further. 

(VIII) Charles Edgar, youngest child of 
John William and Charlotte A. (Stephens) 
Simonson, was born July 7, 1871, in Richmond. 
He early received private tuition at West New 
Brighton and entered Trinity School, New 
Brighton, where he graduated, after which ho 
received private instruction of Rev. Dr. Al- 
fred Demarest, minister of the Dutch Re- 
formed church of Port Richmond. At the 
age of seventeen years he entered the employ 
of Miller & Simonson, who succeeded Johii 
William Simonson, in the agency of the Con- 
tinental Insurance Company. By close ap- 
plication and industry he built up a large busi ■ 
ness. and after several changes in the person 
nel, became its sole owner in 1908. Conduct- 
ing the business under the title of C. E. Simon- 
son & Company. Owing to the great increase 
of business a corporation seemed advisable 
and in 191 1 this was accomplished under the 
title of C. E. Simonson & Company, In- 



corporated. It is now the largest insurance 
brokerage and agency on Staten Island, repre- 
senting twenty-nine fire insurance companies 
and several casualty companies and having 
five offices, the home office located at 1595 
Richmond Terrace, West New Brighton. An 
extensive real estate business is conducted, and 
the concern acts as appraiser for several title 
and trust companies. In 1904 Mr. Simonson 
was elected a vestryman and treasurer of the 
Church of the Ascension (Protestant Episco- 
pal), in which position he continued several 
years. He is a trustee of the Richmond 
County Savings Bank, and a director of the 
Staten Island Building, Loan & Savings As- 
sociation, a member of the Holland Society oi 
New York, and the Staten Island Club. Poli- 
tically he is a Democrat, but has never aspired 
to or accepted any political office. 

He married, January 19, 1899, in New York 
City, May Sexton, born May 20, 1870, in 
Brooklyn, New York, daughter of William 
Libby and Mary (Ladd) Sexton. Mr. and 
Mrs. Charles E. Simonson have a son, Cortel- 
you William, born December 15, 1902, in West 
New Brighton. His early instruction was pro- 
vided by private tutors and he is now a student 
of the Staten Island Academy at St. George. 



Robert R. Livingston, 
LIVINGSTON jurist, son of Robert and 
Margaret (Howerden) 
Livingston, was born in New York City, in 
August, 1718, died at his country seat, Cler- 
mont, New York, December 9, 1775. He ac- 
quired an excellent education which thor- 
oughly prepared him for the active duties of 
life, and he devoted his attention to the prac- 
tice of law in New York City. He was a 
member of the provincial assembly. 1759-68. 
and also served in the capacity of judge of the 
admiralty court, 1760-63; justice of the co- 
lonial supreme court, 1763 ; a delegate to the 
stamp act congress of 1765 ; commissioner to 
decide upon the boundary line between New 
York and Massachusetts, 1767, and again in 
1773, and a member of the committee of one 
liundred in 1775. He married Margaret, 
daughter of Colonel Henry and Janet (Living- 
ston) Beekman. 

Robert R. (2), son of Robert R. (i) and 
Margaret (Beekman) Livingston, was born 
in New York City. November 27, 1746, died 
suddenly at Clermont, New York, February 26, 



6oo 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



1813. He was a student at King's College, 
which institution conferred upon him the de- 
grees of A.B., 1765, and A.M., 1768, after 
which he pursued the study of law under the 
preceptorship of William Smith and William 
Livingston. He was admitted to the bar in 
1773, and formed a partnership with John Jay, 
with whom he practiced in New York City, and 
upon his retirement from public life removed 
to Clermont, New York, where he engaged in 
agriculture and stock raising, being the first 
to introduce gypsum in agriculture, and also 
introduced Merino sheep west of the Hudson 
river. Being a man of scholarly attainment 
and wide influence, he was chosen for posi- 
tions of public trust and responsibility, fulfill- 
ing the duties thereof with ability and credit. 
He served as recorder of the city of New 
York by appointment of Governor Tryon, 
1773-75, but was obliged to relinquish the posi- 
tion on account of his outspoken espousal of 
the patriot cause in the latter-named year. He 
was a member of the provincial assembly in 
1775; was a delegate to the continental con- 
gress, 1775-77 and 1779-81, and was a mem- 
ber of the committee of five, comprised of 
Adams, Jefiferson, Franklin, Livingston and 
Sherman, appointed to draw up the Declara- 
tion of Independence, but was obliged to re- 
turn to his duties in the provincial assembly 
without signing the instrument. He was a 
member of the committee that drafted the 
state constitution adopted at the Kingston 
convention in 1777; he was chancellor of the 
state under the new constitution, 1785-1801, 
and in that capacity he administered the oath 
of office to President Washington, April 30, 
1789; he was secretary of foreign affairs for 
the United States, 1781-83, and was chair- 
man of the state convention at Poughkeepsie 
in 1788, to consider the adoption of the United 
States constitution. He declined the office of 
United States minister to France proffered by 
President Washington iii 1794, and in 1801 
the portfolio of the navy from President Jef- 
ferson, who also offered him the mission to 
France, which latter he accepted, resigning 
his chancellorship. While in France he formed 
a strong friendship with Napoleon Bonaparte ; 
he also made the initial movement that re- 
sulted in the purchase of Louisiana from the 
French in 1803. He resigned from the office 
of United States minister to France in 1803, 
after which he spent some time in traveling 



through Europe, and while in Paris became 
interested in the invention of the steamboat of 
Robert Fulton, whom he assisted in his en- 
terprise with his counsel and money, eventu- 
ally becoming his partner. The first steamboat, 
owned by Livingston and Fulton, was built in 
France and was launched upon the Seine, but 
was a failure, and on returning to America 
they built and launched on the Hudson an- 
other steamboat, the "Clermont," in 1807, 
which was named in honor of the Livingston 
home in New York. 

The honorary degree of LL.D. was con- 
ferred on Mr. Livingston by the regents of the 
University of the State of New York in 1792. 
He was a founder of the American Academy 
of Fine Arts in New York in 1801, and was 
its first president; was president of the New 
York Society for the Promotion of Useful 
Arts, and upon the reorganization of the New 
York Society library in 1788, he was ap- 
pointed a trustee. He published many essays 
and addresses on fine arts and agriculture. 
His statue, with that of George Clinton, form- 
ing the group of the most eminent citizens of 
New York, was placed in the capitol at Wash- 
ington by act of congress. In the selection of 
names for a place in the Hall of Fame for 
Great Americans, New York University, 
made in October, 1900, his was one of the 
thirty-seven names in "Class M, Rulers and 
Statesmen," and received only three votes, 
his votes in the class equalling those for 
Richard Henry Lee and Stephen A. Douglas, 
and exceeding those for Martin Van Buren, 
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, John J. Crit- 
tenden and Henry Wilson. 

Mr. Livingston married Mary, daughter of 
John Stevens, of New Jersey. Children : 
Elizabeth S., married Edward P. Livingston. 
Margaret M., married Robert L. Livingston. 



This name is supposed to have 
DeBAUN been originally DeBaen, and to 

be derived from Baen, a village 
in France. In the Dutch records, the spelling- 
ings DeBaen and DeBaan are of frequent oc- 
currence. The family is undoubtedly of 
French origin, and from this it is natural to 
suppose that they were Huguenots. It is not 
at all out of accord with this that the name 
should be found in the Netherlands, especially 
on the north side of the river Rhine, in the 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



6oi 



lower Palatinate, and thence following the 
course of immigration that built up New 
Netherland and New Amsterdam. Although 
these passed into the possession of the English 
in the year 1664, this change of proprietor- 
ship did not stop the flow of immigration from 
France to Holland, Belgium and England, and 
and from these countries to America. The 
DeBauns were among the later Huguenots, 
and came to New York or its vicinity about 
1683. They may have lived before that time, 
for two generations, in Holland, and had, 
doubtless, acquired the habits and language of 
the Dutch. 

The following is a probable account of the 
descent from the immigrant to certain of the 
present Rockland county. New York, De- 
Bauns. It has a background of careful and 
extensive searching in the printed Dutch 
church records of Hackensack and Schraalen- 
burg, New Jersey; the printed baptismal rec- 
ords of Tappan and Clarkstown, in Rockland 
county, and in the manuscript copies of the 
marriage records of Tappan and Clarkstown. 
The records of Kakiat, Rockland county, 
Tarrytown, Westchester county, and Flatbush, 
Long Island, have also been consulted, but in 
these little or nothing has been found. The 
entries are mostly in the Tappan, Clarkstown, 
Hackensack, and Schraalenburg records, but 
distributed among these in a bewildering man- 
ner. Conjecture has been used only when cer- 
tain fact was not accessible. Former printed 
accounts of the family, of which there are 
several, have furnished some guidance, but the 
account given herewith supplies a number of 
deficiencies in these accounts, and casts doubt 
on some of their statements, so that we are 
confident that this is the fullest and most ac- 
curate account of the family history in the 
early generations which has yet been published. 

(I) Joost DeBaun, the founder of this fam- 
ily, is said to have been a native of Brussels, 
in Flanders (Belgium), and to have come to 
New Amsterdam in 1683. He was clerk of 
the town of Bushwick, Long Island, in 1684, 
and in 1685 was the schoolmaster and clerk of 
the town of New Utrecht, Kings county, New 
York, south of the Wallabout. The position 
of schoolmaster was, in those times and places, 
second only to that of the minister. Evidently 
he was a supporter of the policy of the lieu- 
tenant governor, Nicholson, for when the 
•democratic colonists, under the lead of Cap- 



tain Jacob Leisler, took possession of the state 
house in the name of William of Orange, and 
Captain Leisler was appointed lieutenant gov- 
ernor by the committee of safety, Joost De- 
Baun was deposed from his offices as clerk 
and schoolmaster. Afterward, having taken 
the oath of allegiance to the new rule, he was 
reinstated in these positions, and continued to 
reside at New Utrecht. He probably resided 
at that village until early in the eighteenth 
century. Early in the year 1704 he sold his 
lands and removed to Bergen county. New 
Jersey, where he joined the Kinderkamack 
settlement, near Hackensack. In November 
of that year his name appears as witness of a 
baptism in his new home. From May, 1708, 
to May, 1710, he was one of the churchmas- 
ters of Hackensack; according to the church 
records, he and the other churchmaster of the 
time (in 1708) "in this year caused the steeple 
to be built upon the Ackinsack church, which 
has here been recorded in their praise." He was 
an elder, from 1716 to 1718. Thus we have 
a fair picture of the personality of this man ; 
he was an educated man, for the time, a leader 
in the community, though hardly to be deemed 
aggressive, and strongly attached to the Dutch 
Reformed church. From him, it is natural to 
suppose, all the DeBauns of Bergen county, 
New Jersey, and of Rockland county, New 
York, are descended. His death seems to have 
occurred about 1718 or 1719. It is just possi- 
ble that he once returned to Holland after his 
settlement in America, for against the mar- 
riage record of his son Jacobus, in the Tappan 
register, is set a note that this son was born 
in Middleburg, a place in Holland. Yet the 
Dutch dominies, with all their painstaking care, 
were certainly human, and liable to make oc- 
casional mistakes ; their records are of hisrh 
value as evidence, but this statement is prob- 
ably erroneous. He married, probably in Hol- 
land, Elizabeth Drabba. Children : Matie, 
married, registered November 10, 1705, David 
Samuelse DeMaree ; Christian, baptized May 
15, 1687. died before January 21, 171 1, mar- 
ried, registered January 29, 1700, Judith Sam- 
uelse DeMaree; Meyke, baptized May 4, 1690; 
Carel, of whom further; Christina; Jacobus, 
married (date probably that of registration), 
January 12, 1709, Antje Cenneff (this is the 
spelling in the Tappan register, in the Hacken- 
sack records the name appears as Kennis ; our 
conjecture is Kenneth) ; Margarietje, married 



6o2 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



(date probably that of registration), June 22^. 
1738, Theodorus Remsen. 

(II) Carel, son of Joost and Elizabeth 
(Drabba) DeBaun, removed with his family 
to Hackensack. Perhaps, however, he lived 
for a time in Rockland county, New York, 
near Rockland Lake. The baptisms of his 
children are scattered among the three regis- 
ters, Hackensack, Schraalenburg and Tappan. 
He is named in the list of the original mem- 
bers of the church at Schraalenburg and those 
transferred from Hackensack before 1733. In 
1748 he was an elder of the Dutch Reformed 
church at Schraalenburg. His marriage is re- 
corded at Tappan, and the date, February 14, 
1714, is probably the date of registration 
rather than of the actual marriage. He mar- 
lied Jannetje Haringh, who was born at Tap- 
pan. Children : Joost, baptized February 6, 
1715; Margritie, baptized August 18, 1717; 
Petrus, baptized October 9, 1719; Elisabeth, 
baptized November 19, 1721 ; Jan, baptized 
April 5, 1724; Jacob, baptized October 9, 
T726; Isak, baptized February 14, 1729; Abra- 
ham, baptized December 12, 1731 ; Christiaen, 
of whom further ; Cornelia, baptized August 
14. 1737: Maria, baptized April 6 1740. 

(III) Christian, whose name is noted above 
as spelled in the baptismal record, son of Carel 
and Jannetje (Haringh) DeBaun, was born at 
Schraalenburg; his baptism is recorded at 
Hackensack, under date of January 26, 1735. 
He married, registered November 7, 1761, 
Rachel Helm, who was born at Paramus, Ber- 
gen county. New Jersey. Children : Jannetie, 
baptized October 19, 1762 ; Fransytie, born 
March 8, 1764; Fransytei, born January 9, 
1766: Abraham, baptized May 10, 1767, died 
young; Samuel, baptized December 18, 1768; 
Elisabet, born October 11, 1771 ; Abraham 
Christian, born August 20, 1773; Rachel, born 
May 9. 1775 ; Petrus, born May 5, 1779; Cor- 
neles, baptized November 25, 1781 ; Maria, 
born August t, 1783; Christian (2), of whom 
further. 

(IV) Christian (2), son of Christian (i) 
and Rachel (Helm) DeBaun, was born March 
22, 1787. Although his baptism is recorded in 
Bergen countv. New Jersey, he may have been 
born in Rockland county. New York, and was 
living there by the time of his marriaee, for 
in the entry of his marriage in the Tappan 
register he is said to be of Clarkstown. He 
was a farmer, and in politics followed the 



principles of the Democratic party. In re- 
ligion he adhered to the True Reformed 
church. He married (date probably being that 
of registration) December 4, 1806, Elizabeth 
llutton, of Clarkstown. Children: Cornelia; 
Sarah; Christian C, of whom further; John; 
Henry ; Mary ; Cornelius. 

(V) Christian C, son of Christian (2) and 
Elizabeth (Hutton) DeBaun, was born at 
Clarkstown, January 31, 1812. He was a 
builder and contractor. After the formation 
of the Republican party he followed its prin- 
ciples. In religion he was a member of the 
Dutch Reformed church. He married at New 
City, Rockland county, New York, Catharine 
Maria, daughter of Henry Resolvert and 
Maria (Tallman) Stephens, who was born at 
New City, March i, 181 5. Her father was a 
farmer, born January 19, 1789, died March 8, 
1868; her mother was born in 1787, died in 
October, 1868. Children of Christian C. and 
Catharine Maria (Stephens) DeBaun: Eliza- 
beth, born August 3, 1835 ; Matthew Watson, 
of whom further; John, born July 5, 1841, 
died in 1887; Henry, born July 12, 1844, 
served throughout the civil war; Margaret 
Jane, born November 18, 1846; Charles, born 
June 20, 1857. 

(VI) Matthew Watson, son of Christian C. 
and Catharine Maria (Stephens! DeBaun, 
was born at Nyack, Rockland county. New 
York, November 3, 1838. At the age of nine 
he went to live with his grandfather, Henry 
Resolvert Stephens, at New City. His school- 
ing was received at the public schools of Ny- 
ack and New City, and he then learned the 
trade of a carpenter. In 1859 he returned to 
Nyack and entered into business with his 
brother Henry, and this partnership has con- 
tinued to the present day. Under the firm 
name of Matthew Watson & Henry DeBaun 
they are builders and contractors on a large 
scale and have built up a profitable business 
and gained a high standing in the community. 
They have erected about two thousand build- 
ings of many kinds and sizes. Their place of 
business is at No. 28 Jackson avenue. Nyack. 
Matthew Watson DeBaun is one of the di- 
rectors of the Nyack Board of Trade, and is 
a trustee of the Oakland cemetery. He is a 
member of Rockland Lodge, No. 723. Free 
and Accepted Masons, and of Rockland Chap- 
ter, No. 204, Royal Arch Masons, both of 
Nyack. He is a Republican, and from 1883 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



603 



to 1887 was trustee of the village ; he has also 
been president of the school board for two 
terms, and is a trustee of the Nyack public 
schools. The family are members of the Pres- 
byterian church at Nyack, of which Mr. De- 
Baun has been a trustee for over thirty years, 
and is also an elder of the church. He mar- 
ried, at Nyack, April 23, 1862, Catharine 
Amelia, daughter of Edward and Marion 
(House) Perry, who was born at Nyack, in 
August, 1842. Her father was a captain of 
freight and passenger vessels, and navigated 
the Hudson river. Children of Edward and 
Marion (House) Perry: lona ; Catharine 
Amelia, married Matthew Watson DeBaun. 
Children of Matthew Watson and Catharine 
Amelia (Perry) DeBaun: Annie, born Feb- 
ruary 4, 1863: Ella, born October 12, 1864; 
Alice, born December 4, 1867; Florence, born 
March 11, 1875, married Rev. George John- 
son, now a professor in Lincoln University, 
Pennsylvania. 



(IV) Abraham Christian De- 
DeBAUN Baun, son of Christian (q. v.) 

and Rachel (Helm) DeBaun, 
was born August 20, 1773. He was a farmer 
at Nanuet, Rockland county. New York, and 
a member of the Dutch Reformed church. He 
married, it is said at Saddle River, Bergen 
county. New Jersey, but the marriare is re- 
corded in the register of Tappan, Rockland 
county. New York, with the date, probably 
that of registration rather than of the actual 
marriage, March 18, 1798, Anna Van Buskirk, 
of Clarkstown, Rockland county. New York. 
Children : Christian Abram, of whom fur- 
ther ; Rachel ; Christiana. 

(V) Christian Abram, son of Abraham 
Christian and Anna (Van Buskirk) DeBaun, 
was born at Nanuet, New York, about 1804. 
After the formation of the Republican party he 
adhered to its policies. He was a member of 
the Dutch Reformed church. He married 
(first) (date probably of registration) October 
i.S, 1825, Hannah, daughter of James D. and 
Hannah Blauvelt, who was born at Clarks- 
town, Rockland county. New York, June i, 
1808, died December 17, 1846; (second) Janu- 
ary I, 1850, Sally Ackerman. Children, all by 
first marriage: Abram, of whom further: 
Rachel, born December ig. 183 1. died August 
28, 1849; Christian, born December 20, 1834. 

(VI) Abram, son of Christian Abram and 



Hannah (Blauvelt) DeBaun, was born at 
Nanuet, New York, January 21, 1827, died at 
Wyandotte City, Kansas, May 21, 1857. Hav- 
ing first attended public school at Nyack, 
Rockland county, New York, he entered the 
normal college at Albany, New York, and 
from this he graduated in the class of 1848. 
Later he taught school at Haverstraw, and 
was finally made principal of the school. Also 
at Haverstraw he learned the business of mak- 
ing brick, and in 1852 he went into the busi- 
ness of brick manufacture, and also built an 
iron foundry, wherein he made the castings 
for brick forms and molds. This grew into a 
very large business, and so continued until his 
death at Wyandotte City. He was a member 
of Seguel Lodge, No. 542, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows. He was a Republican, and 
one of the founders of this party, which came 
into existence only a few years before his 
death. In 1855 he was elected county clerk 
of Rockland county, and he served for one 
term, but he refused a second election. A 
member of the Presbyterian church, he was 
for many years the leader of its choir. He 
married, at Haverstraw, Jane, born at Middle- 
hope, Orange county. New York, January 15, 
1828, daughter of Levi Quimby and Lucretia 
(Purdy) Fowler. Her father was a manu- 
facturer of brick and a merchant ; he was born 
December 22, 1790, died December 13, 1853. 
Children of Levi Quimby and Lucretia 
(Purdy) Fowler: David, died in Baltimore, 
Maryland, November 10, 1873 ; Mordecai, 
born in 1821, died August 28, 1847; Denton, 
born December 6, 1825, died January 5, 1904; 
Louisa, married John W. Gilles ; Jane, born 
January 15, 1828, married Abram DeBaun, of 
whom herein : Sarah, married Uriah F. Wash- 
burn ; Charlotte, married, October 26, 1S56, 
Daniel O. Lake Children of Abram and Jane 
(Fowler) DeBaun: Ruth, married Rodney 
Winans Milburn; Abram Melville, married 
Carrie Fort, cousin of Franklin Fort, formerly 
governor of New Jersey ; Anna, married Wil- 
son Perkins Foss. 



The name Stoddard is de- 
STODDARD rived from the office of 

standard bearer, and was 
anciently written De La Standard. The coat- 
of-arms is thus heraldically described : Sable 
three estoiles and bordure gules. Crest : Out 
a ducal coronet a demi horse salient, ermine. 



6o4 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Motto: Festina lettte. William Stoddard, a 
knight, came from Normandy to England, 
1066, A. D., with William the Conqueror, who 
was his cousin. Among his possible descend- 
ants appears the name of Rukard Stoddard, 
of Nottingham, Kent, near Elthan, about 
seven miles from London Bridge, where the 
family estate of about four hundred acres was 
located. This came into possession of the 
family in 1490 and continued until the death 
of Richard Stoddard, a bachelor, in 1765. 
Other descendants are Thomas Stoddard of 
Royston ; John Stoddard of Gundon ; William 
Stoddard of Royston ; Anthony Stoddard of 
London ; Gideon Stoddard of London ; An- 
thony Stoddard of London, and William Stod- 
dard of London. The derivation of the name 
Stoddard from the phrase De La Standard 
does not seem impossible or very far fetched, 
as the name is known under a variety of 
forms, such as Stodard and Stodart. In 
Wethersfield (Connecticut) records the name 
frequently appears as Stodder, Stoder, Stod- 
ker, Studder and Stoddard. John Stoddard, 
born about 1620, was an early settler in 
Wethersfield, and was a juror in 1643. He 
figures in the court records both as plaintiff 
and defendant. He married Mary Foote, was 
a well-to-do farmer, and left an estate of four 
hundred pounds. There may have been a con- 
nection between the family of John Stoddard 
and that of Anthony Stoddard of Boston, but 
the links have not been found. 

(I) Anthony Stoddard, immigrant ancestor 
of this Stoddard family, came from England 
to Boston about 1639 He was admitted a 
freeman in 1640, a representative in 1650- 
1659-1660, and during twenty successive years 
from 1665 to 168.S. He married (first) Mary, 
daughter of the Plonorable Emmanuel Down- 
ing, of Salem, Massachusetts, and his wife 
Lucy, daughter of George Downing, and sister 
of Sir George, afterwards Lord Downing. 
The Honorable Emmanuel Downing and his 
wife were admitted to the church in Salem, 
November 4, 1638. Anthony Stoddard mar- 
ried (second) Barbara, widow of Captain Jo- 
seph Weld of Roxbury; she died April 15, 
1654. He married (third), about 165;.=;. Chris- 
tian . He died March 16, 1 686- 1687. Chil- 
dren by first marriage: Solomon, mentioned 
below; Samson, December 3, 1645; Simeon, 
1650. Children by the second marriage: 
Sarah, October 21, 1652; Stephen, January 6, 



1654. Children by the third marriage : Chris- 
tian, March 22, 1657; Anthony, June 16, 1658; 
Lydia, May 27, 1660; Joseph, December i, 
1661 ; John, April 22, 1663; Ebenezer, July i, 
1664; Dorothy, November 24, 1665; Mary, 
March 25, 1668; Jane (twin), July 29, 1669; 
and Grace (twin), July 29, 1669; all born at 
Boston. 

(H) Rev. Solomon Stoddard, eldest son of 
Anthony and Mary (Downing) Stoddard, was 
born October 4, 1643, and died February 11, 
1729. He graduated at Harvard in the year 
1662 and was afterwards elected "Fellow of 
the House," and was first librarian of the col- 
lege, which office he held from 1667 to 1674. 
About this time, on account of ill health, he 
accompanied the governor of Massachusetts to 
the Barbadoes, in the capacity of chaplain, and 
remained nearly two years, preaching to the 
dissenters. In 1669 he received a call to the 
church in Northampton and settled there as 
minister, September 11, 1672. In 1726 his 
grandson, Jonathan Edwards, was elected his 
colleague. Among his publications are the fol- 
lowing: "The Trial of Assurance," 1696; 
"The Doctrine of Instituted Churches," 1700, 
written in answer to the work of the Rev. In- 
crease Mather, entitled "The Order of the 
Gospel," which occasioned exciting contro- 
versy. Other works were "The Danger of 
Degeneracy," 1702; "Election Sermon," 1703; 
"Sermon on the Lord's Supper," 1707: "Ser- 
mon, Ordination of the Rev. Joseph Willard, 
Swampfield," 1708; "Inexcusableness of Ne- 
glecting the Worship of God," 170S; "False- 
ness of the Hopes of Many Professors." 1708; 
"An Appeal to the Learned on the Lord's Sup- 
per," 1709; "A Plea for Tithes"; "Divine 
Teachings Render Persons Blessed," 1712; "A 
Guide to Christ." 1713; three sermons: "The 
Virtue of Christ's Blood," "Natural Men Un- 
der the Government of Self Love." "The Gos- 
pel a Means of Conversion," and a fourth, "To 
Stir up Young Men and Maidens." 1717; 
"Sermon at the Ordination of Mr Thomas 
Cheney," 1718; "Treatise Concerning Conver- 
sion," 1719; "Answer to Cases of Conscience," 
1722; "Inquiry whether God is not Angry 
with this Country," 1723: and "Safety of Ap- 
pearing in Christ's Riehteousness," 1724. 
Solomon Stoddard married, March 8. 1670, 
Mrs. Esther Mather, widow of Rev. Eleazar 
Mather, and originally Esther Warham of 
Windsor, Connecticut. She died February 10, 



t^ 



<pf^ 




y^^/^^te^J ^^th^c/r/a f^ri 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



60s 



1736, aged ninety-two. Children: Mary, bom 
January 9, 1671 ; Esther, June 2, 1672; Sam- 
uel, February 5, 1674; Anthony, June 6, 1675, 
died the following day; Aaron (twin), August 
23, 1676, died the same day; Christian (twin), 
August 23, 1676; Anthony, mentioned below; 
Sarah, April i, 1680; John, February 17, 
1682; Israel, April 10, 1684; Rebecca, 1686; 
Hannah, April 21, 1688. 

(HI) Rev. Anthony (2) Stoddard, son of 
Rev. Solomon and Esther (Warham-Mather) 
Stoddard, was born August 9, 1678, and died 
September 6, 1760. He graduated at Harvard, 
1697, and settled as minister in Woodbury, 
Connecticut, where he continued sixty years. 
He married (first) Rev. Stephen Mix, offici- 
ating, October 20, 1700, Prudence Wells, of 
Wethersfield, who died May, 1714. He mar- 
ried (second) January 31, 1715, Mary Sher- 
man, who died January 12, 1720. Children 
by the first marriage: Mary, June 19, 1702; 
Solomon, October 12, 1703; Eliakim, April 3, 
1705; Elisha, mentioned below; Israel, August 
7, 1708; John, March 2, 1710; Prudence, Oc- 
tober 12, 171 1 ; Gideon, May 27, 1714. Chil- 
dren by the second marriage : Esther, Octo- 
ber II, 1716; Abijah, born February 28, 1718; 
Elizabeth, November 15, 1719; all at Wood- 
bury. 

(IV) Elisha, son of Rev. Anthony (2) and 
Prudence (Wells) Stoddard, was born at 
Woodbury, Connecticut, November 24, 1706, 
and died in 1766. He resided at Woodbury, 
where also lived his brother Eliakim, whose 
death preceded his by sixteen years. Elisha 
Stoddard married Rebecca Sherman. 

(V) Elisha (2), son of Elisha (i) and Re- 
becca (Sherman) Stoddard, was born Novem- 
ber 4. 1735, at Woodbury, Connecticut. He 
married Anna Hunt, May 29, 1760. 

(VI) Elisha (3), son of Elisha (2) and 
Anna (Hunt) Stoddard, was born May i, 
1765, and died February 8, 1833. He married 
Mary Crane, November 22, 1791. She was 
born August 7, 1767, and died September 11, 
1843. 

(VII) Phineas, son of Elisha (3) and Mary 
(Crane) Stoddard, was born July 7, 1797, and 
died in 1879. He spent his younger days in 
Massachusetts, and in early manhood went to 
Greenfield, Ulster county, New York, where 
he assisted his uncle in agricultural pursuits. 
After his marriage in 181 5 he purchased a 
farm of his own, where he followed farming 



all his life, while engaging in various other in- 
terests. He worked a good deal in the lumber 
business, buying and selling timber property 
on the land he bought while clearing it, and 
became a large land owner in Sullivan and 
Ulster counties. On his land he built first a 
log house of the old type, and later a structure 
of the modern style. He was a strong mem- 
ber of the Friends Society, and took a great 
interest in all the public movements of the 
day, though usually too busily engaged in his 
own business affairs to have an active partici- 
pation in them. Mr. Stoddard was a citizen 
greatly honored in the community in which he 
resided. Courtesy and gentleness were habit- 
ual characteristics of his deportment in the 
bosom of his family and in his dealings with 
other men in the conduct of his affairs. He 
was a man of considerable and varied ability, 
but he put the larger part of it into the energy 
he expended in building up a suitable prop- 
erty for himself and his family. He married, 
October 18, 181 5, Marilda Fair, born October 
20, 1798, and died October 30, 1848, at Green- 
field, Ulster county. New York. Children: 
I. Mary Eliza, born October 29, 1819, died 
May 29, 1839. 2. Elisha, born June 2, 1823 ; 
married, March 2, 1844, Mary Frear; chil- 
dren: i. Mary E., born July 15, 1845. ii. 
Phineas, Jr., born January 24, 1847, died in 
1882, married Gertrude E. O'Neil ; children: 
Floyd J., Nellie Marilda, Edith, Lizzie M., 
Frank P. 3. John F., born in Greenfield, New 
York, July 20, 1825 ; married, October 18, 
1865, Eliza A. Piatt; one daughter died at the 
age of seventeen. He was noted as the author 
of Stoddard's "Arithmetic." 4. Perry C, born 
October 30, 1827; a successful farmer; mar- 
ried July 15, 1850, Hannah W. Southwick; 
children: Stephen W., born October 14, 1851 ; 
Zadoc S , born February 18, 1858, married 
Dora M. Winters, one child, Mildred Nor- 
bury. 5. Henry, born March 5, 1831, died 
June 19, 1852 ; a teacher. 6. Sarah, born Oc- 
tober 26, 1835, at Greenfield, New York; mar- 
ried October 23, 1856, John F. Norbury, M. 
D., of New York City ; one child, Fannie Stod- 
dard Norbury, born May 4, 1866, died Janu- 
ary 22, 1882. 



This name is English and 
WHEELER appears to be a name of oc- 
cupation, the word being 
equivalent in meaning to wheelwright. It is 



6o6 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



curious to note that, reversing the common 
procedure, the name seems to have passed 
from England into Normandy, and the form 
which it has assumed in France is also curious 
to English eyes — Houelleur. In England, 
county Kent and Hertfordshire have been 
special abodes of Wheelers, and persons of 
this name have been numerous in London for 
the last four hundred years. The name in 
England is sometimes spelled Wheler, and in 
this way it was spelled in the early days in 
America. Kent county, England, is supposed 
to be the place of origin of many of the 
American Wheelers. The number of Ameri- 
can families of this surname was very great 
at an early day. Thirty families of the name 
of Wheeler are said to have resided at Con- 
cord, Massachusetts, between 1650 and 1680. 
Although Wheelers are found very early in 
Virginia, and the name has been handed on in 
that state, it is, in America, distinctively a 
Connecticut and Massachusetts name. His- 
torically, the best known of this name has been 
Major General Joseph Wheeler of Alabama, 
the distinguished Confederate cavalry officer, 
who was afterward a patriotic member of the 
house of representatives of the reunited coun- 
try, and finally was made an officer in the 
regular army. Yet his case does not even 
modify the statement that the name is distinct- 
ly a New England name, for he was de- 
scended from Moses Wheeler, who lived in 
the colony of New Haven in 1641 ; the family 
has continued in Connecticut, and General 
Wheeler's father was born in Connecticut. 
From about 1700 Wheelers (with various 
Dutch spellings of the name), some of them 
marrying Dutch women, and some of them 
bearing Dutch Christian names, have been 
found in Albany, New York, but they were 
also of New England descent. In the present 
family similarity of names suggests a con- 
nection with the Fairfield (Connecticut) 
Wheelers, but a very strong argument cannot 
be built on this. A Daniel Wheeler was in 
Rockland county. New York, by the year 1781. 

(I) Isaac Wheeler, the first member of this 
family about whom we have definite informa- 
tion, was a Democrat, and his religion was the 
Presbyterian. He married Sarah Remsen, 
Among their children was Aaron Remsen, of 
whom further. 

(II ) Aaron Remsen, son of Isaac and Sarah 



(Remsen) Wheeler, was born about 1820, and 
died about 1889. For many years he was a 
steamboat engineer. He long had in charge 
the "Isaac P. Smith," one of the swiftest 
steamers then plying between New York City 
and Albany. After giving up steamboat en- 
gineering he became, in 1865, chief engineer 
and master mechanic of the Hoppe sugar re- 
finery, at Hastings, Westchester county, New 
York. Here he remained for about twenty 
years; in 1885 he retired, continuing to live at 
Hastings, where he died at the age of sixty- 
nine. He was a Democrat in political belief, 
and was also active in church and Sunday 
school work, where he had a special sphere of 
service and usefulness, by reason of his mu- 
sical ability. He was a thorough musician, 
had a fine tenor voice, and for many years was 
leader of the choir of the Reformed church at 
Nyack, Rockland county, New York. His 
own denomination, however, was the Presby- 
terian. He married, in Nyack, Eliza Taylor, 
who was born at Clarkstown, Rockland county. 
New York ; she survived him several years. 
Children : Jacob Taylor ; Alonzo, of whom 
further ; William Francis ; Theodore Freling- 
huysen. 

(Ill) Alonzo, son of Aaron Remsen and 
Eliza (Taylor) Wheeler, was born at Nyack, 
April 29, 1844. He attended the public school 
at the place of his birth, and also the Ruther- 
ford Military Institute at the same place. From 
his youth he was striving to enter the legal pro- 
fession, and availed himself of every means 
to accomplish his purpose, often under most 
discouraging circumstances. For a time he 
was a student in the law office of Van Vorst 
& Beardsley, at the corner of Broadway and 
Pine street, in New York City. Afterward he 
studied at Nyack with Marcena M. Dickinson. 
He was admitted to the bar from this office 
December 16, 1868, at the general term of the 
supreme court, in Brooklyn, New York. He 
at once opened an office at Nyack, and soon 
went into partnership with his preceptor, un- 
der the firm name of Dickinson & Wheeler, at 
Nyack. This partnership was dissolved in 
1S70, and Mr. Wheeler removed to Haver- 
straw, Rockland county. New York, where he 
began practice on the second of March. Five 
years later he formed a partnership at Haver- 
straw with Irving Brown, which continued 
until 1883 ; from the latter year Mr. Wheeler 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



60; 



has practiced alone, living continuously at 
Haverstraw. He was the first president of 
the Rockland County Bar Association. When 
Stony Point was finally dedicated and set apart 
as a state reservation, and turned over by Gov- 
ernor Odell to the National Scenic and His- 
toric Preservation Society, Mr. Wheeler de- 
livered the address of welcome. He was ap- 
pointed by Governor Odell one of the com- 
mittee of fifteen "to examine into the condi- 
tion of the statutes and laws of the state," of 
which committee Alton Brooks Parker was 
chairman. He is a member of Stony Point 
Lodge, No. 313, Free and Accepted Masons, 
and in 1876, 1877 and 1901 he was master of 
this lodge, which is at Haverstraw ; he is also 
a member of Haverstraw Lodge, No. 877, 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 
politics he is a Republican, and has been active 
in public affairs. In 1878 he was the inde- 
pendent candidate for the district attorneyship 
and was endorsed by the Republican party. 
He was elected and on the expiration of this 
term was re-elected as a strictly independent 
candidate, over the nominees of both the par- 
ties. In 1880 and 1881 he served as surrogate 
of Rockland county, by appointment of the 
general term of the supreme court. In 1896 
he was again elected district attorney, being on 
this occasion the Republican nominee ; but he 
resigned in 1898 and accepted the office of 
county judge, to which he was appointed by 
Governor Black. As district attorney he tried 
several homicide indictments, and in four- 
fifths of all criminal cases he obtained convic- 
tions. He has been one of the counsel for the 
village of Haverstraw. Judge Wheeler and 
his family are members of the Central Presby- 
terian Church at Haverstraw. For many years 
he has been a ruling elder and an active 
worker in the Sunday school. He married, at 
Grassy Point, Rockland county, New York, 
May 9, 1876, Mary Serena, daughter of Wil- 
liam Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Fredericks) 
Wiles, who was born at Haverstraw, April 8, 
1856. Her father was a manufacturer of brick 
machines and moulds. Children of William 
Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Fredericks) 
Wiles : Mary Serena, mentioned above ; John 
Jacob, Frederick J., Lydia A., Martha L., 
Frank E., Emma L. Children of Alonzo and 
Mary Serena (Wiles) Wheeler: Jeanie Suf- 
fern, Jessie Louise, Ethel May. 



Like most of the old Dutch 
TALLMAN names founded at New Am- 
sterdam and now located in 
many sections of the state, this was adopted 
some time after the location of the family in 
this country, and its origin is hidden in the 
mysteries of early days. The family is today 
conspicuous in northern New Jersey and 
southern New York, and is contributing to the 
progress and development of the nation. The 
name appears on the church records of New 
York, Hackensack and Tappan as Taelman, 
Talema, Taelma and Tallman. The last form 
has been adopted generally by recent genera- 
tions. 

(I) The first of this family of whom any 
definite knowledge can be obtained was Har- 
man Douwenszen, who was early in what is 
now New York City, and probably came with 
his children to the new world when he was 
well advanced in life. It is apparent from his 
name that his father's Christian name was 
Douwe; beyond that it is impossible at this 
time to learn anything. 

(II) Douwe Harmsen (Harmanszen, etc.), 
born about 1625, in the province of Friesland, 
Holland, came in the ship "Brown Fish," in 
June, 1658, with his wife, Dierckje Theunis, 
and four children to New Amsterdam. After 
his arrival he had baptized in New York, Jan- 
netie, February 5, 1662; Anthony, February 

8, 1665 ; Douwen, September 29, 1669. About 
167 1 he settled at Bergen, New Jersey, and at 
the same time was owner of a patent at Nyack 
in what is now Rockland county. New York. 
He died at Bergen, March 25, 1678, or May 

9, 1678, according to one authority. Another 
authority states that he was buried at Bergen, 
June 19, 1687, being the eleventh buried in 
the church and the thirty-fifth in the "Pall," 
showing that his funeral was among the most 
costly at that time. His sons, Theunis and 
Douwe, removed to Nyack after his death and 
were the progenitors of all the name in Rock- 
land and Bergen counties. They received his 
property in Bergen by will and sold it in 1705. 

(HI) Theunis Douwese Talema, son of 
Douwe and Dierckje (Theunis) Harmsen, 
may have been born about 1672 at Bergen, and 
resided at Nyack until his death, July 17, 1739. 
He was the first high sheriff of Orange county, 
which then included the present Rockland 
county. New York, serving as such until 1702, 
and owned about thirty-six hundred acres of 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



land at Nyack. He married (first), in 1694, 
Brechtje Haring, and had children: Dirck, 
born April 11, 1695; Grietje, January 13, 
1697; Dierckje, April 13, 1700; Douwe, Feb- 
ruary 13, 1703; Marytie, April 17, 1706; 
Breckje, Harman and Jan (triplets), January 
12, 1709, all baptized at Tappan. He married 
(second) January 11, 1710, Margritie Hogan- 
kamp, born in New York, and they had chil- 
dren baptized at Tappan ; Brechie, born July 6, 
171 1 ; Jannetie, August 30, 1712; Theunis, 
September 16, 1714; Harne, November 25, 
1716; Antje. 

(IV) Jan Tallman, son of Theunis Douwese 
and Brechtje (Haring) Talema, was born 
January 12, 1709, at Nyack, and resided in 
Orangetown, Orange county, New York, 
where he was a farmer, described in the rec- 
ords as a yeoman. He married, about 1735, 
Helena Blauvelt, born June 27, 1715, and bap- 
tized on the twenty-eighth of the same month, 
daughter of Garret and Marytie (Krom) 
Blauvelt. Children : Theunis, born May 22, 
1737; Gerret, November 23, 1740; Breckje, 
October 8, 1745; Jan, mentioned below. 

(V) Jan (2), youngest son of Jan (i) and 
Helena (Blauvelt) Tallman, was born Sep- 
tember 3, 1751, in Orangetown, died February 
7, 1839, at Tallman's, in the town of Ramapo, 
same county, his body being deposited in Sad- 
dle River cemetery. He resided at Greenbush, 
a small settlement near Tappan, during the 
revolutionary war, and afterward-s settled at 
what is now called Tallman's, a station on the 
Erie railroad, and by occupation was a farmer. 
During the revolutionary war he was a scout 
in the service of the American army and a 
reward of thirty-five guineas was offered by 
the British authorities for his capture. He is 
recorded as a private soldier in Captain Wil- 
liam Sickel's company, belonging to the 
Orange County Regiment, from the Haver- 
straw precinct, under the command of Colonel 
A. H. Hay. This was a portion of the New 
York state militia which was employed in ac- 
tive service during the war. He received a 
commission from Governor George Clinton, 
dated September 28, 1786, as ensign. No. 2, 
in Captain Cornelius J. Blauvelt's company of 
the corps of state militia of the precinct of 
Tappan. Jan, or John Tallman, purchased a 
farm of one hundred and fifty-seven acres, re- 
ceiving a deed March 23, 1797, at Tallman's. 
for which he paid one thousand five hundred 



and twenty-five pounds. Immediately he 
erected thereon a dwelling house, which is still 
standing. The homestead farm and house are 
now in the possession of two of his lineal de- 
scendants. James Cornell Tallman and Mrs. 
Harry Sutherland. At the time of this pur- 
chase the neighborhood was known as Masoni- 
cus. and the new name Tallman's was prob- 
ably received on his locating there. He was 
the progenitor of all bearing the name now liv- 
ing in that vicinity. He married Frinckye 
(Fanny) Mabie, born March 27, 1757, bap- 
tized April 2, of the same year, at Tappan, 
daughter of Abraham and Maria (Van Are- 
lant) Mabie, and granddaughter of Peter and 
Callyntie (Bogart) Mabie. Children: Brid- 
get, born August 9, 1778; Mary, February 13, 
1781 : John, October 16. 1783: Tunis, May 17, 
1790; Abraham J., mentioned below. 

(VI) Abraham J., youngest son of Jan (2) 
(John) and Fanny (Mabie) Tallman. was 
born July 14. 1793, at Tallman's. and died 
there June 4, 1884. He lived in the house built 
by his father, and like him was a farmer. 
September 3, 1814, he was appointed a cor- 
poral in the Fifth Company, Eighty-third 
Regiment, Twenty-Ninth IBrigade of the In- 
fantry Militia of the State of New York, un- 
der Lieutenant Colonel G. A. Blauvelt. He 
married, September 14, 1814, Maria Deronde, 
born February 18, 1794. died April 3. 1878, at 
Tallman's, daughter of Henry and Heleche 
(Van Nostrand) Deronde. Among their chil- 
dren was John Abraham, mentioned below. 

(VII) John Abraham, only son of Abraham 
J. and Maria (Deronde) Tallman. was born 
May 16, 1815, at Tallman's, and died there 
April 16, 1888. He was a farmer and drover. 
He married, December 8, 1842. Caroline Conk- 
lin, born March 26, 1824, died June 15, 1886, 
at Tallman's. daughter of WilHam and Ann 
(Wilson) Conklin. William Conklin was a 
son of William Conklin, born February 21, 
1751, who resided at Tappan, where he died 
May 19, 1825, being a tailor and farmer by 
occupation. He married, in 1773. Elizabeth 
Hunt, of Hunt's Point on Long Island, and 
they were the parents of Margaret, William, 
Mary, Ann, Abraham, John, David, Elizabeth, 
Benjamin, Rachel. William (2) Conklin, born 
August 27, 1775, was a farmer at Ramsey's, 
New Jersey, where he died October 25, 1859* 
He married. July 4. 1802', at New Prospect, 
Ann Wilson, born November 23, 1783, died 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



609 



October 12, 1870, at Ramsey's, New Jersey, 
daughter of Albert \^'ilson, born February 14, 
1755, at Woodbridge, New Jersey, and died 
November 13, 1834. His wife, Mary, died 
September 18, 1818. Ann, their fourth 
daughter, became the wife of William Conklin, 
as above noted. Children of John A. Tallman : 
John Harvey, born October 3, 1843; Abram, 
mentioned below; William Henry, February 
25, 1851; Anna Maria, February 23, 1855; 
James Cornell, March 29, i860; Caroline 
Louise, May 16, 1866. 

(VHI) Abram, second son of John Abra- 
ham and Caroline (Conklin) Tallman, was 
born May 6, 1846, at Tallman's. He resided 
at Englewood, New Jersey, where he was a 
carpenter and builder. His early life was 
spent on the paternal farm at Tallman's, and 
he attended school at Sufifern, New York. In 
1862, when sixteen years old, he taught school 
for a few months at Tallman's, his first ven- 
ture in life on his own account. In 1863 and 
1864 he was employed in a photograph gallery 
in New York City, but this work proved in- 
jurious to his health, and he returned to his 
native place and spent six months on the farm. 
Following this he was employed for two years 
in the shops of the Erie Railroad Company at 
Ramapo, where he learned the building trade. 
Afterwards he worked as a carpenter in Suf- 
fern and Middletown, New York, and Pater- 
son, New Jersey, and in 1867 settled in Engle- 
wood, New Jersey, where for many years he 
was engaged in business as a builder, con- 
structing many of the finest residences in the 
city. He has always taken an active interest 
in the welfare of Englewood and saw it grow 
from a village of about fifteen hundred peo- 
ple, when he settled there, to nearly two thou- 
sand inhabitants in 1913. From 1889 to 1893 
he was a member of the township committee, 
and was also a member of the citizen's com- 
mittee formed in 1895, to promote the move- 
ment for the incorporation of the city, and 
when this was accomplished in the following 
year he was elected a member of the first com- 
mon council, and served as chairman of that 
body from 1896 to 1898. He was regarded as 
a faithful municipal officer, who gave strict 
regard to the public interest in the perform- 
ance of his duties. Since his retirement from 
active business, several years ago, Mr. Tallman 
las devoted his attention to the development 
of his real estate interests in Englewood, being 



the owner of several acres of land, upon which 
he has erected a number of houses, and 
through which a street has been opened, which 
has been named Tallman Place by the Engle- 
wood common council in recognition of his 
services to the community. He married, Sep- 
tember 2-j, 1870, at Englewood, New Jersey, 
Maria Zabriskie, born February 26, 1849, near 
New Milford, Bergen county. New Jersey, 
daughter of William Henry and Effie (De- 
marest) Zabriskie, descended from one of the 
oldest families of Bergen county. New Jersey 
(see Zabriskie VH). Children: Abram Zab- 
riskie, born April 3, 1872 ; William, mentioned 
below; Margaretta, December 20, 1877; John, 
February i, 1885, died April 20, 1893; James 
Albert, March 19, 1892. 

(IX) William, second child of Abram and 
Maria (Zabriskie) Tallman, was born March 
3, 1875. in Englewood, New Jersey. He 
graduated from the public schools of that 
city in 1891. Following this he graduated 
from Drake's Business College of Jersey City, 
in 1892, and entering the New York Law 
School was graduated in 1897 with the de- 
gree of LL.B., being admitted to the bar 
in the same year in New York City. From 
1897 to 1902 he practiced law in New York 
City. On November 12, 1912, Mr. Tallman 
was appointed by the four judges of the 
United States district court for the southern 
district of New York in New York City, first 
deputy clerk of that court, which position he 
now holds. He is also a standing examiner in 
equity and has served as special commissioner 
in bankruptcy of that court. He is a past mas- 
ter and also historian of Tuscan Lodge. No. 
115, Free and Accepted Masons, of Engle- 
wood ; a thirty-second degree and Royal Arch 
Mason, and a member of the Mystic Shrine. 
He was one of the organizers of the City Club 
of Englewood, of which he is historian, and 
has served several times as a member of its 
executive committee. He is also a member of 
the shade tree committee of the City Club of 
Englewood and one of the organizers and sec- 
retary and treasurer of the Shade Tree Fed- 
eration of New Jersey. In this connection he 
has been active in movements leading to the 
preservation of shade trees in Englewood. 

He married, August 8, 1907, in Whitehall, 
New York, Isabelle Jean Sleight, born Janu- 
ary 3, 1876, in Dresden, Washington county. 
New York, daughter of David and Jean 



6io 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



(Stuart) Sleight. David Sleight came from 
Northumberlandshire, England, about i860, 
and was a prominent farmer of Dresden. 
(The Zabriskie Line.) 
John Sobieski, John III., king of Poland, 
1674-96, was one of the greatest warriors of 
the seventeenth century. His father, James 
Sobieski, castillion of Cracow, was a man of 
virtuous character, and in behalf of his fellow 
countrymen he developed a warlike spirit 
which secured to him the throne of Poland. 
He brought up his sons, Mark and John, born 
between 1624 and 1629, with the utmost care, 
and they completed their education by travel 
and observation in France, England, Germany 
and Italy. On the death of their father, in 
1648, they were recalled home, and after the 
defeat of the Polish army by the Russians in 
the battle of Pilawieez, the brothers Sobieski 
took up arms to restore the fortunes of their 
countrymen, and Mark fell in the battle on 
the banks of the Bog. This spurred John to 
greater valor, and he became the admiration 
of the Poles and the dread of the Tartans and 
Cossacks. He received the highest military 
rank in the army, and on November 11, 1673, 
in the great battle of Choezin, he defeated the 
Turks, who left twenty-eight thousand men 
dead and wounded on the battlefield. This led 
to his unanimous election of king of Poland, 
May 21, 1674, and he was crowned at Cracow. 
In 1683 the Turks beseiged Vienna, and King 
John HI., with twenty thousand Poles, aided 
by the German auxiliary, raised the siege by 
the victory of September 12, 1683, in which 
battle he took the banner of Mohammed and 
sent it as a trophy to the pope. His entry into 
Vienna was that of a conqueror, and the citi- 
zens of the besieged city showed every demon- 
stration of joy and thanksgiving their ingenu- 
ity could devise or their glad hearts express. 
John Sobieski was not only a warrior and 
ruler, but a lover of science and a man of 
gentle disposition and agreeable manner. His 
constant wars did not allow him, however, to 
attend to the industrial needs of the citizens at 
home, and the want of such fostering care 
hastened the downfall of Poland. He died of 
apoplexy June 17, 1696. His ancestors had 
been for two centuries Palatine nobles of Po- 
land and famous soldiers and statesmen. It 
is from such ancestors with such records ol 
military and executive greatness that the Zab- 
riskies of New Jersey and New York are de- 



scended, and the cognomen has, through the 
German, Holland and English spellings, 
evolved from Zobrieski, Saboroweski, So- 
brisco, Zabrioski to Zabriskie. 

(I) Albert Saboriski, son of a brother of 
James Sobieski, and cousin of King John III., 
of Poland, who, like his nephew, was a fa- 
mous soldier, was born in Zolkwa, Poland 
(or Enghsburg, Prussia), probably in 1638. 
He was given a liberal education, being sent 
by his father to Amsterdam, Holland, with 
the hope that he would enter the ministry, and 
he directed his studies to that end for a time, 
but the preparation proved distasteful and he 
abandoned theology; subsequently he was 
pressed into the Prussian army. To fight for 
the old enemy of Poland was far more dis- 
tasteful, and he determined to seek his for- 
tune in the new world and join his friends 
who had gone from Upper Palatinate to New- 
Amsterdam and made homes there and in New 
Jersey. He took passage in the Dutch ship 
"D'Vos" (the "Fox"), Captain Jacob Hansz 
Huys, at Amsterdam, Holland, August 31, 
1662, and landed in New Amsterdam, where 
he lived for ten or more years without set- 
tling in any one place or engaging in any set- 
tled business. We find him in Bergen (now 
Jersey City) about the time of his marriage, 
which is registered in the books of the Dutch 
Reformed church of Bergen, December 17, 
1676, and the marriage certificate recorded as 
issued January 8, 1677. He married Mach- 
telt (Matilda), daughter of Joost Van der 
Linde, whose brother, Roloff Van der Linde, 
became one of the largest land holders in Ber- 
gen. Upon his marriage he took title to a 
tract of land, patent 20, 21, 22. In 1682 he 
obtained patents from Lady Carteret of sev- 
eral adjacent tracts, thus extending his estate 
from the Hudson river on the east to the 
Hackensack river on the west. The Indians 
also bargained with him for land at Tappan, 
higher up the river, which, in 1702, he nomin- 
ally exchanged for twenty-one hundred acres 
owned by the Indians adjoining his original 
purchases, and this second purchase became 
known as the New Paramus Patent. (See 
map of Perth Amboy.) He erected a house 
at Old Ackensack (now near Ridgefield Park), 
and his eldest sons, Jacob and Jan (John), 
and probably all his children, were born there. 
He helped to organize the church on the green 
at Old Hackensack in 1696, his name appear- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



6ii 



ing on stone in present church wall, and was 
the leading member and supporter of that 
church for over twenty-five years. He was 
also the first justice of the peace of Upper 
Bergen county (his original signature appear- 
ing on deed held by Wesley Van Emburgh of 
Ridgewood, New Jersey), his commission 
having been signed by Governor Hamilton in 

1682. He died in Hackensack, and is sup- 
posed to have been buried there September 
II, 171 1, according to the record of the Luth- 
eran churches in and about New York, and 
his age is stated as between seventy-two and 
seventy-three years. His widow, born in 1656, 
died in 1725. In the record of his death his 
name is written "Albert Saboriski." 

Children of Albert and Matilda (Van der 
Linde) Saboriski, born in or near Hackensack, 
Bergen county. New Jersey: i. Jacob A., 
April 12, 1679. 2. Jan (John), born in Hack- 
ensack, about 1682; married (first) Septem- 
ber 20, 1706, Elizabeth Cloes Romeyn, of 
Gravesend, Long Island, New York, born 

1683, died in Hackensack, in 1712; he married 
(second) December 6, 1712, Marguaretta du 
Rij (Durie), and lived on the old homestead 
facing the green alongside the church in Hack- 
ensack, which he inherited, and besides being 
a farmer he was active in public affairs ; he 
had four children by his first wife and nine 
by his second. 3. Yost. 4. Christian. 5. 
Hendrick. There is a tradition in the family 
that Jacob A., eldest son of Albert, was stolen 
by the Indian sachem when seven years old and 
carried to the Indian village nearby, and that 
some time elapsed before his whereabouts be- 
came known. As his father was a true friend 
to the Indians, the sachem at last disclosed the 
secret of taking the child, and he expressed 
the wish that he be allowed to keep the boy 
until he became versed in the Indian lan- 
guage, that he might be able to maintain the 
friendship established by the father, and like 
him, act as an arbitrator and interpreter in 
any trouble that misrht come up between the 
Indians and their white neighbors. The boy 
consented and when he had returned to his 
father's home he had acquired the language, 
and his friendship for the Indians was a fixed 
principle of his life. The tradition adds that 
in consideration of allowing the boy to re- 
main, the second erant of Upper Paramus was 
secured. The fact, however, remained that 
valuable merchandise, wampum and money 



was paid the Indians by Albert Saboriski for 
the land. 

(II) Christian Zabriskie, fourth son of Al- 
bert and Machtelt or Matilda (Van der Linde) 
Saboriski, was born in Hackensack, Upper 
Bergen, New Jersey, was baptized in the 
church at Hackensack, Upper Bergen, July 3, 
1696, and died 1774. He married, May 28, 
1714, Lea Hendricksje Hoope (Hooper). He 
lived in Lower Paramus, and was received in 
the church at Hackensack, as a member, July 
13, 1723, when he appears to have spelled his 
name '"Zabbroski." He was probably a far- 
mer, as his father had large estates in New 
Jersey, which afforded the best of land for 
carrying on the business of cultivating the soil, 
and in fact the early Hollanders and Palatin- 
ates were farmers and both men and women 
were accustomed to working in the fields, and 
the women universally were the chief depen- 
dence in milking and caring for the butter and 
cheese. Children of Christian and Lea Hen- 
dricksje (Hooper) Zabriskie, born in Lower 
Paramus, New Jersey: i. Albert, baptized 
September 2, 1716; married, October 26, 1739, 
Aeltje, daughter of Abraham and Aeltje 
(VanLeer) Ackerman ; her parents removed 
from New York City to Bergen, New Jersey, 
in 1694, and settled on a large tract of land 
lying between the Hackensack and Saddle 
rivers in Bergen county. (The chart of the 
Zabriskies, prepared by Chandler Zabriskie 
gives Tjilletji Ackerman to this Albert ; but the 
record of baptism of Jacob, son of Tjilletji, 
has the father's name "Albert Hen," and not 
"Albert Christ." She must therefore have 
been the wife of Albert, son of Henry and 
Gertrude H. (Hooper) Zabriskie. 2. Hen- 
drick, baptized May 22, 1718. 3. Jacob, bap- 
tized January 22, 172 1 ; died young. 4. Jacob, 
baptized January 20, 1725 ; married, August 
7, 1747, Lena Ackerman. 5. Andries, men- 
tioned below. 

(HI) Andries (Andrew), fifth son and 
youngest child of Christian and Lea Hen- 
dricksje (Hooper) Zabriskie, was born in 
Lower Paramus. January 3, 1729, according 
to records of the Schraalenburg church. He 
was a farmer. He married, in 1750, Eliza- 
beth Ackerman, of Paramus: i. Christian A., 
born in Paramus, and baptized in the church 
there, February 24, 1751. 2. John A., men- 
tioned below. 3. Jane, January i, 1761 : mar- 
ried Corponas Bogert; children: Cornelius C. 



6l2 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



Bogert, Elizabeth Bogert, who married Will- 
iam Pell and had six children. 

(IV) John A., son of Andrew and EHza- 
beth (Ackerman) Zabriskie, was born about 
1752 in Lower Paramus, and died in 1824. 
He was a farmer, residing on the west side 
of the road in what was known as the Flats, 
near New Milford, New Jersey. He married 
Christina Zabriskie, born November 5, 1752, 
died January 13, 1831. They had sons, John 
and Henry J. 

(V) Henry J., son of John and Christina 
Zabriskie, was born January 29, 1787, at the 
Flats, where he lived, engaged in farming until 
his death, January 7, 1861. He married, 
March 9, 181 1, Anna Sickels, born November 
15, 1790, died February 18, 1876, daughter of 
William N. and Elizabeth Sickels of Sickel- 
town, Rockland county. New York. They had 
sons, John H. and William Henry. 

(VI) William Henry, son of Henry J. and 
Anna (Sickels) Zabriskie, was born August 
9, 1820, at the Flats, where he lived until his 
death, December 6, 1859. He was an exten- 
sive dealer in timber and also a farmer. He 
married, November 3, 1841, at Schraalenburg, 
Effie Demarest, born September 7, 1821, a; 
Schraalenburg, died July 2, i860, at the Flats, 
daughter of Abraham J. and Rachael (Blau- 
velt) Demarest, of Schraalenburg. Children: 
Henry, Eliza, Ann, Rachel, Maria. Abraham, 
Margareta, Euphemia. 

(VII) Maria, third daughter of William 
Henry and Effie (Demarest) Zabriskie, born 
February 26, 1849, i" New Milford, became the 
wife of Abram Tallman (see Tallman VIII). 



There were numerous immigrants 
PECK of this name in the early days of 
Connecticut, and Massachusetts, 
and their progeny is now widely scattered 
throughout the nation. The first in America 
of the line traced below was a direct descend- 
ant in the twenty-first generation of John 
Peck, of Belton, Yorkshire, England. This 
family is often referred to as the "Massachu- 
setts Pecks," to distinguish it from descend- 
ants of settlers at Hartford and New Haven, 
Connecticut. They have been distinguished 
for their sound sense and keen business abil- 
ity, and are nearly always found in good finan- 
cial circumstances. 

(I) Joseph Peck was the son of Robert, 
born 1546, died 1593, and Helen (Babbs) 



Peck, of Beccles, Suffolk county, England, 
and was baptized there April 30, 1587. He 
settled in Hingham, Norfolk county, England, 
and in 1638 he and other Puritans, with his 
brother, Robert Peck, their pastor, fled from 
the persecutions of the church to this country. 
They came in the ship "Diligent," and settled 
in Hingham, Massachusetts, where Joseph 
Peck received a grant of land in 1638. He 
remained there about seven years, and was 
justice of the peace, assessor, selectman, repre- 
sentative to the general court four terms. In 
1641 he became one of the principal purchas- 
ers of that tract of land called by them 
Seekonk, afterwards incorporated as Reho- 
both, and removed there in 1645, ^^''d became 
one of its prominent men, as well as one of its 
wealthiest. He died December 23, 1663. He 
married (first) in Hingham, England, May 21, 
1617, Rebecca Clark, who died and was buried 
there, October 24, 1637. The name of his 
second wife is unknown. The marriage was 
probably in another parish, where the records 
were not preserved. The records of the town 
clerk at Hingham, Massachusetts, show that 
"Mr. Joseph Peck, his wife, three sons and 
a daughter settled there," so it is known he 
married a second time before leaving Eng- 
land. His children were : Anna, baptized in 
Hingham, England, March 12, 1618, buried 
there, July 27, 1636: Rebecca, baptized in 

Hingham, May 25, 1620, married 

Hubbert; Joseph, August 23, 1623; John, bap- 
tized about 1626; Nicholas, mentioned be- 
low : Samuel, baptized in Hingham, Massa- 
chusetts, February 3, 1639; Nathaniel, Octo- 
ber 31, 1641 ; Israel, March 4, 1644. 

(II) Nicholas, third son of Joseph Peck, 
was baptized April 9. 1630, in Hingham, Eng- 
land, and was about eight years of age when 
he came with his parents to America. He set- 
tled in the southeastern part of Seekonk, and 
there died May 27, 1710. He was often one 
of the raters, or assessors, and selectmen of 
the town. In 1669 he was elected deputy to 
the general court, and also served from 1677 
to 1690, with exception of 1687-8, when the 
town elected no representative. From 1677 to 
1684 he is called Ensign Nicholas Peck, later 
lieutenant, and finally captain. He married, 
about 1655, Mary, eldest daughter of Alexan- 
der Winchester. He had a second wife, Re- 
becca, who died November 2, 1704. Children: 
Joseph, born October 27, 1656: John. August 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



6ii 



8, 1660; Hezekiah, April i, 1662; Mary, Sep- 
tember 15, 1664; Jonathan, November 5, 1666; 
Nicholas, June 6, 1669; Elisha, mentioned be- 
low. 

(III) Elisha, youngest child of Nicholas 
and Mary (Winchester) Peck, was born 
April II, 1673, in Rehoboth, and resided for 
a time on the homestead there, and subse- 
quently in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and 
Providence, Rhode Island. He removed from 
Rehoboth to Attleboro about 1718. He mar- 
ried, December 24, 1703, in Rehoboth, Martha 
Lake, "both of Rehoboth." Children: 
Martha, died young; Joel, born June i, 1707; 
Jerusha, January i, 1709; Eunice, March 12, 
171 1 ; Inspection, March 22, 1713; Constan- 
tine, mentioned below; Martha, April 8, 1717; 
Nicholas, April 30, 1719; Mary, August 31, 
1724; Elijah, September 7, 1729. All except 
the last two are recorded in Rehoboth, and 
the last three in Attleboro. 

(IV) Constantine, second son of Elisha and 
Martha (Lake) Peck, was born May 26, 171 5, 
in Rehoboth, and resided for a time in that 
town, later removing to Providence. He mar- 
ried Priscilla Peck, of that town. Children : 
Joel, born September i, 1735; Susannah, May 
13, 1738; Benoni, November 25, 1739; Abra- 
ham, May 30, 1742; Inspection, July 6. 1745; 
Nicholas, October 2, 1746; Elisha, mentioned 
below; Eleazer, March 7, 1750; Martha, Au- 
gust 8, 1752; Abiah, December 18, 1755; 
Mary, May 19, 1758; Gershom, July 20, 1760; 
Anne, January 10, 1762. 

(V) Elisha (2), sixth son of Constantine 
and Priscilla (Peck) Peck, was born Novem- 
ber 25, 1747. He resided for a time in Pro- 
vidence; soon after 1773 he settled in Lenox, 
Massachusetts, where he was a farmer. He 
married, in Providence, March 11, 1773, Free- 
love Knight, of Cranston, Rhode Island. No 
record of children is available beyond that 
furnished by the family records. 

(VI) Elisha (3). son of Elisha (2) and 
Freelove (Knight) Peck, was bom March 4, 
1789, in Lenox, and died in 18.SI. at his resi- 
dence on Fourth street. New York City. He 
was reared upon the farm, and early in life 
went to Berlin, Connecticut, where he became 
interested in the manufacture of metal ware. 
Later he removed to New York City and there 
formed an association with Anson G. Phelps, 
under the firm name of Peck & Phelps, for 
dealing in metals. He immediately proceeded 



to Liverpool, where he opened a foreign 
branch of the business and continued four- 
teen years. In August, 1830, he returned to 
America, bringing with him the machinery for 
a rolling mill. Mr. Phelps had already pur- 
chased land and a water privilege on Minis- 
ceongo creek, in Rockland county. New York, 
where they established a rolling mill wire 
works and kindred industries. A village 
sprang up about these mills, which was named 
Samsondale by Mr. Peck, in honor of the ves- 
sel which brought him from Liverpool in 
1830. Here was manufactured what was 
known as the E. P. brand sheet iron, which 
had a high reputation among dealers. The 
partnership between Messrs. Peck and Phelps 
was dissolved and Mr. Peck retained the shops 
at Samsondale, while Mr. Phelps took the mer- 
cantile business in New York. About this 
time Mr. Peck erected a screw factory and 
chemical works, where was carried on chiefly 
the production of sulphuric acid. In 1833 he 
opened a new road, which is now the thor- 
oughfare from Minisceongo creek to the rail- 
road station at Haverstraw. The new plants 
were established on what was known as the 
Allison farm, which Mr. Peck purchased for 
that purpose, and removed the old mansion, 
in whose place he erected a handsome resi- 
dence. His eldest son, Shubael, who possessed 
an inventive mind and was of much assistance 
to his father, was killed by the explosion of 
a boiler in a vessel which he was navigating 
on the Hudson. After this a younger son, 
John Peck, became his father's partner. 
About 1842 the industries began to feel the 
injurious effects of changes in the tariff, and 
the mills were closed. They were reopened 
during the civil war and did a prosperous 
business for a time, and have since been occu- 
pied by various industries. Mr. Peck was a 
man of keen foresight and great executive 
ability, and became interested in various large 
enterprises. He was one of the original pro- 
moters of the Somerville & Easton railroad, 
and of the Elizabeth & Easton, both of which 
became part of the New Jersey Central sys- 
tem, in which Mr. Peck was a large stock- 
holder and director. At one time he was the 
principal owner of the Providence railroad, 
which under his direction as president proved 
to be one of the most profitable enterprises of 
the kind in this section of the L^nion. He was 
a director of the Hudson River railroad, and 



6i4 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



when he retired from the board resolutions 
of regret were passed by his contemporaries. 
He was interested in various other industries, 
and it is a remarkable fact that none of those 
in which he invested ever proved unprofitable. 
Mr. Peck was a man of genial nature and 
very liberal, and when the Presbyterian church 
established at Samsondale, he donated the lot 
upon which its house of worship was located, 
and also contributed generously in cash to- 
ward its completion. 

He married, June 30, 1814, Chloe, daughter 
of Shubael Pattison, of Berlin, Connecticut. 
Children : Shubael, born April 10, 181 5 : Har- 
riet, Januarv 22. 1817; John, born No- 
vember 12, '1818; Edward, June 3, 1822; 
Mary Ann, December 16. 1823. The 
youngest son was born in Liverpool, England, 
and the youngest daughter in West Darby, 
England. The others were born in Berlin, 
Connecticut. Of these only the second son 
and youngest daughter survived their father. 
The latter became the wife of George Gordon. 



Alexander Hamilton, dis- 
HAMILTON tinguished soldier and 
statesman, was born in the 
Island of Nevis, West Indies, and was of a 
Scotch family. He was instructed under the 
tutorship of a Scotch Presbyterian minister, 
and in young manhood was in charge of a 
mercantile business in his native place. In 
1772 friends induced him to go to Boston, 
whence he went to Elizabethtown, New 
Jersey, where he attended a preparatory 
"school, thence entering King's College, New 
York, but after two years his education was 
interrupted by the occupation of the college 
buildings by the British troops. At the open- 
ing of difficulties he took an emotional part, 
and at the early age of seventeen, voluntarily 
ascended a platform in New York City and 
delivered a fiery phillipic against British op- 
pression. Subsequently he issued a couple of 
pamphlets, which were of such force and 
literary merit that they marked him as a 
revolutionary leader. Early in 1776, when 
not nineteen years old, he had command of 
an artillery company, which he made the 
model of its kind in General Greene's com- 
mand. His military behavior in the battles 
of Long Island and White Plains brous;ht him 
a commission as lieutenant-colonel in the Con- 
tinental army, and assignment to the stafi^ 



of Washington as military secretary. Taking 
ofifence at a reproof from his chief, he re- 
signed his position and entered the field as 
lieutenant-colonel of New York artillery. At 
Yorktown he led a successful storming party 
upon a redoubt, and was breveted colonel. 
He served in the New York assembly and in 
congress, and also in the national constitu- 
tional convention. When Washington was 
elected to the presidency, he made Hamilton 
first secretary of the United States Treasury. 
Hamilton's services at this period were con- 
spicuously useful : he inaugurated a system 
of internal revenue, a protective tarifi^. regu- 
lated the currency, established navigation 
laws and laws regulating the coasting trade, 
the post offices and the disposition of public 
lands, and procured the purchase of land at 
West Point for a military academy. He re- 
signed the secretaryship in 1795 and resumed 
his law practice in New York City. He main- 
tained close relation with Washington, and 
was an influential factor in public affairs. In 
1798 he was made major general and inspec- 
tor general of the army, and the following 
year was made commander-in-chief. On July 
II, 1804, at Weehawken, New Jersey, he fell 
in a duel with Aaron Burr. He married Eli- 
zabeth, daughter of General Philip Schuyler, 
of Albany. 



The origin of this name seems 
TELLER uncertain ; it was employed by 

the first Dutch immigrant and 
has been continually used by his descendants, 
among whom have been many conspicuous 
and useful citizens in Albany and Kingston, 
and all along the Hudson river valley. 

(I) William Teller, born 161 6, in Holland, 
arrived in the province of New Netherlands, 
in the year 1639, and was soon sent to Fort 
Orange by Governor Kieft with the rank of 
corporal. He was probably a soldier before 
his arrival in America, and was made wacht- 
meister of the fort at Albany by Governor 
Kieft soon after his arrival there. He con- 
tinued to reside at Albanv until 1692, except 
while on trips to New York, the Delaware 
river, and one voyage to Holland. For about 
fifty years he was a trader at Albany, whence 
he removed to New York in 1692 with his 
sons, and died in 1701. In 1656 he was one 
of the collectors of taxes, and in 1684 was 
made alderman of the first ward of Rensselaer- 



SOUTHERN NEW YORK 



615 



wyck (Albany) upon the first division of that 
village into wards. In that year he was also 
a justice of the peace. In 1678 he accidentally 
killed an Indian woman with a gun which he 
was taking from the wall just as she was 
entering the door, and was tried for this on 
May 6 of that year before the governor and 
council and was acquitted. In his will, made 
March 9, 1669, proved 1701, he spoke of six 
of his nine children as then living, namely: 
Andries, Helena, Elizabeth, VVillem, Johannes 
and Jannette. It is probable that he had dis- 
posed of much of his property before his 
death, when the inventory amounted to nine 
hundred and ten pounds, ten shillings and 
two pence. He was one of the early proprie- 
tors of Schenectady in 1662, though probably 
never a resident there, and was one of the 
patentees mentioned in the first patent of the 
town in 1684. His first wife, Margaret Dun- 
cassen, died before 1664, in which year he 
made a marriage contract with Maria Varleth, 
widow of Paulis Schrick. She survived him, 
dying in 1702, when an inventory of her estate 
was made, amounting to one thousand, two 
hundred and seventy-five pounds, twelve shill- 
ings and nine pence. She was a daughter of 
Casper and Judith Varleth, early residents of 
Port Good Hope, Hartford, Connecticut, be- 
ing there as early as 1633. Children of first 
marriage: Andries, Helena, Maria (Marga- 
rette), Ehzabeth, Jacob, William, Johannes (or 
John). Children of second wife : Janette (or 
Janneke) and Casper. 

(II) William (2), third son of William (i) 
and Margaret (Duncassen) Teller, was born 
in 1657, at Albany, and settled in New York, 
where he made his will June 25, 1710. He 
married (first) November 19, 1686, Rachel 
Kierstead, of New York, daughter of Hans 
Kierstead and Sarah Rolffsen, who died before 
1705. He received a license, January 19, 1705, 
to marry his cousin, Maria Van Tricht. Chil- 
dren of first marriage, baptized in New York: 
Margarita, August 17, 1687; William, died 
young; William, December 25, 1690; Hans (or 
John), mentioned below; Margaret, February 
2, 1696; Jacobus, died voung; Andries, Janu- 
ary 25, 1702; Jacobus, August 29, 1703. 

(III) Hans or John, third son of William 
(2) and Rachael (Kierstead) Teller, was bap- 
tized March 12, 1693, in New York. He mar- 
ried (first) April 23, 1719, Catherine Van Til- 
burgh, and had sons, baptized in 1720 and 



1722. He married (second) before 1728, Au- 
lie Vermilyea. Children of second marriage: 
Catherine, born 1728, married John Stouten- 
burgh; Isaac, born 1730; John, born 1733, 
married Margaret Stoutenburgh ; Jacobus, 
born 1736; Rachel, born 1741, married Luke 
Stoutenburgh; Dr. Abram, born 1744, mar- 
ried Margaret Driemer; Cynthia, married 
Jacobus Stoutenburgh; Luke, mentioned be- 
low. 

(IV) Luke, son of John and Aulie (Ver- 
milyea) Teller, resided in Dutchess county 
and died there. He married Sarah Snedeker, 
November 10, 1765, and had ten children, 
namely : James, Elizabeth, Sarah, Abram, 
Rachel, Catherine, born June 16, 1778; Rich- 
ard, John, Auley, Theodora. 

(V) James, probably eldest son of Luke and 
Sarah (Snedeker) Teller, died young. He 
was a farmer and lived a short distance north 
of Poughkeepsie, New York. Where the house 
stood is still known as Teller's Hill. He mar- 
ried, January 6, 1796, Sarah Smith, who died 
January 3, 1847. Children: WilHam S. and 
Caroline. The latter died at the age of eight 
years. 

(VT) William Smith, only son of James 
and Sarah (Smith) Teller, was born February 
24, 1807, and died January 21, 1892, in King- 
ston. He and his mother lived in Poughkeep- 
sie, where he learned the tanner and currier's 
trade. He later joined his brother-in-law in 
Newburgh and engaged in the leather busi- 
ness for several years, then removed to King- 
ston and formed a co-partnership with An- 
drew Near, purchasing the Kingston Tannery 
of A. H. Bruyn, and for twenty-five years car- 
ried on the tanning and leather business. He 
was a member of the First Methodist Episco- 
pal Church from 1846 until his death and was 
an officer of this body. He married (first) 
October 27, 1831, Maria Broomfield, born 
January 25, 1812, died June 15, 1844. He 
married (second) September 17, 1846, Esther 
M. Hoyt, born September 15, 1824, died 
March 6, 1865