of seventeen, he began life's activities in Durland's store. In the
year 1885 he entered the firm of J. Durland & Son, and on February 1,
1908, he purchased the entire interest in the mercantile business of
his father, Joseph Durland. with whom he had been associated for
twenty-three years. He was married April 22, 1891, to Mary Burt
Sanford, of Warwick, N. Y., daughter of William Moore Sanford and
Sarah Burt, who was the daughter of James Burt, for many years
president of the Chester National Bank. By her he has two children,
William Sanford Durland, born July 13, 1892, now a student in
Nazareth Hall Military Academy, Nazareth, Pa., and Nancy Board
Durland, born March 29, 1898, now a student in Chester Academy.
Mr. and Mrs. Durland are both members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr.
Durland is president of its board of trustees, president of the board
of trade, director of the Chester Telephone Co., trustee of Walton
Hose Co., treasurer of the Orange & Rockland Electric Co., member of
Standard Lodge, No. 711, F. & A. M., of Monroe, N. Y.
JOSEPH DURLAND was born on the Durland homestead, now occupied by his
brother, Samuel S. Durland, March 16, 1832. He received his education
at Chester Academy and at Bloomfield, N. J. He began business life as
a clerk in Masterson's store at West Chester when a young man. He was
a partner with his stepfather, James Durland, at Chester Mills, for
some time. On February 1, 1859, he purchased the interest of James J.
Board in the old store conducted under the name, Board, Pierson & Co.
This new firm of Pierson, Bell & Durland continued at the old store
until February, 1862, when his brother, Samuel S. Durland, was
admitted into partnership with him, the other members of the firm
having sold to them their interest. For ten years this partnership of
the brothers continued successfully and then S. S. Durland retired
from the business and Joseph continued as sole proprietor until 1855,
when Frank Durland, his son, purchased an interest in the business
and the firm name became Durland & Son. This relation continued until
February 1, 1908, when he sold his interest to Frank Durland, the
present proprietor, having completed 49 years of business life in the
old store.
During all his business career Joseph Durland has been a wise
counselor for his fellow citizens in business and political matters.
This has been possible through his knowledge gained by keen
observation and opportunities for travel which have enabled him to
visit and study business conditions in nearly every state in the
Union. For a number of years he has served as trustee of the savings
banks at Warwick and Goshen, and also as a director of the Durland
Trust Co., of Norfolk, Nebraska. For twenty years he has served as a
director of the Chester National Bank, and for two years was its
president and is at present its vice-president. He was the first
Republican supervisor for the town of Chester and served in 1867 and
1868. He was influential in establishing the present Union free
school, and in 1869 was elected clerk of the first Board of Education
of Chester, which position he held for seven years. He strongly urged
the incorporation of the village of Chester in November, 1898, and
was a member of its first board of trustees. When the question of
water for the village arose he served on the board of water
commissioners which introduced the present system of water supply. In
offices of trust, he has served as executor and administrator of many
estates. In 1855 he united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he
and Mrs. Durland are still active members. He was elected to the
office of deacon in this church in 1889, and since 1890 has continued
to serve the church of his choice as an elder. He was married
February 25, 1857, to Nancy Kingsland Board, daughter of Major James
J. Board. The fiftieth anniversary of this happy event was fittingly
celebrated. The children of this marriage now living are two sons,
James Board, who married Sarah Andrews, and Frank, who married Mary
B. Sanford, and two daughters, Amelia Vernon, and Nettie Eugenia,
wife of William T. Moffatt of New York City. One daughter, Marion,
died May 21, 1903.
J. SEELY DURLAND was born in New York City, March 15, 1856. He is a
son of Oscar and Matilda C. Durland. Mr. Durland's father was engaged
in the milk business in New York City, later removing to Chester,
N. Y., purchasing the Marvin property, about two miles from Chester.
Here he developed a natural love for the country and has remained a
farmer. J. Seely Durland received his education at the district
school and Chester Academy, he married Fannie R. Hunter, of Monroe,
October 26, 1894, and two children have been born to them, Anna T.,
living, and Stanley, who died in 1895. Mr. Durland is a member of the
Chester Grange, and in politics a Republican.
JOHN E. DURYEA, son of Samuel C. and Emily (Tuthill) Duryea, was born
September 6, 1840, on the farm in the town of Crawford which his
father had purchased in 1838. He assisted his father in the
management of the farm until he removed to Pine Bush in November,
1905.
Mr. Duryea's paternal ancestors were French Huguenots. Joost Duryea,
the founder of the family in America, came to Long Island from
Holland in 1675, and from Jamaica, Queens County, Yost or George, our
subject's great-great-grandfather, came to Orange County and settled
in the town of Blooming Grove, of which he was a pioneer. He died in
1760 and was buried at Greycourt. His son, George, during the
Revolution, was in active service in the cavalry department of the
Colonial Army. He married Miss Hannah Hudson, of Goshen. Five sons
and four daughters were born to them, of whom John, grandfather of
our subject, married in 1800, Mary, daughter of Samuel and Jeannette
(McCurdy) Crawford, of the town of Montgomery. They settled on a farm
near Bloomingburg in the town of Wallkill. Six children were born, of
whom Samuel C. was the youngest.
John E. Duryea married, in 1863, Miss Jane Frances Hunter, who died
in 1883, leaving four daughters, Emily C., Mary F., Edna H., Anna Z.
Politically Mr. Duryea is a Republican and has occupied a prominent
place in public affairs. He was justice of the peace twelve years and
justice of sessions four years. Socially he is identified with the
Masonic fraternity.
SAMUEL T. DUSENBERRY, assistant postmaster at Tuxedo Park, N. Y., was
born at Stony Ford, Orange County, in 1873. He is a son of William B.
and S. E. (Wallace) Dusenberry. He received his education at the
schools of Goshen. In 1899 Mr. Dusenberry came to Tuxedo and accepted
the appointment of assistant postmaster. Socially he is identified
with Standard Lodge, No. 711, F. & A. M. He married Miss Leonor
Clark, of Monroe. N. Y. They have one child, William Wallace.
JOHN L. D. EAGER has been engaged in the hide and tallow business at
Montgomery since 1875. He was born in Walden in 1850. A son of Isaac
L. and Fannie M. (Bodine) Eager. At the age of twenty he entered the
employ of Homer Ramsdell & Co., of Newburgh, where he remained eight
years. On returning to Montgomery he engaged in the coal business,
also conducting his hide and tallow establishment. Mr. Eager has
served as police justice twenty years and justice of the peace
sixteen years. He now has charge of the pumping station of the
Montgomery Water Works. He married Miss Emma Decker in 1876 and three
sons have been born to them, Leonard, Clarence and Ray. Leonard is
now in charge of his father's hide and tallow plant. He had
previously been employed as engineer at Randall's Island and engineer
for the firm of Tiffany & Co., New York.
JOSEPH C. EAGER was born August 21, 1859, on a farm near
Hamptonburgh, where he now resides. His father, Joseph Case Eager,
died in 1903. He had been a town justice of the peace for thirty
years, and from his dairy farm of 150 acres was one of the first
shippers of milk to the New York market over the Erie Railroad.
Besides Joseph there was a daughter, Caroline, who married Cornelius
Zabriskie, of Newark, N. J. Joseph's education in the district school
was supplemented by a course in the private boarding school of Prof.
S. S. Hartwell, of Unionville, N. J. From this he returned to the
farm, which has always been his home. Since 1890 he has been station
agent at Hamptonburgh for the Lehigh and Hudson Railroad, and also
conducted a feed business at the same station. He followed the
political inclinations of his father and has been one of the active
Democrats of his town.
WILLIAM CASE EAGER, the descendant of one of the first settlers of
the county, was born December 9, 1865, in Warwick, and died suddenly
as the result of an accident, February 11, 1904. His parents were
William C. and Mary C. Eager, whose children were this one son and
four daughters, Mary L., Jennie, Belle and Fannie. The father,
William C. Eager, Sr., died in 1878, April 18th. The subject of our
sketch acquired his early education in the Warwick school, remaining
in school until 19 years of age. He then entered the general store
which was managed and owned by his mother until he reached the age of
21, at which time he assumed control of the store and managed it
successfully until his death. In 1899 he married Hattie J. Aldrich, a
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Still, of Warwick. He was one of the
most popular young men of Warwick, having a warm heart, a sunny
nature and much natural magnetism, seasoned with genial humor and
entire honesty. It was said of him that he had not one enemy, and was
esteemed by the people of all classes. He was fond of athletic sports
and all lively diversions. He was pitcher in the champion baseball
team, a leading official in the Warwick Athletic Association, an
enthusiastic hunter and fisher and lover of wild nature, liked music
and was at one time a player in the village band. He was so good and
popular a fireman that he rose to be foreman of Excelsior Hose and
then to be chief of the fire department, to which he was elected
three times and refused to be reelected. He was once elected town
collector, and once nominated for president of the village, but
resolutely declined the nomination.
On the day of his funeral all the business places in the village were
closed, the whole fire department and the members of the Warwick Club
attended in a body, and one of the largest gatherings ever seen in
the Reformed church listened to the funeral services.
His earliest ancestor in Orange County lived on a farm near what is
now called Neelytown, and some of his ancestors still reside there.
His great uncle was Samuel W. Eager, the first historian of the
county.
THOMAS HORTON EASTON was born January 25, 1853, on the homestead farm
near Otisville. He attended the district school, and assisted in the
general store operated by his father at Otisville for many years. He
engaged with the Erie Railroad as a brakeman and was promoted to
conductor, serving from 1868 to 1882, after which he returned to the
farm, where he has since remained. He was married to Miss Frances N.,
daughter of Dimmick and Sylvia A. (Cadwell) Wilkin, March 14, 1875.
By this union there were three children born, all living: Harriet D.,
born February 11, 1877; Nellie W., born June 14, 1881; Sylvia E.,
born September 10, 1885. Harriet is the wife of Henry A. Holley, of
Otisville, and they have three children, Henry E., born August 26,
1898; Elizabeth C, born April 30, 1901; James Easton, born September
20, 1905. Nellie W. is the wife of Joseph K. Corwin. They have two
children, S. Gilbert, born July 19, 1905, and Francis Horton, born
March 2, 1907. In politics Mr. Easton is a democrat, and has served
as inspector of elections since 1884. His father, James Easton, was
born January 15, 1824, at Milford, Pa. February 24, 1849, he married
Hannah E. Corwin, of New Vernon, and three children were born to
them, Nellie R., born November 21, 1849, married Schuyler D. Frazer,
of Otisville; Ada, born February 23, 1855, died March, 1856. He was
at Dunkirk, N. Y., in 1851, when the opening of the Erie Railroad
occurred. In 1853 he returned to Howells and opened a general store,
continuing there until 1861. In 1863 he went to Saginaw, Michigan,
remaining there one year, returning to Orange County in 1864,
opening a general store at Otisville, which in May, 1884, was
destroyed by fire. He immediately rebuilt and continued until 1905,
when he retired after a career of fifty years of active life.
ALVA WISNER EDSALL, a lifelong resident of the town of Warwick, was
born at Edenville, N. Y., January 8, 1861, and after attending the
public schools commenced the study of dentistry at the age of
eighteen years, graduating from the Philadelphia Dental College. In
1883 took up the practice of his chosen profession in Warwick, N. Y.,
where he has since been actively engaged in business, forming a
partnership with Dr. J. H. Wood in 1884, which partnership still
exists. A son of Thomas S. and Phoebe Miller Edsall, he represents
the seventh generation of a long line of English ancestry, who were
among the early settlers of New Amsterdam (now New York City), in
1637, they being large owners of timber lands where Hackensack,
N. J., is now located. They afterwards moved to Northern New Jersey
about the time the De Kays settled there, and numerous branches of the
family are now to be found in this locality. Dr. Edsall was married,
in 1891, to Caroline Welling, of Warwick, having a daughter and son,
Marian and Maurice, aged respectively twelve and five years. He is a
member of the board of education and interested in Warwick's various
business enterprises.
JOHN EGAN, retired dairyman, Newburgh, N. Y., was born in 1847 on a
farm in West Newburgh. In 1876 he embarked in the milk and cream
business and in 1883 his trade had assumed such proportions that he
erected a creamery on First street, where the milk was received,
which he equipped with modern appliances. He retired from the dairy
business a few years ago and now devotes his attention to his
extensive real estate holdings.
EDWARD R. ELLIOTT, M.D., of Montgomery, N. Y., was born in Dutchess
County in 1854, a son of Rev. Jos. and Harriet (Andrews) Elliott. His
education was obtained at Claverack Institute and Stamford Seminary.
He graduated in medicine in 1874 from the University of New York and
has enjoyed an extensive practice in Montgomery since 1878. Dr.
Elliott is a member of the County and State Medical Societies and the
Newburgh Bay Medical Society. He is also identified with the Masonic
fraternity. He is a director of the Montgomery National Bank. Dr.
Elliott married Miss Lydia Wright and a son, Clyde, has been born to
them.
E. J. EMERSON, cashier of the Montgomery National Bank, has been a
resident of Orange County for some twenty years. He is a native of
Sullivan County and began life by entering the employ of Albert Bull,
wholesale druggist of Middletown, where he remained twelve years. Mr.
Emerson's banking experience covers a period of six years, four of
which were spent with the First National and the Merchants National
Bank of Middletown. He accepted his present position in 1905.
CHARLES A. EVANS--Soldier, newspaper man, ranch man and farmer
successively the career of Charles A. Evans has been one of
strenuous activity and varied experience. He was born September 11,
1845, in New York City, obtained his early education in New York
schools, and when a mere boy, sixteen years old, enlisted in New York
with the 12th Regular Infantry for service in the Civil War. This was
in May, 1862. He could only be accepted as a drummer boy, but soon
exchanged drum for musket, and carried it for three years. He was
wounded and taken prisoner in the battle of Cedar Mountain, and was
confined on Belle Island about two months. Communications which he
wrote for Northern papers pleased the editor of the Chicago _Times,_
and in the fall of 1865 the young soldier was invited to join the
staff of that paper. He remained with it until 1878, and then getting
the Western fever, went to a point in Southern Kansas, on the Walnut
River, and established a ranch on which he and his family lived until
1883. Then, in order that his children might have opportunities for
education, he returned to Chicago and resumed work on the _Times,_
and after a little was appointed its New York correspondent. So he
again became a resident of the metropolis, and was correspondent of
the Chicago _Times_ and St. Louis _Republican_ five years, when
trouble with his eyes caused him to quit newspaper work. In 1888 he
came to Orange County and purchased the farm near Howells on which he
lives. In 1900 he purchased at Mt. Vernon another farm, and now
manages both. In 1895 he was supervisor for the town of Wallkill,
and against much opposition pushed through the board the resolution
offering a reward for the capture of Charles H. Rogers, the murderer
of the Olney brothers and Alice Ingerick. In 1907 he was the
Democratic candidate for member of assembly. Mr. Evans was married to
Miss Jennie E. Morrill, of Brandon, Vt., in 1867. They have four
children--a son living in Chicago, Mrs. F. L. Andrews, of Whitehall,
Miss Frances, a graduate of Cornell University, and Austin, now a
student in Cornell.
GEORGE W. EVANS, a prominent citizen of the town of Crawford, resides
at Bullville and carries on an extensive trade in cattle and horses.
He is a son of John A. and Marie (Walker) Evans, and was born at
Walker Valley, Ulster County. Although but in his 'teens he went to
the front during the Civil War, enlisting in the 56th Regiment. He
was discharged in 1865 at Charlestown, S. C. On his return home he
engaged with his father in the meat business at Bullville, in which
he continued fourteen years, and then began trading in cattle.
Mr. Evans was united in marriage with Miss Anna L. Relyea, January 6,
1869, a daughter of Christopher and Sarah B. (Sprague) Relyea.
Socially he is identified with Hoffman Lodge, No. 412, F. and A. M.,
of Middletown, N. Y.
WILLIAM EVANS, now living in retirement at Westtown, N. Y., has been
prominently identified with the commercial and financial development
of Middletown. He is a son of William and Rosetta (Corwin) Evans and
was born at the homestead in the town of Minisink. His mercantile
career began in 1849, when, under the firm name of Little & Evans, a
dry goods store was started at Middletown. At the end of eight years
Mr. Evans continued the business alone for four years, when Mr. M. D.
Stivers became his partner as Evans & Stivers. In 1864 Mr. Evans sold
out his interest and took up the organization of the First National
Bank, of which he was elected president. After a period of eleven
years he resigned the office, retaining his directorship. In 1866 he
assisted in the organization of the Middletown, Unionville and Water
Gap R. R., and at his suggestion the railroad was given that name. He
was a director of the company and served as its treasurer a number of
years. In 1874 he engaged for two years in the manufacture of horse
clothing. He then went to New York and was engaged for four years in
the real estate and insurance business. He then retired from active
pursuits and traveled extensively in company with his daughter.
Mr. Evans married Miss Julia Denton, daughter of Theodore B. Denton,
of Denton, N. Y. Two children were born. His daughter is now the wife
of Mr. Albert H. Horton, of Johnson, N. Y., and his son, Sydney
Denton, is engaged in business in Salt Lake City.
THE FABRIKOID COMPANY of Newburgh is among the most important
industries of Orange County. It was established in 1902 and
incorporated under the present title with the following officials:
John Aspinwall, president; George H. May, secretary and treasurer;
J. Kearney Rodgers, general sales manager. The product of the plant
is chiefly an imitation leather called Fabrikoid, which finds a ready
market all over the world. Bronze paint and lacquers are also
manufactured. The growth of this business has been very rapid and the
plant now covers twenty-five acres and consists of forty-nine
buildings.
THE FANCHER FAMILY--Elias Fancher, who was born in Darien, Conn.,
January 19, 1793, came to Warwick in early boyhood with his father,
who bought the Van Houghton farm with the stone house, which is still
standing, was built in 1795. He married Miss Sarah Jones, who was
born in Warwick September 10, 1795. They had eight children, only two
of whom are living, Darius and Julia. The latter, born December 15,
1831, is the wife of Wisner Wood, of Paterson, N. J. Darius was born
March 22, 1836, and has always been identified with agriculture since
he left the district school. He married Sarah Catharine Sayer, of
Warwick. The names of their live children are, Edwin, Sayer, Clinton
W., Frank and Lillie. Edwin is a practicing physician in Middletown,
N. Y., and Sayer is in a wholesale grocery in the same place. Clinton
conducts a dry goods store and Frank is in the feed business in
Goshen. Lillie is the wife of Wilham A. Bradner, of Warwick. Their
father, Darius, remains the good farmer and esteemed citizen that he
has been since his young manhood.
HENRY H. FARNUM, of Port Jervis, member of the board of supervisors,
was born and educated in this city. He is a son of Peter E. and Mary
R. (Conkling) Farnum, and conducts an extensive business in real
estate and insurance. Following the incorporation of Port Jervis as a
city in 1907. Mr. Farnum was nominated and elected on the Republican
ticket a member of the board of supervisors. He takes an active
interest in public affairs of Orange County, is a member of the Deer
Park Club, of which he is a treasurer. Mr. Farnum married Ruth Smith,
of Port Jervis, and they have one son, Henry H., Jr.
JACOB R. FEAGLES was born on the Feagles homestead March 31, 1863,
and since his school days has been a farmer. His first wife's maiden
name was Miss Belle Hyatt, of Warwick, and they were married December
5, 1889. His second marriage was to Mrs. Emma J. Vealy, of Amity,
October 25, 1893. Five children have been the fruit of the second
marriage--Jacob H., George W., Mary Elizabeth, Henry Barney and Emma.
Mr. Feagles has been on his present farm twenty-one years, and is an
extensive peach grower and a dairy farmer. He belongs to Amity Grange
No. 1001.
DR. JAMES FRANCIS FERGUSON, founder of the widely known sanitarium
"Falkirk," was born in New York City October 10, 1830, and died at
his home near Central Valley, Orange County, N. Y., January 6, 1904.
He graduated from the medical department of the University of New
York in 1861 and from Bellevue Medical College in 1862.
Dr. Ferguson served with the Second New York Militia during the Civil
War. At Blackburn's Ford, at the first battle of Bull Run, he was
wounded and taken to Libby Prison, but was later released on parole
through the efforts of his mother. As major and surgeon of the 165th
New York Volunteers (Second Duryea Zouaves), he was again mustered
into the service September 9, 1862, served with General Banks in
Louisiana, was present at the battle of Pine Stores, and at the siege
of Port Hudson was in charge of a field hospital. He was afterward
provost surgeon in New Orleans and served in the campaigns in the
Teche country, and was discharged at Franklin, La., in 1864. He was
brevetted lieutenant-colonel of New York Volunteers.
The professional appointments of Dr. Ferguson were as follows:
Attending surgeon, Bellevue, 1870-1871; visiting surgeon to
Blackwell's Island Hospital, 1872-1892; visiting physician to the
Hospital for Nervous Diseases, 1886-1892, and consulting physician of
the Charity (now City) Hospital, from 1892 to the time of his death.
Dr. Ferguson was a member of the Bellevue Hospital Alumni, the
Medical Society of the County of New York, the New York Academy of
Medicine, New York Neurological Society, Military Order of the Loyal
Legion, the Army and Navy Club, Lotus Club, Kane Lodge, No. 454,
F. & A. M., Jerusalem Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M., Coeur de Lion
Commandery, No. 23, K. T., and a thirty-third degree Scottish Rite
Mason.
JOHN H. FLANAGAN, who for many years has been extensively engaged in
the cultivation of choice vegetables for the New York market, has
achieved much success in this line of business. He was born in
Ireland in 1843, came to America in 1851, and seven years later
engaged in truck farming. Mr. Flanagan is actively interested in
business affairs at Newburgh. He was one of the promoters of the
Columbus Trust Company and has been a member of the board of
directors since the organization of this solid financial institution.
He has also acquired much real estate in Newburgh and has served four
years as a member of the board of public works.
Mr. Flanagan was united in marriage with Miss Shields and seven
children were born to them.
CHARLES T. FORD--Among the citizens of Orange County who by their own
efforts have achieved unusual success, Mr. Ford, of Central Valley,
occupies a prominent place. He is a son of Charles T. and Martha
(Weygant) Ford and was born at Southfield in 1844. He attended public
and private schools, supplemented by a course at Claverack Institute
and Poughkeepsie Business College. In 1867 he was manager of the iron
works at Southfield and four years later was conducting a charcoal
furnace in Michigan. Losing heavily in the panic of 1873 he returned
to Orange County and was appointed station agent at Turners. In 1881
he began his career as a railroad contractor, his first work being
for the West Shore Railroad, excavating and building the retaining
wall through the city of Newburgh between North and South streets.
From Newburgh he went to Albany, and thence to Rochester, building
five miles of road. He received the contract for grading on the Port
Jervis Railroad from Rhodesdale to Huguenot, and also laid the track
and ballasted the entire line. His next work was building the North
Dam of Tuxedo Park, after which he graded eleven miles of the
Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad. Mr. Ford continued construction
for many years for various railroads.
Since 1898 he has personally superintended the construction of all
improvements for Mr. E. H. Harriman on his Arden property, including
the erection of his mansion, not yet completed. During this time
there were constructed a drainage canal three miles long and the
course of the Ramapo straightened from Turners to Arden. Not the
least of these improvements has been the Panchot system of forestry,
the building of an incline railway 3,300 feet long from Arden to Mr.
Harriman's house and twenty-five miles of roads for driving about the
estate.
Mr. Ford has also built over one hundred miles of state roads in
Orange County and has charge of maintaining of all the state roads in
the county limited by yearly appropriations.
Mr. Ford is a director on the board of the Arden Farms Dairy Co., and
as Mr. Harriman's confidential man here his duties are multitudinous.
The Arden property comprises some 20,000 acres of land and there are
650 men employed thereon.
In 1868 Mr. Ford married Miss Josephine McKelvey. Three children were
born, J. Barlow, Bertha and Harriet Louise.
Active in republican politics, Mr. Ford is a recognized leader in
public affairs of his town and county.
HENRY T. FORD, merchant and postmaster at Central Valley, N. Y., was
born in 1866, a son of Benjamin and Frances C. (Denniston) Ford.
After finishing his schooling he conducted a store at Woodbury for
six years, and in 1897 purchased the grocery business of George D.
Wood at Central Valley, which he has continued with much success. Mr.
Ford was appointed postmaster July 15, 1899.
WILLIAM FOSTER, retired manufacturer and prominent citizen of
Newburgh, was born in England in 1841. He was engaged as a school
teacher in his native country for a period of five years, and in
1867 came to America as selling agent for James Taylor, who was
subsequently proprietor of the Newburgh Woolen Mills. He continued in
this capacity until 1888, when upon the death of James Taylor, Mr.
Foster and James S. Taylor purchased the plant and conducted the
business with much success until 1902. The establishment was then
incorporated as the Stroock Plush Company, Mr. Foster holding the
office of vice-president. He was also vice-president of the Stroock
Felt Company until 1906. He has been a director of the National Bank
of Newburgh since 1895.
Mr. Foster takes an active part in promoting the welfare of
Newburgh's charitable institutions. He is president of the Associated
Charities, trustee of the home for the Friendless, and member of the
board of managers of St. Luke's Hospital. In religious affiliations
he is identified with the Church of the Good Shepherd, holding the
office of warden.
Mr. Foster married Mary Ann Taylor and seven children were born to
them, of whom four are living.
ANSON J. FOWLER, attorney of Walden and Newburgh, was born in Walden,
N. Y., in 1878. He was educated at New Paltz Normal School and was
engaged in the mercantile business at Walden, five years. He read law
in Newburgh, and was admitted to the bar in 1905.
Mr. Fowler is president of the Electric Light Co., Walden, and a
director of the Walden National Bank. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and I. O. O. F. He is a son of Nicholas J. and Elizabeth
(Millspaugh) Fowler.
NICHOLAS JANSEN FOWLER, of English and Welsh descent, son of Peter
Hill Fowler and Anna Jansen Fowler, was born on the ancestral
homestead near the village of Montgomery, N. Y., May 9, 1847. He
attended the famous Montgomery Academy, also the Monticello Academy.
After graduating, he was associated with G. Fred Wiltsie, in business
at Newburgh-on-Hudson. In 1868, Mr. Fowler located at Walden, N. Y.,
opening the first hardware store in the village, which he continued
for thirty years.
He was the original organizer of the Wallkill Valley Electric Light
and Power Company, of which for many years he was president; was one
of the original incorporators of the National Bank of Walden and one
of its officers until recent years. For many years he has been
vice-president of the Walden Savings Bank; is connected with the
First Reformed Church of Walden and Wallkill Lodge, F. and A. M., of
which he was treasurer for over twenty years. He was a charter member
of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association, serving many years as
its treasurer and doing much to establish it.
Mr. Fowler married Miss Elizabeth Millspaugh, daughter of the late
Joseph G. Millspaugh, of Walden, N. Y., May 29, 1872, Three sons were
born to them. The eldest, Joseph M., of Kingston, an attorney of
distinction, who has represented his district in the legislative hall
at Albany; Anson J., an attorney having offices at Newburgh and
Walden, who enjoys a large legal business; Fred, who has been highly
successful in the electric light and telephone interests of Walden
and adjacent villages. Mr. Fowler has been confined to his home for
several years.
THOMAS POWELL FOWLER, president of the New York, Ontario and Western
Railway Company, was born in Newburgh, October 26, 1851. His father,
Isaac Sebring Fowler, was a descendant of Isaac Fowler, who settled
near that city in 1747. His mother, Mary Ludlow Powell, was the
daughter of Robert Ludlow Powell, who was the son of Thomas Powell,
long prominent in the affairs of the Empire State, and one of the
most successful men of his time.
Mr. Fowler's childhood was spent at Newburgh. He received his early
education at Siglar's School, Newburgh, and College Hill,
Poughkeepsie, after which he studied abroad for nearly two years,
spending most of his time in Germany. Returning to New York, he
entered the banking house of Morton, Bliss & Co., then Morton, Burns
& Co, where he acquired a general knowledge of financial affairs. He
studied law under Prof. Theo. D. Dwight, at the Columbia College law
school, entering the junior class of that institution October 21,
1872. He graduated in May, 1874, receiving the degree of Bachelor of
Laws.
In 1881 Mr. Fowler was elected director of the Chenango and Allegheny
Railroad. In 1884 we find him a director of the West Pennsylvania and
Chenango Connecting Railroads. On March 15 of the same year he was
appointed receiver of the Chenango and Allegheny Railroad and the
Mercer Coal and Iron Co. On March 31 following Mr. Fowler was elected
director of the New York, Ontario and Western. In 1886 he was elected
president. He has also served as director in the boards of the East
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad and other corporations.
Mr. Fowler occupies his country place in the village of Warwick
during the summer months. In 1876 he married Isabelle, eldest
daughter of Benjamin F. Dunning, an eminent New York lawyer and for
many years a partner of Charles O'Conor.
WILLIAM J. FOWLER, a prominent and progressive fruit farmer of the
town of Newburgh, resides at the homestead where his grandfather,
Peter V. B. Fowler, was born in 1800. He is a son of Henry D. and
Anna (Du Bois) Fowler, who for many years cultivated this valuable
property and were prominent in church and social affairs. W. J.
Fowler was born in 1862. He attended the schools of Middlehope and
then took the English course at Tivoli Military School, from which he
graduated. He spent two years at Newburgh in Eli Hasbrouck's dry
goods establishment, and in 1881 purchased his farm of forty-two
acres and undertook the cultivation of fruit, in which he has been
uniformly successful. In 1905 he purchased his father's farm of
fifty-six acres. Mr. Fowler was school trustee twelve years, highway
commissioner eight years, and has served as town collector. He is
treasurer of Cronomer Valley Grange.
JAMES FULLAGAR, contractor and builder, Newburgh, N. Y., was born in
England in 1828, Attended the schools at Headcorn and learned the
carpenter's trade there. He lived for a number of years in the West
End of London, where he and his brother conducted an artists' lodging
house. In 1850 he sailed for America, coming directly to Newburgh,
where he engaged in his trade with his uncle, with whom he later
formed a partnership which existed four years. He then engaged in
real estate and building on his own account, and in the period from
1855 to 1902 erected for himself one hundred homes in Newburgh. He
has since disposed of these with the exception of thirty houses. Mr.
Fullagar is possessed of deep religious convictions and for forty
years has devoted a portion of his time to preaching the gospel.
December 20, 1860, he married Miss Elizabeth Hoase, of New Windsor.
Four children have been born to them, three of whom are still living.
NICHOLAS I. FURMAN was born at Spring Valley, town of Ramapo,
Rockland County, N. Y., March 29, 1835, and died at Warwick, N. Y.,
April 3, 1908. He was in school and on the farm until eighteen years
of age, when he engaged in the lumber business. His railroad career
began as a switchman for the Erie Railroad at Suffern, N. Y., where
he was soon promoted from track to train service. In 1860 he went to
Port Jervis, N. Y., was in Newburgh a year, and in 1869 moved to
Warwick, N. Y., continuing in train service until 1882. In that year
he was assistant superintendent for a short time, and superintendent
of the Lehigh & Hudson from 1882 to 1893. Mr. Furman has been an
influential Republican. He was a member of the Republican county
committee three years during the McKinley administration, and was a
delegate to the state convention that nominated the late Governor
Higgins. He was a member of Port Jervis Lodge, No. 328, F. & A. M.,
Warwick Chapter, No. 186, and Delaware Commandery, No. 44. He was
president of the Warwick Cemetery Association, second vice-president
of the Warwick Savings Bank, and, in general terms, a wide-awake,
helpful and highly esteemed citizen. He attended the Reformed Dutch
Church. Mr. Furman's first wife was Rachel A. Westervelt, who died in
1872. His second wife was Mary E. Hynard, of Warwick. He has had no
children.
FRANCIS K. GAFFNEY was born in New York City in 1871. At the age of
seventeen he became the youngest fireman, probably, on the New York
& New Haven Railroad. After stoking over its rails for a year or
more, he was placed in charge of a switch engine in the yard. He left
the railroad and went at stationary engineering in New York City for
three years. Then he accepted a position in Jacksonville, Fla., and
set up two engines for the Street Railroad Co., thus driving out the
old mule tramway from the city of Jacksonville. At the completion of
this southern plant he returned to New York and assisted at the
erection of the large Allis engines for the Lexington Avenue cable
road. From there he was ordered to Detroit to assist at the building
of the plant of the Detroit Citizens' Street Railway. He was then
employed as engineer of the plant after it was completed, later as
chief engineer in charge. This plant was at that time one of the
largest in the West. After two years services here, in which time he
was married, he resigned and came east, accepted a position with the
Kingston Consolidated Traction Co. as chief engineer. He was in this
position for five years, then accepted a position as chief engineer
for the Queens Borough Gas & Electric Co., New York City, also in
charge of the new construction at this plant. After the completion of
this new work he went in the employ of the Floy Engineering Co., of
New York, and took charge of the electrical end of the construction
of a new hydro-electric plant on the Neversink River. At the
completion of this work he went with the Public Service Corporation
of New Jersey as chief of their Morristown Division. He was then
employed as electrical construction expert for the New York & New
Jersey Tile Co., and is now identified with the Orange County
Lighting Co. Under his management the plant has largely improved.
WILLIAM T. GALLAWAY was born in the town of Newburgh, Orange County,
N. Y., August 13, 1826. He attended the district school in Newburgh
and at an early age went on the farm and has always been identified
in agricultural pursuits. His father was Zachariah D. and mother
Catherine (Thompson) Gallaway. Mr. Gallaway operated a hotel at
Scotchtown and Circleville for several years, and also one in
Minnesota.
He married Elizabeth Fondy, of Montgomery, who is still living. To
this union were born four children. Albert died in infancy, William
S., Abraham and Mary K., wife of James Hamm, of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
died in 1907. In politics Mr. Gallaway is a Democrat.
IRA M. GARDNER was born at Johnson, Orange County, December 20, 1883.
His parents were Merit H. C. Gardner (deceased), and Belle (Howell)
Gardner. He attended country schools at Stewarttown and Westtown
during his early years; later, having removed to Middletown, he
entered the public schools of that city, graduating with the class of
1903.
He studied law in the office of Henry W. and Russell Wiggins until
October, 1904, when he entered the New York Law School, graduating in
1906, and being admitted to the bar in the same year.
He has spent one year in practice in New York City, connected with
the Lawyers' Title Insurance Company.
SAMUEL H. GARISS, ex-president of the village of Port Jervis, was
born in Sussex County, N. J., in 1849, and died at his home, December
10, 1907. At the age of nineteen he came to Tri-States and entered
the employ of W. A. Drake as bookkeeper. During the twenty-two years
that he occupied this position he was able to conduct a livery
business in partnership with Hiram Marion, also operating a grist and
saw mill in Flatbrookville. From 1884 to 1888 he was postmaster of
Tri-States. In 1890 Mr. Gariss came to Germantown and established a
grocery store. In 1901 he retired from this business and it became
the property of his son, Samuel Emmet Gariss and S. G. Blackman.
Politically Mr. Gariss was a staunch Democrat; he served as trustee
of Port Jervis village and in 1903 was elected village president and
re-elected in 1905. He was elected a member of the board of
supervisors in 1907 by a large majority and would have assumed his
duties January 1, 1908. He was one of the elders of the Second
Reformed Church since its organization.
In 1875 Mr. Gariss married Charity Estelle Cole, and they were the
parents of two children, Samuel Emmet and Olive Zadie.
ASAHEL B. GARRISON, dealer in coal, feed, farm implements, etc., at
Walden. N. Y., is numbered among the progressive young business men
of Orange County. He is a son of Gerow and Elnora (Seymour) Garrison,
residents of the town of Newburgh, where Asahel B. was born in 1884.
His education was obtained at Claverack Institute and Hackettstown
Seminary. The business to which Mr. Garrison succeeded was
established by Taylor & Bateman early in the 70's. They were followed
by Hasbrouck & Sloan, who disposed of their interests to Mr. Garrison
January 1, 1907.
JOHN Y. GEROW, son of Justis Cooley and Phoebe H. (Young) Gerow, was
born in 1856 in Ulster County. N. Y. When he was three years of age
his parents removed to the Thomas Pope farm in the town of New
Windsor, Orange County. It was here John Y. grew to manhood, aiding
his father on the farm. He is now the owner of the Pope farm of 170
acres, the Barnet farm of 125 acres and the David Wright farm of 100
acres at Washingtonville, where he has resided since 1904. Mr. Gerow
is senior member of the firm of Gerow & Felter, large cattle dealers.
As past master of Pomona Grange Mr. Gerow enjoys a wide acquaintance
throughout the state, and the flourishing condition of that
organization in Orange County to-day is largely due to his untiring
efforts as an organizer and promoter, demonstrating clearly to the
farmer wherein he can better his condition. A review of the Grange
in Orange County, which appears elsewhere in this work, was furnished
by Mr. Gerow.
JOSEPH C. GEROW, a representative citizen of the town of Blooming
Grove, was born in the town of Hamptonburgh, Orange County, in 1854.
He is the youngest son of the late Elias and Sarah M. (Cooper) Gerow.
The ancestors of the Gerow family settled in Plattekill, Ulster
County, N. Y. Gilbert H. Gerow, grandfather of Joseph C, was the
first of that name whose birth occurred in Orange County. His parents
had located on what is known as the Crawford farm in the town of
Blooming Grove. It was here that Gilbert H. grew to manhood and
married Annie Cooley. Seven children were born to them, of whom Elias
was the eldest. He was born in 1813 and lived to the advanced age of
ninety-two years. He resided for a time in Hamptonburgh, but most of
his life was spent in his native town, where he was successfully
engaged in farming. Joseph C. Gerow, after finishing his studies at
public and select schools, remained on the farm assisting his father.
His farm of 150 acres is located in one of the best agricultural
regions of Orange County. He deals extensively in agricultural
implements, wind mills, etc. By appointment of the court he has
charge of the George Washington Tuthill estate. He married Miss
Jennie, daughter of Rev. Warren Hathaway, and they have eight
children living. Their son, Percy, assists his father in the
management of his business. As school trustee Mr. Gerow has been
active in promoting educational interests in the town of Blooming
Grove.
THOMAS B. GIBSON, who is serving his third term as postmaster of the
village of Walden, was born in Newburgh, N. Y., in 1859; a son of
Thomas and Sarah (Eager) Gibson. He learned the tailor's trade and in
1883 accepted the position of cutter for the firm of Wooster &
Stoddard at Walden. In 1895 he was elected town clerk and re-elected
in 1897, resigning to accept the postmaster-ship under President
McKinley's administration. He has been twice reappointed by President
Roosevelt. He is a member of the Republican County Committee and
active in promoting the interest of his party. Socially Mr. Gibson is
a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Order of American
Mechanics.
WILLIAM H. GILLESPIE, of Walden, is a descendant of one of Orange
County's old families. He was born May 28, 1855, a son of Renwick and
Caroline Augusta (Smith) Gillespie and is engaged in the cultivation
of the farm which was a portion of the Gatehouse patent. This farm
contains the trotting course and part of the land has been divided
into building lots. Renwick Gillespie, who died in 1904 in his
eightieth year, was one of Walden's most respected and influential
citizens. He was born in the town of Montgomery, a son of Abram
Gillespie and grandson of Samuel Gillespie, who with his father David
came from Scotland and settled near Pine Bush, Orange County,
previous to the Revolutionary war. David Smith, who was the first
settler on the Gatehouse patent, was grandfather of Mr. Renwick
Gillespie's wife, and in 1859 Renwick Gillespie purchased
seventy-three acres of this land and erected a commodious home. He is
survived by his wife and three children.
W. STANTON GLEASON, M.D., was born at Sag Harbor, L. I., July 24,
1860; academic education at Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Mass.,
and at Amherst College; graduate University of New York, 1866; he
began practice, Newburgh, N. Y., 1887; member County, Newburgh Bay
and State Medical Societies; American Medical Association and New
York Academy of Medicine. Attending physician St. Luke's Hospital;
consulting physician Highland Hospital; president Board Pension
Examining Surgeons; member Masonic fraternity and Knights Templar;
ex-member Newburgh Board of Education. He is a son of Rev. W. H.
Gleason, D.D., for several years pastor of American Reformed Church,
Newburgh. In 1888 Dr. Gleason married Grace, daughter of the late
Senator J. W. Hoysradt, of Hudson, N. Y. He has one child, Charles B.
Gleason, born June 22, 1900.
J. OGDEN GOBLE was born May 30, 1865, on the homestead farm, one mile
from Florida. His father was William Timelo and mother Jane Miller.
There was one child, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Coble's father
died February 19, 1883, and his mother died October 3, 1905. J. Ogden
attended the Washington Academy and Seward Institute, and at the age
of eighteen, upon the death of his father, took charge of the home
farm, which he has since conducted. He married Miss Carrie Stevens,
of Florida, April 17, 1889. They had one child, who died in infancy.
Mr. Goble has served as inspector of election for a period of
twenty-three years. He was master of Florida Grange No. 1053 for two
years and is now its secretary.
CHARLES T. GOODRICH, born Newburgh, N. Y., December 5, 1846; learned
machinist's trade in Washington Iron Works, and engaged for a time
with Erie Railroad in various positions. In 1865 was victim of
railroad wreck, which physically disabled him for life. Studied
telegraphy and was employed by the Western Union Co. in New York,
Newburgh and elsewhere. Has acted as correspondent for New York
dailies for many years and also connected with local papers. Since
1870 Mr. Goodrich has been engaged in real estate and fire insurance
business, and interested in several local business institutions. He
is prominently identified with Knights of Pythias. In 1881 he married
Hattie F., daughter of Capt. Isaac Jenkinson.
HON. LOUIS F. GOODSELL, of Highland Falls, who was State senator from
the Twenty-third New York District, 1898 to 1906, was born January
30, 1846. His education was obtained at Tracey's (now Holbrook's)
Military Academy, at Sing Sing, N. Y. While at school and but
seventeen years of age, Mr. Goodsell enlisted in Company F,
Forty-seventh New York Volunteers, and went to war. He was mustered
out with the regiment, August 30, 1865. He then re-entered school,
and in May, 1867, graduated from the Poughkeepsie Business College.
After spending two years in Omaha, Neb., he was a resident of
Newburgh from 1869 to 1878. He spent five years in Savannah, Ga., and
in 1885 was engaged in the oil business in Chicago, and the lumber
business in Ottumwa, Iowa. He disposed of his interests in both
places in 1887 to his partners and returned to his native town.
Early in life Mr. Goodsell became a firm believer in the principles
of the Republican party, and has always fought with the greatest
enthusiasm for the party's success at the polls. His superior ability
as a political leader soon became recognized. He was a member of the
Board of Supervisors eighteen years, and in 1894 was elected a member
of assembly from the First District of Orange County. He was
re-elected to the Assembly in 1895, 1896 and 1897. In 1898 he was
elected State senator from the Twenty-third District, and was
re-elected to that office in 1900, 1902 and 1904.
Mr. Goodsell's career as a legislator was eminently successful. A
tireless worker, he devoted his efforts to furthering the interests
of this district. Since his retirement from political life, he has
cheerfully extended a helping hand to republican aspirants for public
office. Mr. Goodsell married Miss Frances A. Parry, and two children,
Harry and Edith, were born, both residents of Highland Falls.
EDGAR M. GORDON, of the hardware firm of Malven & Gordon, of Port
Jervis, N. Y., was born December 22, 1850, at Cuddebackville, Orange
County, N. Y. He obtained his early education at the district school
in his locality and at Port Clinton, N. Y. He started at an early age
as clerk in the canal store at Neversink Locks, where he remained for
three years. He then served two years at the same place as telegraph
operator. September 1, 1869, he came to Port Jervis, and clerked for
St. John & Malven. About 1875 he purchased a half interest in the
hardware store of George Malven. Mr. Gordon was married to Miss Ann
Amelia Malven, daughter of George Malven, in June, 1877. Three
children were born to this union, George M., Wilbur and Samuel, all
residing at home. Mr. Gordon is a republican and in 1900 was elected
supervisor of census of his congressional district. He is a member of
the Mt. William Lodge, K. of P., is identified with the Reformed
Dutch Church and is superintendent of the Sunday-school.
REV. C. GORSE was born in the town of Fulton, Schoharie County,
N. Y., June 4, 1815. He was the eldest of four children of Robert and
Mary Gorse, who owned a large farm in that township. The father of
Robert Gorse was Ephraim, who spelled the name Goss, being of English
extraction, a descendant of Sir John Goss, and a soldier of the
Revolution who, having been wounded, perished in the rigors of the
encampment at Valley Forge. Having acquired a common school
education, he taught school during the winters, laying the foundation
of a rugged constitution by working for his father on the farm during
the summers, until having attained the age of manhood, he went to the
theological seminary at Albany, joining the New York Conference in
1840. He resided in Newburgh at the time of his death, May 31, 1892,
at the ripe age of seventy-nine. He was married on August 31, 1836,
to Eleanor Louise Ireland, a daughter of Rev. Thomas Ireland, a
descendant of Sir John Ireland, the former being a pioneer in the
Albany circuit and a resident of Ireland Corners, New Albany. Of this
marriage there were born three children: Dr. C. A. Gorse, of
Cornwall; Mrs. Conrad Russ, of Albany, and Miss Louisa Virginia, for
fifteen years organist of the Church of the Corner Stone and music
teacher of Newburgh during the residence of her parents there and
subsequently of Poughkeepsie, and organist of the Reformed Church at
New Paltz. Rev. and Mrs. Gorse celebrated their golden wedding in
Newburgh in 1886, when there was a distinguished company of the
clergy with friends and relatives present, who expressed their high
esteem for his moral and religious, character.
DR. CHARLES ASBURY GORSE was born at Roxbury, Delaware County. N. Y.,
July 12, 1841. He was the only son of the Rev. Charles Gorse and
Eleanor Louise Ireland, his wife. By this union there were also two
sisters, Eleanor Victoria, wife of Conrad Russ, of Albany, N. Y., and
Louisa Virginia, single, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. The doctor was
educated at Poultney, Vermont, Charlotteville, Amenia, and
Warnerville seminaries in this State, after which he taught schools
at Stamford, Conn., Patchogue, L. I., Margaretville and Prattsville,
N. Y., the last three being very successful private schools. He went
from the latter place in 1861 to attend the Medical Department of the
New York University, from which he graduated March 4, 1864. He
practiced at Barngall, Dutchess County, Brooklyn, L. I., New
Providence, N. J., Newark, N. J., about two years at each, prior to
coming to Vail's Gate, N. Y., in 1872, where he remained until his
marriage on June 12, 1878, to Sarah Elizabeth Brooks, only daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Brooks, of Bethlehem, where he has practiced
his profession ever since. Of this union there were born three
children, Charles Victor, Virginia Elizabeth and Robert Sylvester.
The doctor has served as town physician for the towns of Cornwall and
New Windsor for several years at various periods, and also as health
officer for the latter town. One of his ancestors, Ephraim Goss, was
a soldier of the Revolution. The doctor has always been a staunch
republican, casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln on his second
election.
JOHN H. GRAHAM, who for many years was one of the representative
farmers and dairymen of the town of Montgomery, was born there in
1822 and died in 1906. He was a son of William and Hannah (Houston)
Graham, natives of Orange County. William Graham was an active
democrat and served his town as assessor and supervisor. He was also
a member of assembly and declined the nomination for State Senator.
John H. Graham remained at home until the death of his father, when
he inherited a part of the homestead and subsequently purchased the
interest of the other heirs. He was a man well read and much
interested in public affairs, always taking an active part in
promoting the welfare of the democratic party. Though not an
office-seeker, he was at one time nominated for member of assembly.
In 1856 he was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Young, of
Neelytown. The farm, which comprises one hundred and eighty acres, is
now conducted by his nephew, Mr. Charles H. Graham, who is numbered
among the progressive citizens of Orange County.
EDWARD DAVIS GREEN was born July 18, 1856, at Chester, N. Y. His
parents were Edward and Elizabeth Davis. To this union were born four
sons and four daughters, only two of whom are now living, Edward D.
and Charles.
Our subject obtained his education at the Chester Academy and at
Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mr. Green has always
been identified with agricultural pursuits. He married Clara Hadden,
of Chester, N. Y., November 20, 1877. Their one child died in
infancy, and the wife died in 1888.
In politics Mr. Green is a republican and has served as road
commissioner four years. He is a member of the Chester Grange and the
Presbyterian Church.
GEORGE W. GREEN--Among the older business houses of Newburgh is the
book and stationery store of George W. Green, which was established
at 47 Water street by Mr. Green, November 1, 1869. May 1, 1886, he
moved to his present quarters at 65 and 67 Water street. Mr. Green
was born in Newburgh in 1840. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and trustee of the Newburgh Savings Bank.
ISRAEL Y. GREEN was born April 30, 1817, and died August 20, 1876.
His early education was acquired at the district school. He was a
democrat and served the town as supervisor for several years. Mr.
Green was married to Mary Jane (McBride) Drake, of Minisink, widow of
Joshua Drake, who died November 21, 1857. There were four children
born to them: Sarah F., wife of John Fields, Jr., of Otisville; Myra,
wife of Thomas F. Knapp, of Jersey City; Israel, who died at Staten
Island in 1901, and one child, who died in infancy.
SAMUEL GREEN was born at Ringwood, Passaic County, N. J., December
18, 1840, being the second of six children of Henry and Mary Green.
He attended the district school at Edenville, Orange County, and for
three years attended the Seward Institute, Florida. He then learned
the trade of blacksmithing in his father's shop. He was a village
trustee from 1864 to 1879. He is now an active member of the Florida
fire department, which he helped organize in 1885, and was one of the
incorporators of the Florida water system, which cost $23,000.
He is a member of Warwick Lodge No. 544, F. and A. M., of which he
was master two years; member of Midland Chapter No. 240, of
Middletown, and Cypress Commandery No. 67.
Mr. Green's wife is Mary E. Miller, of Florida, to whom he was
married September 6, 1866. They have had eight children, five of whom
are living. Addie, wife of Fred Roe; Jeanette, wife of William
Creeden; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Kortright; Edith, wife of William
Boyd; and Fred, who resides at home.
WILLIAM H. GREEN, postmaster and merchant at Slate Hill, N. Y., is a
native of the town of Warwick, N. Y., and established his present
business in 1883. He was appointed postmaster under Cleveland in
1884; had charge of the post-office under Harrison, and was
re-appointed postmaster in 1892, during Cleveland's second term. His
present appointment dates from June 25, 1900. Mr. Green has served
two terms as town collector, and one term as poor master. Green's
Hall is utilized for the transaction of the affairs of the town of
Wawayanda.
WILLIAM R. GREEN was born January 12, 1859, on the homestead farm
between Chester and Florida. He attended school at the Somerville
district school, Chester Academy and Eastman's College, Poughkeepsie,
N. Y. He married Anna May Dill, of Burnside, N. Y., November 12,
1890. Their one child, Josephine, was born February 29, 1892. Mr.
Green was twice married, his first wife having died May 27, 1894. He
married for a second wife Clara B. Tuthill, of Goshen, June 1, 1898.
To this union were born two children, Irene Tuthill, and William R.,
Jr. In politics Mr. Green is a republican. He is a member of the
Grange and the Chester Presbyterian church.
OSCAR S. GREENLEAF, proprietor of the Greenleaf Hotel of Otisville,
N. Y., was born July 16, 1876. He is a son of John E. Greenleaf, born
September 15, 1852, and Sarah Jennie (Shaw) Greenleaf, born August
16, 1853. In 1884 John E. Greenleaf rented the hotel, then known as
the Blizzard House, and conducted it two years, after which he
purchased the Washington Hotel, which he continued until his death,
April 22, 1894. His wife died March 25, 1905.
There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. John E. Greenleaf,
Charles D., born September 28, 1874, superintendent of the Borden
Creamery at Thompson, Pa.; Grace M., wife of Charles Hoyt, of Mount
Hope, born March 15, 1878; Edwin H. born July 22, 1880, residing at
Newburgh, N. Y., plant superintendent of the Hudson River Telephone
Company; Lillian, born May 22, 1882, residing in New York City;
Frank B., born August 8, 1884, assistant agent of Erie Railroad at
Otisville, N. Y.; James Acker, born June 6, 1886, and Oscar S.
The primary education of our subject was obtained at the district
school at Mapledale in the town of Wallkill, after which he assisted
his father in the hotel until his death. He then assumed the
management of the hotel. Mr. Greenleaf was united in marriage to Miss
Mary E. Craig, daughter of A. J. and Mary Etta Craig, of Otisville,
N. Y., May 6, 1903. One child has blessed this union, Oscar B., born
March 27, 1905. Socially Mr. Greenleaf is a member of Hoffman Lodge
No. 412, F. and A. M., of Middletown, N. Y., and Midland Chapter No.
240, R. A. M. In politics he is a republican.
JOHN L. GREGORY, one of Middletown's representative and esteemed
citizens, was born September 28, 1841, at Monroe, Orange County,
N. Y. His father was John S. and mother Nancy R. (Strong) Gregory.
Mr. Gregory attained his early education at the academy at Monroe.
After his schooling he learned the harness trade with his father, who
died in 1906 at the age of eighty-eight years. The son assumed
control of the business, which he conducted successfully for twenty
years. His mother died in 1905 at the age of sixty-five years. Mr.
Gregory came to Middletown and erected a handsome flat building
called the "Gregorian," and is largely identified in real estate
interests in the city. He married Angeline Babcock, of Monroe,
November 27, 1877. Five children have been born to this union, Anna
Louise, born August 17, 1878; Ruth B., born July 31, 1880; C. Alice,
born June 18, 1886; and Marguerite, born August 18, 1896. Mr. Gregory
and his estimable wife are members of St. Paul's church. In politics
he is a republican.
ANDREW J. GUMAER was born at Godeffroy, Orange County, N. Y.,
November 4, 1833. His parents were Peter E. Gumaer and Ester
Cuddeback. Our subject obtained his education at the district school
and the Goshen Academy. After his schooling he worked in a general
store and on the farm at Godeffroy. In 1872 he removed to Guymard,
this county, and opened a general store, which he has since
continued.
He married for his first wife Anna E. Strong, October 8, 1862,
daughter of Augustus and Mary (Comstock) Strong. They had one child,
who died in infancy. Mr. Gumaer chose for his second wife Adelia P.
Strong, January 4, 1868. To this union were born three children,
William J., Andrew and Annie E. In politics Mr. Gumaer is
independent. The family attend the Dutch Reformed Church.
CHAUNCEY I. GUMAER was born February 20, 1860, at Godeffroy, Orange
County, N. Y. He attended the district school, after which he removed
to Alma, Colorado, in 1879, engaging in the general mercantile
business for a period of twenty-three years. He was also identified
with mining at the same place. He returned to Orange County in 1902,
and has since been engaged in mining at Guymard, for the Guymard
Lead and Zinc Mining Company, of which Mr. Gumaer is president, he
married Miss Bell Graham, of Westtown, for his first wife, and she
died in Colorado. For his second wife he married Alma G. Petterson,
of Alma, Colorado. Their three children are Lucile G.. Helen J. and
Alma M. In politics Mr. Gumaer is independent. His father, Peter L.
Gumaer, was born January 29, 1827, in the old stone house near
Godeffroy, Orange County, N. Y. When he became fifteen years of age
he engaged in the general merchandise business with his brother,
which they conducted for a period of twenty years. He afterward
removed to Guymard and opened a general store and conducted a summer
hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1892. He has been postmaster at
Guymard since 1865. Mr. Gumaer married Sarah Jane Mulock, of
Greenville, N. Y., in 1853, and she died November 30, 1907. There
were six children born to them, Georgeina I., Laertes W., Chauncey
I., Franklin P., George S. and Marie Louise. Mr. Gumaer was formerly
a member of Hoffman Lodge, F. and A. M. Peter L. Gumaer with his
brothers, built the road connecting the Neversink Valley road with
the Newburgh, Goshen and Carpenter's Point turnpike. They also
constructed the suspension bridge across the Neversink River. It was
through this movement the lead and zinc mines at Guymard were
discovered, which has produced twenty million tons of lead and zinc
ore.
SAMUEL HADDEN, a well known citizen of Chester, N. Y., (a portrait of
whom appears in another part of this volume), is of French Huguenot
descent, and was born in Rockland County, March 19, 1828. His father
died of cholera in 1832, and in 1835 his mother married Edward
Bellamy. They removed to Florida, Orange County, in 1839, where
Samuel attended school and also assisted on the farm. When eighteen
years of age he learned the trade of carriage making at Vail's Gate,
Orange County. On April 12, 1852, he accepted the position of foreman
of James Hallock & Sons carriage manufactory at Sugar Loaf. March 8,
1854, he removed to Chester Depot and purchased the business of Henry
Wood, which he conducted until 1888. He was president of the village
of Chester two terms, has been town collector and supervisor five
terms and for twenty-five years has served as inspector of election.
He joined the Presbyterian Church March 17, 1849, and since that time
has been a consistent and active member, serving as elder of the
church for thirty years. He is a member of the local grange. He
married Eliza Jane McGill, of Cornwall, May 7, 1851, and they have
had three children, Alice J., Clara and Eugene. Clara died at the age
of thirty years. Mr. Hadden's wife died March 10, 1903. His mother's
children, two sons and two daughters by her first husband, and one
son and a daughter by her second, are all dead, excepting Samuel and
John. The mother died in her eighty-first year. Mr. Hadden's farm of
one hundred acres is the farm on which the ancestors of Secretary
Seward were born and raised. This locality was at that time called
Sommerville. He exhibited vehicles at the state fair held in Elmira,
N. Y., in 1855, and secured second premium. His exhibits at the
Orange County fair have always taken first premium.
JESSE HALBERT was born on a farm near Lake, Orange County, August 20,
1842. He and a brother, Albert Ruggles, are the only two living of
the six children of Ezra and Phila Ann Halbert. His mother died in
1844 and his father in 1873. Jesse acquired his education at the
district school, after which he followed agricultural pursuits and
has remained a farmer. He has a dairy farm of two hundred and sixteen
acres and is a breeder of Holstein cattle. He married Miss Emily
Bates, of Morristown, N. J., May 29, 1878, and their two living
children are Ezra, horn May 5, 1879, and Clarence, born July 25,
1881. Another son, Alfred, born January 13, 1883, died January 11,
1900. Ezra and Clarence have three hundred and seventy acres. Ezra is
a member of Warwick Grange, a Republican and an energetic and
progressive farmer.
DR. CHARLES H. HALL, a practicing physician at Monroe, N. Y., was
born in Warwick, Orange County, in 1861. He was educated at the
State Normal School at Albany and received his medical training from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York and the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore. He graduated in 1891 and has
since practiced at Monroe. In 1901 he was appointed surgeon to the
Erie Railroad. Dr. Hall is a member of the county and state medical
societies and enjoys an extensive practice. He married Miss Tillie J.
Mitchell, of New York and three daughters have been born to them. Dr.
Hall is a son of Alva and Dermeda (Hunter) Hall. His ancestors
settled in Orange County previous to the Revolution and took an
active part in the nation's struggle for liberty, his great-grandfather,
John Hall, being a Revolutionary soldier, who, it is supposed, was a
son of Lyman Hall, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence.
GEORGE E. HALLIDAY, of Newburgh, was born in Dutchess County, N. Y.,
in 1874. He has resided in Newburgh since infancy, and was educated
at the schools of this city. In 1887 he associated himself in the
shoe business with J. M. Stoutenburgh, with whom he remained five
years; later with Sol. Cohen, and in 1905 the shoe firm of Halliday
and Van Buren was organized, which continued two years, and in May of
1907 Mr. Halliday opened his present emporium.
Mr. Halliday is identified with the Masonic fraternity, a member of
the Wheelmen's Club, the Canoe and Boating Association and the Orange
Lake Yacht Club.
In 1907 he was united in marriage with Miss Marion, daughter of the
late John Gail Borden, for many years president of the widely known
Borden Condensed Milk Company.
CHARLES E. HAND, a prominent farmer, who resided for many years near
Mountainville, Orange County, N Y., was born in the town of Cornwall
in 1852, and died suddenly February 20, 1908. After finishing his
education at the district and Newburgh schools, he learned the
carpenter's trade. Following his marriage to Miss Emma C Smith, he
purchased a farm in the town of Woodbury. This consisted originally
of three hundred and fifty acres. A portion of this land he sold to
the Erie Railroad for the construction of their new branch.
Politically Mr. Hand was a Republican and took a very active part in
local public matters. He served as school trustee many years, and in
1904 was elected justice of the peace. He was master of the
Mountainville Grange and past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias.
Our subject was a son of Edward S. and Charity (Mailler) Hand. He is
survived by his wife and three children. One son is senior member of
the firm of Hand & Brooks, real estate brokers, of Newburgh, N. Y.
WILLIAM HARER, who conducts a billiard, pool, bowling and cigar
establishment in Highland Falls, purchased this business in 1906
from his uncle, Edward F. Farrell, continuing it with much success.
His father, William Harer, and his mother, who was formerly Miss
Farrell, were old residents of this locality. Our subject was born in
this village in 1882, where he received his education at the public
schools. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and enjoys an
unusual degree of popularity among his fellow citizens.
JAMES HARRISON (deceased), senior member of the firm of Harrison &
Gore, silk manufacturers, Newburgh, N. Y., born Yorkshire, England,
1840. At the age of six years he came with his parents to Newburgh.
After finishing his studies, he engaged with his father in the
manufacture of woolen goods. In 1877 he owned the business, operating
two mills and continued therein until 1892, when he changed his
product to silk and formed a partnership with his son-in-law, Mr.
Gore, and his sons, F. J. Harrison and Jas. Harrison, Jr. Mr.
Harrison was one of the original directors of the Y. M. C. A. and
trustee of Grace M. E. Church. He was twice married; his first wife,
who was Miss Lull, died in 1898. In 1899 he married Mrs. Caroline A.
Foreman (nee Ely), principal of a New York school. Mr. Harrison was a
son of Joshua and Mary A. (Emsley) Harrison, both natives of England.
Mr. Harrison died June 13, 1907.
JOHN J. E. HARRISON, manufacturer, Newburgh, and ex-supervisor Sixth
ward; born Rock City, Dutchess County, May 30, 1846; graduated from
Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie; opened a general store in
West Broadway, Newburgh, 1876, also dealing extensively in fleece
wool. In 1897 he succeeded to the business of the Brown Lime Company,
in which he is at present engaged. Mr. Harrison is a veteran of the
Civil War, was wounded at Devoe's Neck in a skirmish; served in
Company B, Fifty-sixth New York State Volunteers (Tenth Legion);
member Fullerton Post, G. A. R.; identified with Masonic fraternity
and I. O. O. F. In politics Republican. In 1907 he was chosen
chairman of the board of supervisors of Orange County.
WILLIAM C. HART, a prominent agriculturist of East Walden, was born
in the town of Montgomery, December 18, 1843; the only son of Henry
C. and Hannah Jane (Overheiser) Hart. He has resided since childhood
on the well-known farm "Sycamore Place."
November 18, 1869, he married Elizabeth Mould, daughter of the late
Hamilton Morrison. Two sons, Henry Melvin and Robert Clarence, have
been born to them.
Mr. Hart is a member of the First Reformed Church at Walden; a
director of the Orange County Agricultural Society; one of the
founders and secretary of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association.
In 1894, Mr. Hart originated and has since published the _Annual
Souvenir_ of this organization--a publication of much artistic merit.
GENERAL HENRY C. HASBROUCK was born in Newburgh, N. Y., October 26,
1839, and is a son of William C. and Mary E. (Roe) Hasbrouck. He was
appointed a cadet of the Military Academy, July 1, 1856; second
lieutenant, Fourth Artillery, May 6, 1861; first lieutenant, May 14,
1861; captain, July 26, 1866; major, March 5, 1887; lieutenant-colonel,
October 29, 1896; colonel, February 13, 1899. In 1898 he was appointed
brigadier-general, U. S. V., commanding the second division of the
Second Army Corps, and appointed brigadier-general of the regular army
December 1, 1902. He retired January 5, 1903. General Hasbrouck was
commandant of cadets United States Military Academy at West Point,
N. Y., from 1882 to 1888. He was a member of the board in 1888 that
prepared the infantry, cavalry and artillery drill regulations adopted
by the War Department for use in the United States Army. General
Hasbrouck married Miss Laetitia Viele Warren, October 26, 1882. They
now reside in Newburgh.
General Hasbrouck is a direct descendant of Abraham Hasbrouck, one of
the twelve New Paltz patentees. He married Mary Deyo; their son
Joseph married Elsie Schoonmaker; their son Benjamin married Elidia
Schoonmaker, and their son Cornelius married Janet Keho, who became
the parents of William C. as noted above.
PHILLIP HASBROUCK, a retired citizen of Walden, N. Y., who has served
Orange County as Superintendent of the Poor for a period of nine
years, is a descendant of the old Ulster County family of Hasbroucks
who settled in New Paltz previous to 1677. He is a son of Joseph and
Sarah (Le Fever) Hasbrouck and was born in the village of New Paltz
and educated at the schools of that place. His younger days were
spent in farming, after which he conducted a lumber, coal and feed
business with much success in Walden. He is now vice-president of the
Schrade Cutlery Company. Politically, Mr. Hasbrouck is a Republican
and has been very active in promoting the interests of his party. Mr.
Hasbrouck married Miss Mary Matthews, daughter of the late George
Matthews, who, up to the time of his death, was vice-president of the
New York Knife Works.
WILLIAM GEORGE HASTINGS, son of James and Mary J. (Brown) Hastings,
was born in Newburgh, N. Y., and died at Albany, June 28, 1907. Mr.
Hastings was educated at the public schools of Newburgh and Siglar's
Preparatory School.
From early manhood he was identified with the Republican party, and
was an earnest worker for its success. He served as deputy postmaster
under Joseph A. Sneed and was later private secretary to ex-Governor
Odell while the latter was congressman.
In 1904 Mr. Hastings was elected member of assembly from the First
District of Orange County, and re-elected in 1905 and again in 1906,
and at each term of the legislature was appointed to important
committees.
Mr. Hastings was prominent in Masonic circles; he was a veteran of
the Tenth Separate Company; a member of the Odd Fellows, Ringgold
Hose Company, Newburgh Wheelmen and Newburgh City Club.
In 1891 Mr. Hastings was united in marriage with Miss May E. Moore,
of Newburgh. One daughter, Mildred, was born to them.
Few men of Orange County were so popular as Mr. Hastings, and much
sorrow was felt by his fellow citizens when it became known that
their brilliant genial representative at Albany had been called from
earth.
REV. WARREN HATHAWAY, D. D., who has held the pastorate of the
Blooming Grove Congregational Church for forty years, was born in
Saratoga County, N. Y., in 1828, a son of Rev. Levi and Rhoda
(Miller) Hathaway. His education was obtained at Oberlin College,
Ohio, and it was there he began his clerical studies. He was ordained
in Connecticut and his first charge was in the town of Lebanon,
Conn., where he remained a year and a half. He was then transferred
to Fall River for a period of six years, following which he held a
pastorate at Medway, Greene County, N. Y., until 1866, when he came
to Blooming Grove. By his first wife, who was Miss Cornelia Day, Dr.
Hathaway had five children, three of whom are living. For his second
wife he chose Miss Elizabeth H. Miller. Although nearly four score
years of age. Dr. Hathaway is very active in the affairs of the
church, with which he has been identified so many years.
IRA A. HAWKINS. The Hawkins family traces its origin far back into
England's earliest history. The first to come to America were Robert
Hawkins and his wife, Mary, who came over in the good ship
"Elizabeth and Ann," Captain Cooper, master, in 1635, and settled in
Charlestown, Mass.
Moses Hawkins was born October 8, 1763, and came to Orange County in
1790. He married Phebe Harlow, and settled in East Division, town of
Goshen, on the farm now occupied by his great grandson, Frank T.
Hawkins. They had three sons, Benjamin, Ira and Samuel, and one
daughter, Mary, who married Joshua Howell.
Ira, born January 31, 1796, married May 17, 1821, Hannah, daughter of
General Abram and Esther Rockwell Vail. They settled on a farm near
Chester, where they lived fifty years. They had six children. Their
eldest son, James, born June 3, 1822, married Adaline Green, daughter
of John and Julia Roe Green, in 1844. In the following year they
removed to Hamptonburgh, at which place he established his home, and
remained on the same farm until his death in 1887. He was trustee and
elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Hamptonburgh. Their
children were William Green; James R. V. Iraeneus, who died in
infancy; Adaline Green, married Alfred E. Ivers, of Allendale, N. J.;
Charles Francis; M. Jennie, married James L. Price, of Hamptonburgh
and Ira A.
Having become a widower in 1865, on October 28, 1868, he married
Emily A., daughter of George W. and Hester A. (Sanford) Price, of
Hamptonburgh. They had one son, George W. P., and one daughter, Emma
Antoinette, married John Budd Gregory, who now occupy the homestead
farm.
Ira A. Hawkins, born August 4, 1864, at the death of his father in
1887, came with his brother George into possession of the farm, where
he resided until 1894, when he sold his interests in the place to his
brother and purchased the C. L. Morehouse farm, near Warwick, on the
Edenville road, where he now resides. Besides successfully carrying
on his farm, he is also engaged in the insurance business. He is now
serving as treasurer and elder of the Dutch Reformed Church of
Warwick.
On October 24, 1888, he married Anna, daughter of Valentine and
Hannah (Seaman) Seaman, of Blooming Grove, who were both lineal
descendants of Captain John Seaman, who settled at Long Island in
1660.
Their children are: Valentine Seaman, born December 1, 1889, died
September 7, 1893; Charles Francis, born March 9, 1892; Ira Alden, born
December 30, 1894, and Harold James, born November 20, 1896.
IRWIN E. HAWKINS was born and reared on the homestead farm near
Otisville. He acquired his early education at the district school,
and at an early age identified himself with farming. When he attained
the age of thirty-two years he engaged in the milk business at
Middletown and Mount Vernon, Westchester County, N. Y. He has served
as town collector for three years, school collector six years and
commissioner of highways. In politics he is a republican. He followed
the carpenter trade for two years and is now identified with the
Otisville Sanatorium. He married Miss Harriet Smith, daughter of
Frank and Hannah (Bell) Smith, October 19, 1892. Mr. Hawkins is a
member of the Otisville Grange No. 1020. He and his wife are members
of the Otisville Methodist Church and are liberal contributors to its
support.
UZAL T. HAYES was born at Bloomfield, N. J., February 5, 1834. His
early education was acquired at the Bloomfield Free School, which was
the first in New Jersey, after which he attended the Seymour
Institute. In 1856 he engaged in the leather business in Newark,
N. J., and in December, 1865, became a partner in the firm of T. P.
Howell & Co., which afterward took the name of Howell, Hinchman &
Co. In 1880 the company was incorporated and Mr. Hayes was made its
treasurer and general manager.
He married Miss Caroline A. Morris, of Bloomfield, N. J., in 1860.
She died July 3, 1888. Their four children are Harry M., Thomas E.,
Caroline and Mabel. Mr. Hayes has served as a member of the board of
education and president of the board of water commissioners. Socially
he is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the I. O. O. F. of Newark,
N. J. In politics he is a republican.
JOHN HAZEN was born at Greenwood Lake, Orange County, March 18, 1835;
died December 19, 1907. As a democrat he was chosen tax collector for
one term and a constable for two years. He was owner of the Hotel
Boulevard at Greenwood Lake, and also proprietor of the Windemere
Hotel, which accommodates seventy-five guests, and of the Brandon
House. He owned many good horses, among them "Peaches," with a record
of 2:12, and "Stately Dame," with a record of 2:27. His wife, who was
Sarah A. Merritt, of Sloatsburg, died in 1906. Two of their four
children are living, Mary, wife of John Van Ness, and Daisy, wife of
William Wright.
Mr. Hazen became a guide for sportsmen who came to the Waterstone and
Brandon Houses for their vacations, to fish and hunt, and without
educational or financial advantages, took on the tastes and manners
of associates who had them. The friends he made of business men whom
he guided over mountains and lakes after game in his younger days
remained his friends all their lives. Such attachments tell, probably
better than anything else we might write, of the genial, modest and
thoroughly reliable traits of the departed.
JOEL T. HEADLEY was born December 30, 1813, at Walton, Delaware
County, N. Y., where his father was settled for many years as the
Presbyterian clergyman. Mr. Headley early determined to make his
father's vocation his own, and after graduating from Union College,
in 1839, he took a course in theology at the Auburn Theological
Seminary.
After being ordained he was settled over a church at Stockbridge,
Mass., and immediately entered with enthusiasm upon the discharge of
the numerous duties inseparably connected with the sacred office. He
soon found, however, that his constitution, already undermined by
many years of unceasing application and incessant study, was unable
to stand the further strain imposed upon it, and he was reluctantly
compelled to relinquish his chosen profession, and in 1842 went to
Europe.
While abroad he occasionally contributed articles to the press and
periodicals, and the favorable manner in which they were received
encouraged him to offer to the public his "Letters from Italy." The
gratifying reception at once accorded to this work first turned his
mind seriously toward literary pursuits, and soon after his return
from Europe he yielded to the solicitations of his friend Horace
Greeley, and became the associate editor of the _New York Tribune._
The confining duties necessarily connected with the duties of an
editor soon became irksome to him, and at the end of a year he
severed his connection with that paper and henceforth pursued the
path of authorship. In 1846 "Napoleon and His' Marshals" appeared,
and was followed at various periods by "Washington and His Generals,"
"History of the War of 1812," "Life of Cromwell," "Life of Havelock,"
"Life of Scott and Jackson," "Sacred Mountains," "Sacred Scenes and
Characters," "Sacred Heroes and Martyrs," "Headley's Miscellanys,"
"The Imperial Guard," "Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution," "The
Great Rebellion," "Grant and Sherman," "Life of Farragut, and Our
Naval Commanders," and "History of the Great Riots," besides other
works of lesser note.
Mr. Headley's literary work suffered a few year's interruption when,
in 1854, he was elected to the New York assembly from the First
District of Orange County, and the year following was chosen
secretary of the State of New York. Mr. Headley did not lay down his
busy pen until late in life, and the popular favor which was accorded
him at the outset of his career never entirely left him, and all his
books were remunerative.
Mr. Headley's passionate love for nature in all her various moods led
him nearly forty years ago to seek those great solitudes which the
Adirondacks had at that time kept concealed from all men save the
trapper or woodsman. He was so enamored of that Switzerland of
America that for over thirty years he made yearly pilgrimages for
health and pleasure to that beautiful region. He was probably the
first tourist to visit that section, and his descriptions of its
charms and health-giving powers soon induced large numbers to visit
it, and thus led to its becoming the great fashionable resort it is
to-day.
For over thirty years Mr. Headley resided in Newburgh and vicinity,
and always took an active interest in the historic scenes and acts
with which our locality abounds. The patriotic attempts of several of
our citizens to secure the preservation of that venerated building,
Washington's Headquarters, received his hearty support, and for many
years he was president of the trustees of the headquarters.
Believing in the importance of fixing in the minds of the people all
those events which are vitally connected with the fate of our
republic, he early conceived the idea of celebrating in some public
manner those historic events which have made Newburgh famous in
American history. To him more than any other individual is due, not
only the inception, but also the successful carrying out of our
centennial celebration in 1883.
Mr. Headley passed the allotted span of life, dying at Newburgh,
December 30, 1897, in his eighty-fourth year.
JACOB L. HICKS, formerly supervisor of the town of Highland, was born
in Orange County, N. Y., in 1874. From 1893 to 1896 he was stationed
at West Point with the United States Army. When war was declared with
Spain, in 1898, Mr. Hicks went to the front with the Seventy-first
New York Regiment. After he was mustered out he established his
present grocery store at Highland Falls, in which he has been very
successful. Mr. Hicks, who is a staunch democrat, was elected
supervisor November, 1905. In 1907 he was again a candidate for the
office and was elected by four votes, which is now being contested in
the Supreme Court.
Mr. Hicks is a member of the Army and Navy Union and of the Knights
of Columbus. He married Miss Frances G. Hager, and three children
have been born to them. He was instrumental in the establishment of
the First National Bank of Highland Falls, and is connected with all
movements pertaining to the advancement of the village.
HENRY C. HIGGINSON, president of the Higginson Manufacturing Co., of
Newburgh, occupies an important position in the industrial life of
the Hudson Valley. The company owns the Windsor Gypsum Company and
Lenox Gypsum Company of Nova Scotia; also half owners of the Sing
Sing Lime Company, Ossining, N. Y., operating a line of four freight
steamers between Ossining and New York City.
Mr. Higginson was born in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1852, and came to
Newburgh at the age of twelve years. After finishing his studies he
engaged in his present business, then known as W. R. Brown & Co.,
manufacturers of Rosendale Cement. The business was established in
1865, and in 1872 was merged into the Newburgh Cement & Plaster
Company. In 1875, Mr. Higginson became sole proprietor of the
business, and in 1899 the firm name was changed to Higginson
Manufacturing Company.
CHARLES HIGHAM. Nine months after Charles Higham's birth at
Manchester, England, April 6, 1867, he was brought to America by his
parents, who settled in Middletown in January, 1868. In Manchester
his father had been a fancy silk weaver. Here he became proprietor of
the Wallkill House, and conducted it until his death, in 1872. He was
married twice, his second wife before marriage being Elizabeth
Redfield, of Manchester. Charles was the youngest of their two
children, and finished his school education at the Wallkill Academy.
His mother assumed the responsibilities of the hotel management after
her husband's death, and conducted the Wallkill House ten years,
when, in 1882, she became proprietor of the Commercial Hotel. In
April of that year her son Charles, although but fifteen years of
age, became controlling manager, and is now the proprietor of this
hotel. He is now chief for the eleventh time of the Middletown fire
department, with which he has been actively identified twenty-five
years. He is a member and treasurer of the Firemen's Relief and
Benefit Association and president of the board of representatives of
the Middletown fire department. The societies of which he is a member
are Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. and A. M.; Midland Chapter No. 240;
Cypress Commandery, No. 67: Mecca Shrine of New York City; Wilbur H.
Weston Shrine of Newburgh, and Port Jervis B. P. O. E., No. 645. He
organized, maintains and is president of the Charles Higham fife and
drum corps of twenty-five members.
GEORGE S. HILL, son of William and Ruth Augusta (Hovey) Hill, was
born at Bullville, Orange County, N. Y., in 1854. In 1865, his father
moved to the town of Newburgh and purchased the Henry Miller
property, consisting of thirty-eight acres. George S. obtained his
education at the district schools of this locality and finished his
studies at the Claverack Institute. He has since been engaged in
farming and is identified with the Little Britain Grange. He married
Miss Sarah E. Waugh, and their home is pleasantly situated on the
State road, near Coldenham.
REUBEN HILTON, attorney of Newburgh, is a son of William H. and Mary
A. (Colwell) Hilton. He was born in Newburgh, 1877. Mr. Hilton
graduated from the Andover preparatory school in 1896 and spent two
and a half years at Yale University. He is a graduate from the New
York Law School in 1901, and has since practiced in Newburgh, where
he was appointed collector of the port, May, 1906. He is a member of
the Andover Alumni Association and the Wheelmen's Club of Newburgh.
He married Miss Minnie Dawes, of Washington, D. C.
WILLIAM T. HILTON, son of John and Anna L. (Turner) Hilton, was born
in Newburgh, July 18, 1866. His education was obtained at the
Newburgh Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H. Since his
father's death he has acted as executor and manager of the numerous
properties which his father left. Mr. Hilton is treasurer of the
Newburgh Brick Company and a member of the board of health.
The opportunities which Newburgh presents to men of intelligence and
perseverance have a striking illustration in the career of John
Hilton, who, commencing as a poor boy, amassed a large fortune solely
through the channels of real estate, becoming one of the largest
individual property owners in the city.
JOHN H. HINCHMAN, deceased, was born September 5, 1820, at Paterson,
N. J. He conducted a livery business at Sussex, N. J., later removing
to Orange County, and purchased the Quackenbush and Sherwood farms at
Neelytown. Mr. Hinchman resided in Neelytown some time and finally
sold the Quackenbush farm to John P. Covert and the Sherwood farm to
R. J. Fisher. He then purchased the Orange Hotel, at Goshen, which he
conducted six years. He was married to Eliza Hopper, of Paterson,
N. J. He was a democrat and took an active interest in local affairs.
John H. Hinchman, Jr., attained his early education at Waters'
Academy and Miller's Business Institute, Paterson, N. J. He married
Miss Maggie Gray, of Port Jervis, February, 1883. Their children are
Catherine G., born January 29, 1884, and Florence M., born November
7, 1898. Mr. Hinchman is identified with the democratic party and
attends the Episcopal Church.
FRANK HOLBERT, son of Albert Ruggles and Mary (Wisner) Holbert, was
born at Lake, Warwick Township. His education was acquired at the
district school and Warwick high school, from which he graduated. He
was for a time employed in a restaurant in New York City, and in 1899
engaged in the business for himself in Park Place, New York, which
was afterward destroyed by fire. He then opened a similar
establishment at 12-14 Warren street, which he has since conducted.
This is a large establishment, catering to the better class of
people. Mr. Holbert married Miss Grace Pelton, December 17, 1890. She
is the eldest daughter of William W. and Alemeda (Knapp) Pelton, of
Warwick, N. Y. Three children have been born to this union: Resmem
Wisner, born October 26, 1891; Albert Ruggles, born April 12, 1805,
and Grace Pelton, born June 24, 1904. Mr. Holbert is a member of
Warwick Lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M.
D. M. HOLLENBECK, a retired merchant of Turner, N. Y., was born in
1844 in Herkimer County. After finishing his schooling he occupied
the position of wholesale agent in New York City five years. In 1873
he established a general store at Turners, which he conducted with
much success for thirty-three years. He disposed of the business in
1906 and has since lived in retirement. Mr. Hollenbeck served as
postmaster two terms during Cleveland's administrations. He also held
the office of town clerk for four years. He has been twice married.
His first wife was Matilda Bush, who left one son, Arthur O.
In 1881 he married Elizabeth Barnes. They have four children: Mary
H., wife of Peter H. Bush, of Brewster, N. Y.; Cora, the wife of
H. F. Pembleton, of Central Valley; Grace B. and Alan W., at home.
HENRY A. HOLLEY, of Otisville, N. Y., was born October 7, 1873. He
married Harriet Easton, October 7, 1896, and three children were born
to them: Henry B., born August 26, 1898; Elizabeth Corwin, born April
30, 1900, and J. Easton, born September 20, 1905. He is a member of
Standard Lodge, No. 711, F. and A. M., of Monroe, N. Y.; past
chancellor of Chester Lodge, No. 363, K. of P., and member of the
Modern Woodmen of America, Otisville Lodge, No. 1083. In politics he
is a republican, and was nominated on the republican ticket in the
fall of 1907 for justice of the peace. His father, David A., was born
in Ulster County, N. Y., February 2, 1850, and attended the district
school, where he obtained his early education. At an early age he
associated himself with his father, learning the wheelwright trade,
which vocation he has always followed. He married Annie Arnoys, of
Ellenville, N. Y., September 2, 1873. Three children were born to
this union: Henry A.; Nellie B., born July 19, 1876, wife of
Alexander Mitchell, of Hopewell, N. Y., and Emma G., born February
22, 1880, wife of James Hawkins, of Otisville, N. Y. In politics he
is a republican, but was elected as overseer of the poor by both
parties for a period of twelve years. His wife died October, 1893. He
is a member of Hoffman Lodge, No. 412, F. and A. M.
CHARLES HORTON, deceased, was born at Colchester, Delaware County,
N. Y., February 25, 1815. He engaged in the tanning business at
Callicoon, Sullivan County, and ultimately became the leader in that
industry, owning and operating more tanning establishments than any
other one man in the country. He was also the first to engage in that
business in Sullivan County.
He married Betsy Grant, daughter of Joseph Grant, of Sullivan County,
and six children were born to them: Lucinda, Gordon B., Melvin,
Francis E., Louise and Florence. Mr. Horton resided in Middletown for
many years, and was one of its most progressive and useful citizens.
The family attended Grace Episcopal Church.
WEBB HORTON who has been an active, progressive and extensive
business man, is now eighty-two years old, having been born February
24, 1826, at Colchester, Delaware County. His parents, Isaac and
Prudence Knapp Horton, were married in 1807, and had ten children.
Mr. Horton's early education was in the district school, between
which and his father's farm he divided his time, until he was fifteen
years of age, when he learned the trade of wood turning and worked at
it ten years. In 1854 he built the tannery at Narrowsburgh, N. Y.,
which he operated for ten years. In 1864 he went to Warren County,
Pa., and engaged in tanning--a business with which he has since been
connected until recent years. He married Miss Elizabeth A. Radeker,
of the town of Montgomery, in 1855, and they have had three children:
Junius, who died in 1879, while a cadet at the Bisbee Military
Academy in Poughkeepsie; Eugene, associated with the United States
Leather Company, of New York City, and Carrie, residing at home. Mr.
Horton has been one of the representative men of Middletown and his
comprehensive grasp of large business affairs is shown in the
remarkable success he has achieved. He is now living retired in the
enjoyment of a peaceful old age in one of the finest residences in
the state, overlooking Middletown, which he recently built. His wife
is a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and both are
highly esteemed by their neighbors and acquaintances.
CARLETON P. HOTALING, merchant, at Tuxedo Park, N. Y., was born and
educated in Delaware County. He has resided in Orange County since
1890, and twelve years ago engaged in his present bicycle and
photographic supply establishment.
Mr. Hotaling has served nine years as justice of the peace and six
years as collector of Tuxedo town. He is prominently identified with
the Masonic fraternity, including Highland Chapter, Hudson River
Commandery and Mecca Temple.
JAMES EDWARD HOUSTON is of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born on the
homestead three miles from Florida, Orange County, September 22,
1862, and was one of the six children cf William H. and Ann Houston.
He attended the district school at Union Corners and the Seward
Institute at Florida. After working on his father's farm several
years he bought the Thomas Jackson farm of 130 acres, and has made
farming his life occupation. His dairy cows are of Holstein breed,
and his fruit specialty is peach growing. He is active in local
matters and his family antecedents are of the best. He married
Kissie Armstrong, of Florida, June 17, 1884.
JOEL W. HOUSTON was born March 28, 1856, on the old homestead, two
and one-half miles from Florida. His father was William H. and mother
Anna E. Wheeler. There were six children in parents' family. Joel W.
was the fourth child. He attended the district school and assisted on
the farm. Mr Houston has always been identified with agricultural
pursuits. He married Anna Jessup, June 29, 1881. He is a republican,
and one of the elders of the Presbyterian Church at Florida. He has been
a director of the Orange County Agricultural Society for six years
and superintendent of crates and tickets.
CAPTAIN JOHN W. HOUSTON was born March 20, 1842, on the homestead
farm at Bellvale, Orange County, N. Y. When nineteen years of age he
enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment, New York
Volunteers, and went forth to fight for the Union in the Civil War.
He was made second lieutenant. In the battle of Chancellorsville, in
1863, he was severely wounded, and again at Spotsylvania, in May,
1864, which led to his honorable discharge. When the war ended he
was brevetted captain. He married Miss Julia Baird, who died in 1880,
leaving four sons and one daughter: Floyd, George, James, Frank and
Clara. February 12, 1892, Captain Houston chose for his second wife
Miss Margaret B. Neely, of Bellvale, N. Y., who survives him. He is
also survived by a brother, Henry W., of Bellvale, and two sisters,
Mrs. Mary Francisco, of Little Falls, N. J., and Mrs. J. H. Bertholf.
Captain Houston was a member of Warwick Lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M.,
and of G. A. R. Post, No. 575. He died January 11, 1905.
SAMUEL B. HOUSTON was born December 5, 1845. He attended the district
school and Warwick Institute. He conducted a retail boot and shoe
business in Warwick for seven years, and has always been engaged in
agricultural pursuits. He married Salona S. Palmer, of Warwick,
October 25, 1871. Three children were born to this union, two of whom
are living: Charles B., who resides in Brooklyn and is engaged in the
manufacturing business; Anna G., wife of J. Arthur Knapp, of Florida,
this county, and Edna K., who died in 1898 in her twenty-third year.
Mr. Houston has taken an active interest in public matters pertaining
to his locality and served on the no-license commission of Warwick.
In 1903 he was appointed to fill the vacancy of superintendent of
poor of Orange County. He is a republican and a member of the
Methodist Church at Edenville. Socially he is a member of Warwick
Lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M.
CLARENCE J. HOWELL was born on the Howell homestead near Florida,
Orange County, N. Y., December 30, 1868, and died March 30, 1905. He
was a son of Asa Howell. Clarence rented his father's farm after his
marriage and continued on the homestead until the death of his mother
in 1897, when the farm was left to him. His father continued to make
his home with his son until his death in 1900. Clarence obtained his
education at the S. S. Seward Institute at Florida. He was united in
marriage to Minnie Sinsabaugh, daughter of Daniel and Ellen A.
Sinsabaugh, of Liberty Corners, Orange County, November 19, 1891. The
children are Floyd Van Duzer, born October 19, 1892; Clara Adams,
born February 4, 1894; William Sinsabaugh, born November 24, 1895;
Thomas Wheeler, born December 3, 1898; Jennie Jessup, born May 27,
1904. The Howell homestead comprises one hundred and twenty-five
acres and has been in the family since 1790. It is one of the best
dairy farms in Orange County, and considerable of the low ground is
devoted to onion growing.
DAVID H. HOWELL, clerk of the town of Crawford, Orange County, was
born in this township in 1868. He is a son of Harvey and Emeline
(Decker) Howell. After finishing his education at the public schools,
he learned the tinsmith's trade and established his present hardware
business at Bullville, in 1893, in which he has acquired much
success.
Politically Mr. Howell is a democrat and was elected town clerk in
1905. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
D. BREWSTER HOWELL, a prominent farmer in the town of Newburgh, near
East Coldenham, is a son of John C. and a grandson of Rensselaer
Howell. It is ascertained that Silas Howell was born in Long Island,
but moved to Orange County at an early day. He was a millwright by
trade and became the owner of a large tract of land in the town of
Newburgh. He was the father of four children, of whom Rensselaer
bought one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the old homestead, and
married Alice Belknap. They settled and built their home in what was
then a forest, but what is now as fine and well cultivated a farm as
can be found in the country. The following children were born: David
B., Rensselaer, Jr., John Colvin and Mary F. Of these John C.
continued the management of the farm, which is now conducted by D.
Brewster Howell, who married Miss Katherine McCartney. They are the
parents of two children: Elwood B. and Gertrude May.
JAMES T. HOWELL was born on the homestead farm about one mile from
Howells station in the town of Mount Hope, Orange County, August 25,
1845. He was a son of Samuel C. and Sallie Jane (Beakes) Howell and
attended the district school in the neighborhood; after his schooling
he remained on the farm, and April 1, 1869, he purchased the farm of
his father. He lived in New York City for twenty years, where he was
identified with the milk business. Mr. Howell is extensively engaged
in breeding and dealing in Holstein Friesian cattle.
He married Ester Caroline Harding, November 25, 1869. To this union
were born three children, one dying in infancy. The others are Lucy
J., wife of Maxwell R. Wright, of Jersey City, born September 16,
1876, and Charles A., born August 26, 1882, residing at home. In
politics Mr. Howell is a republican. His son, Charles A., is a member
of the Wallkill Grange, and of Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. and A. M.,
of Middletown, N. Y.
JOHN T. HOWELL, M.D., Newburgh, born Middletown, N. Y., April 23,
1862, son of Abraham P. and Hannah (Smith) Howell. Educated Wallkill
Academy; graduated medical department Columbia University, New York,
1884; appointed resident surgeon Bellevue Hospital, 1884-1886; since
engaged in practice at Newburgh. In 1892, president Orange County
Medical Society; member State Society, American Medical Association
and New York Academy of Medicine. In 1889 married Miss Sarah T.,
daughter of Robert Steele. Three children have been born to them.
HON. NATHANIEL W. HOWELL, who has held the office of justice of the
peace in his native town for half a century, is a son of Mathew H.
Howell and Julia (Brewster) Howell and great grandson of Major
Hezekiah Howell, an officer in the Continental Army and first sheriff
of Orange County and supervisor of the town of Blooming Grove, and
son of Hezekiah Howell, who came to Orange County in seventeen
hundred and thirty-seven (1737) from South Hampton, L. I., and
settled in Blagg's Clove, so-called from Blagg's patent, a tract of
land of one thousand (1,000) acres, lying in the valley between
Schunnemunk Mountain and Round Hill, which, in company with other
early settlers, he purchased, and of his proportionate share made his
farm, to which Major Hezekiah Howell and his son, Hezekiah, added, by
purchase of lands adjoining, sufficient to make the whole seven
hundred and fifty (750) acres. Nathaniel W. has lived upon and
managed the estate since 1886, until 1908, when he sold the whole
estate to Corydon S. Purdy, of Montclair, N. J., a descendant of
Susan Howell, daughter of Major Hezekiah Howell.
Mr. Purdy is remodeling the whole estate, erecting extensive
buildings and adding equipments, fitting it for a modern up-to-date
sanitary dairy farm, also fruits and vegetables and also modernizing
the dwelling erected by Major Hezekiah Howell in 1797. In the
cemetery or family burying-ground, in the original purchase, are the
remains of four (4) Hezekiah Howells, lineal descendants of
Lieutenant Hezekiah Howell of South Hampton, L. I., who in succession
owned and occupied the original estate. Nathaniel W. was graduated
from Williams College in 1853 with the degree of A.B., and afterwards
received the degree of A.M., read law in Chicago in the office of
Grant Goodrich, and was admitted to the bar in 1857; was member of
the legislature of New York in 1863-4, and supervisor of the town of
Blooming Grove. He married Mary Halsey, daughter of Walter and
Caroline (Marvin) Halsey, and has a daughter, Joanna B., and son,
Hezekiah.
SAMUEL C. HOWELL was born in the town of Wallkill, May 21, 1807,
being the only son of William A. and Elizabeth (Calander) Howell. The
maternal grandfather of Samuel C. Howell was a Virginian by birth,
and a lieutenant of the Light Horse Cavalry during the Revolutionary
War. Our subject at the time of his marriage purchased a small farm
in the town of Mount Hope, and to this he added, from time to time,
until he owned four hundred acres of valuable land in this and
Wallkill towns. When the Erie Railroad was constructed he built the
depot and later constructed a hotel and other buildings, and thus the
village of Howells was established in his honor. He was the railroad
agent and postmaster at this place. He was a liberal contributor to
the church and other enterprises. For a number of years he served as
assessor, and took a prominent part in the local work of the
republican party.
WILLIAM J. HUDSON, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Davis) Hudson, was
born in 1861 on the farm where he now resides in the town of
Blooming Grove. His great great grandfather, William Hudson, settled
in this locality about two centuries ago, purchasing a tract of land
some two miles in length. William J. is the fifth generation to
occupy the ancestral homestead. He married Miss Grace A. Wright and
they are the parents of five children: Ethel, David, Grace Alma,
Clare and William Reeves. He is one of the representative farmers of
his native town, a member of the grange and a director of the grange
store at Washingtonville, also a director of the National Bank in
Washingtonville.
JOSEPH B. HULETT, M.D., a prominent physician of Middletown, N. Y.,
is a surgeon who by his enlightened skill has secured a wide
reputation, and won a place in the front rank of his profession. He
was born August 4, 1858, at Barton, Tioga County, N. Y., a son of
Cyrus B. and Ruth Emily (Slawson) Hulett. His education was obtained
in the schools of New York City and Wallkill Academy. He began the
study of medicine under Dr. Darwin Everett, of Middletown, and later
had as his preceptors Drs. T. D. Mills, of Middletown, and Charles L.
Wilkin, of New York. He entered Columbia University and graduated
from the medical department of that institution May 12, 1887. He also
took a post-graduate course in Manhattan Hospital. In 1888 he entered
upon the practice of his profession at Middletown. Dr. Hulett is a
member and ex-president of the Orange County Medical Society, a
member of the New York State Medical Society, the American Medical
Association, and is ex-vice-president of the International
Association of Railway Engineers. He is attending surgeon for Thrall
Hospital, of Middletown, and has been surgeon for the Twenty-fourth
Separate Company for the past five years. He was secretary and one of
the organizers of the State Association of Railway Surgeons, surgeon
for the N. Y., O. & W. Railway, ex-military surgeon attached to Third
Brigade, New York National Guard, and is an honorary member of the
Association of Medical Officers of the Naval and Militia Association,
State of New York. Socially he holds membership in the Knights of
Pythias, of Middletown; Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. & A. M.; Middletown
Chapter, R. A. M.; Cypress Commandery, and the Mystic Shrine of New
York City, and is an honorary member of Excelsior Hook and Ladder
Company of Middletown. Dr. Hulett takes a deep interest in electrical
matters, to which he has devoted much study. He is an honorary member
of the Corliss Engineers' Association. He married Lottie B. Hulse,
daughter of Hudson E. and Anna (Thompson) Hulse, of Wallkill, Orange
County, on June 27, 1889, and they have one son, J. Leslie, born
April 1, 1891. His father, Cyrus B. Hulett, was born in Waverly,
N. Y., and died February 25, 1875. His mother was a native of Orange
County, and died in November, 1889.
WILLIAM A. HULSE. The living children of John H. and Mary Hulse are:
Mrs. Annie Thurston, of Stoneham, Mass.; William A., of Warwick, and
Robert Emmett, of Middletown. William A. was born in Middletown,
April 1, 1853, and after his education in the public schools worked
for Wilson H. Provost in the first milk establishment to manufacture
condensed cream for the army and the southern trade. He was quite
young when he learned the plumbing trade in Keyport, N. J., where he
remained four years, then in Newark several months, and from there
came to Warwick, March 19, 1875. Here he was in the employ of Finch
& Coldwell several years, and then opened a shop for himself in
plumbing, heating and tin work, and is still in the business. He is a
member of Wawayanda Lodge, No. 34, I. O. O. F., and of the Warwick
Excelsior Hose Company. He was water commissioner and superintendent
of the water works from 1887 to 1903. In politics he is independent.
Mr. Hulse was married to Miss Clara, daughter of John L., and Julia
Finch, of Warwick, January 12, 1882. They have five children: Elbert
L., born September 5, 1882; Everett B., born September 12, 1884;
Addie B., born September 21, 1886; William A., born October 9, 1888,
and Janet P., born July 6, 1890.
ROBERT O. HUNT, manager of the Westtown plant of the Borden Condensed
Milk Company, was born in the town of Minisink in 1866. He is a son
of Robert and Catura (Osborn) Hunt. He attended the district schools,
and after farming for a time went to Middletown and learned the
machinists' trade. He has been associated with the Borden industries
since 1892, and was appointed to his present position in 1904. He is
a member of Hoffman Lodge, No. 412, F. and A. M., and of the
I. O. O. F. In 1907 he was elected a member of the board of assessors
of the town of Minisink.
Mr. Hunt married Miss Lydia Winters, and they are the parents of two
sons and four daughters.
WILLIAM HUGH HYNDMAN, attorney and recorder of Newburgh, N. Y., was
born in Newburgh, October 13, 1861, a son of Robert and Elizabeth
(Gibb) Hyndman. He prepared for college at Newburgh Academy with the
late Professor Hugh S. Banks, and graduated from Yale University in
1884 with the degree of A. B. Mr. Hyndman studied law in the office
of Messrs. Scott and Hirschberg, and was admitted to the bar May 16,
1889. He was elected recorder of the city of Newburgh in 1865 on the
republican ticket, and has been successively re-elected four times.
Recorder Hyndman married Miss Betsey Leighton Marden, of Newburgh.
The late Robert Hyndman was one of Newburgh's successful merchants,
conducting a grocery store on Broadway for forty years.
JOHN E. ISEMAN was born in Wurttemburg, Germany, in 1835. He came to
America in the spring of 1853, locating in New York City, where he
operated a bakery. He removed to Chester, N. Y., and engaged in
business for a period of four years. In 1861 he located in
Middletown, where he has since remained, conducting a bakery business
at the same location since that period. He married Josephine
Stoddard, daughter of Ira L. and Mary Jane Stoddard. Their five
children are: Charles Wesley, engaged in business in New York;
George H., of Middletown; Catherine, wife of W. D. McQueen,
superintendent of the Scranton division of the New York, Ontario &
Western Railroad; Christine, residing at home, a graduate of the New
England Conservatory of Music, of Boston, who taught two years at
Holland, Va.; John E., a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy, who has
been assigned to the battleship Montana. In politics Mr. Iseman is a
republican. He served as one of the first trustees of the village for
four years and was Middletown's first mayor. He served continuously
since 1891 as a member of the board of supervisors. He is a director
of the Merchants' National Bank, trustee of the Middletown Savings
Bank, vice-president of the Hillside Cemetery Association, and
ex-president of the Phoenix Fire Company. He is a member and
president of the board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. of Middletown.
EZRA T. JACKSON was born August 23, 1843, at Chester, Orange County,
N. Y., and was instructed at the Chester Academy. At the age of
twenty-one he succeeded his father in the store at Chester, and on
June 15, 1881, married Margaret Douglas Davidson, of Blooming Grove.
Their only son, William Lewis, graduated from Lafayette College, at
Easton, Pa., in the class of 1908, and is a member of the Fraternity
Alpha Chi Rho. The subject of this sketch is a member of the New York
Genealogical and Biographical Society, became a member of Goshen
Lodge, No. 365, F. and A. M., in 1868, and a charter member of
Standard Lodge, No. 711, F. and A. M., of Monroe, in 1871. He is also
a member of the Orange County Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, and
was commissioned first lieutenant in the Nineteenth New York
Infantry, March 25, 1866. He was supervisor of the town of Chester in
1882, and served on the board of education from 1902 to 1908. The
store in Chester has been in the Jackson family for sixty-one years.
His father's name was Thomas Jefferson Jackson. Ezra T. is a grandson
of Captain John Jackson of the Revolutionary Army. He was
commissioned February 28, 1776, and re-appointed February 26, 1778.
In the proceedings of the provincial congress, April 25, 1776, in the
report on the state of the companies of the New York regiments,
Captain Jackson reported with a full company at the fortifications of
the Highlands, and on April 27, 1776, he was appointed to Colonel
Clinton's regiment. A return of the officers and men in garrison at
Fort Montgomery, January 18, 1777, shows that Captain Jackson's
Second New York regiment reported with twenty-nine men. Captain
Jackson was with his regiment at the battles of Harlem Heights and
White Plains. He resigned from the army March 12, 1783.
FRANK AIKENS JACOBSON, M. D.. born Hackensack, N. J., 1864: educated
at Hackensack Academy and scientific department Columbia College;
graduated New York Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, 1888;
one year at Homeopathic Dispensary and Hospital, Brooklyn. He has
practiced in Newburgh, N. Y., since 1890; is a member American
Institute of Homeopathy, New York State Homeopathic Society,
ex-member Newburgh board of health, Scottish Rite Mason and member of
the Shriners.
GEORGE W. JAMISON, publisher of the Pine Bush _Herald,_ is a native
of the town of Crawford, and attended the schools here and at
Montgomery Academy. He was engaged for a number of years as a school
teacher and was for a time in the insurance business in Walden. The
_Herald,_ in 1904, became the successor of the Pine Bush _News,_
established in 1899. The paper is a clean, lively sheet of eight
pages, independent in politics and devoted to local affairs. Mr.
Jamison, the publisher, is also engaged in the real estate and fire
insurance business.
Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a charter
member of Walden Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He married Miss Julia N.
Crist, of Montgomery, and they are the parents of one child, Hilda.
JOHN JAQUES, who founded what is now known as the Brotherhood Wine
Company, at Washingtonville, came from New Jersey with his mother
when a boy, locating in Washingtonville in 1812. He established the
first grape vineyard in Orange County in 1839, and began the
manufacture of pure wines. In 1858 his three sons, John, Orin and
Charles, purchased the business from their father and continued it as
partners until 1865, when John died. The two remaining brothers,
conducted it until 1885, when Orin died, and a year later Charles
disposed of it to Mr. Emerson, the present proprietor. Charles has
since lived in retirement on the old homestead in the center of the
village, and although in his eighty-fourth year, is actively
interested in the affairs of the village. He has been an elder of the
Presbyterian Church since 1878.
GEORGE FREDERICK JAYNE was born on the Jayne homestead, near Florida,
called the "View Farm," February 23, 1854. His parents were Charles
Marcus and Anna Eliza (Thompson) Jayne, and their children were Anna
M., born July 25, 1843, wife of Charles R. Baird, of Warwick; Sarah
Augusta, born July 10, 1848, wife of J. A. Seward, of Florida; Mary
Caroline, who died December 25, 1875, was the wife of Nathaniel
Seeley, of Hamburg, N. J., and Wells Thompson, born in January, 1852,
of Brooklyn, N. Y.
George Frederick Jayne obtained his education in Washington Academy,
S. S. Seward Institute and one term in Yorkville, Ill. He returned
from school to the farm and assumed its management when only fifteen
years old. It is a dairy farm of 180 acres, which has been in the
Jayne family since 1730. Mr. Jayne is a democrat, and attends the
Presbyterian Church in Florida. He married Julia E. Seward of
Florida, February 14, 1877. They have six children: Fred Seward, born
November 10, 1877; Belle Clayton, born December 2, 1878, wife of John
K. Roe, of Florida; Lewis Marcus, born September 17, 1880, married
Nellie Waite Smith, of Montgomery, December 18, 1907, and resides at
Gardiner, Ulster County; Anna Mary, born December 3, 1883; Carrie
Louise, born February 17, 1886, and George Vanderoef, born March 19,
1890.
CHARLES L. JESSUP was born May 25, 1843, on the homestead farm, two
miles from Florida, and was educated in the district school at Union
Corners and the S. S. Seward Institute. He was one of thirteen
children. He worked on his father's farm, and at the outbreak of the
Civil War enlisted in the Ninety-first Regiment, Company H. After his
army experience he resumed farming. He has two hundred and sixteen
acres of land, a large dairy and peach orchard, and is a breeder of
Holstein cattle. He has been town assessor and is an elder and active
member of the Florida Presbyterian Church. His parents were Samuel
and Martha Jessup. His wife was Sarah Jane Duryea, of Craigsville,
Orange County, a daughter of Alfred and Mary Duryea. They were
married October 18, 1865, and have four children living. Alpheus,
born August 26, 1886; Julia B., born March 12, 1868; Charles W.,
born June 10, 1871, and Helen, born February 14, 1886. Charles
married Elizabeth Wheeler, of Florida; Julia married Alton J. Vail,
of Middletown, and Alpheus married Sadie Durland, of Chester.
SENECA JESSUP was born June 11, 1817, in the town of Warwick, Orange
County, and obtained his education in the Seward Institute, Florida.
His parents were Samuel and Hannah (Steinmetz) Jessup. The Jessups,
of Orange County, are descended from John Jessup, who emigrated from
Broomhall, Yorkshire County, England, in 1630. He lived for a time in
Boston, and afterward removed to Hartford, and from there to
Southampton, Long Island, in 1640, helping to plant the first English
settlement in the state of New York. The Jessup family in Orange
County came from Long Island in 1784, and located at Florida, town of
Warwick. Seneca Jessup married Jennie A. McCain in 1868. She was born
July 27, 1850, and was a daughter of John Edsall and Abigail
(McCamly) McCain, both being from pioneer families, prominent in
Colonial and Revolutionary times. Mrs. Jessup's parents removed to
Goshen in 1853 and purchased the farm where she now resides. She
received her education in the young ladies' school in Goshen. Mr.
and Mrs. Jessup are the parents of four children, only one of whom,
John Seward Jessup, survives and he resided with them. Mrs. Seneca
Jessup is descended from William McCain, a soldier in the Revolution,
who came from the north of Ireland in 1728 and located in the town of
Warwick.
WALTER WARE JOHONNOTT, D. O., born Burlington, Vermont, 1882; son of
Fred and Harriet (Glover) Johonnott; Huguenot ancestry; classical
education at University of Vermont and Amherst College. He graduated
from the American School of Osteopathy, Kirksville, Mo., 1904; took
post-graduate course Massachusetts College of Osteopathy, and engaged
in practice in Newburgh, N. Y., 1905. Member of the American and New
York State Osteopathic Societies, Newburgh City Club, Powelton Club
and Church of Our Father (Unitarian).
L. A. JOHNSON, who conducts a general mercantile business at
Sparrowbush, N. Y., also dealing extensively in mining supplies and
lumber, is a native of Tompkins County, N. Y. He enjoyed the
advantages of a liberal education and was graduated from Cornell
University in 1890 with the degree of A. B.
Mr. Johnson married Lillian A., daughter of the late Henry F. West,
of Sparrowbush, and they are the parents of three sons. Mr. West was
for many years a prominent business man in this community. He built
the store now occupied by Mr. Johnson and also carried on an
extensive business in lumber, owning some twenty-eight hundred acres
of timber land in Delaware County. In 1873 Mr. West married Miss Mary
Stanton, of Forestburgh, N. Y.
ROBERT JOHNSTON, county treasurer, was born in Newburgh, Orange
County, N. Y. He is the son of William C. Johnston, one of Newburgh's
oldest business men. The subject of our sketch has climbed the ladder
of business success, rising from a position as bookkeeper in the
hardware store of the late Mayor Charles J. Lawson to the presidency
of a new corporation, the Johnston Hardware and Iron Co., successor
of Charles H. Daughty. Mr. Johnston's business attainments strongly
commend him for the responsibilities of the county treasurership. He
is forty years of age, and an enthusiastic worker for the republican
party. For six years he served as a member of the board of public
works.
WILLIAM C. JOHNSTON, who is numbered among the prominent merchants of
Newburgh, has conducted a high-class harness and leather store in
Water street for over half a century. Mr. Johnston was born and
educated in Newburgh and learned the harness maker's trade with John
R. Woolsey. He established his store January 1, 1857, at its present
location. He married Miss Margaret L. Campbell, and they became the
parents of ten children. Three sons are in business in Newburgh:
Robert, the present county treasurer, is a hardware merchant; W.
Charles, who has a carriage repository on Broadway, and Renwick, who
is engaged in the livery business. In religious affiliations Mr.
Johnston is a member of the Westminster Reformed Church.
EVAN E. JONES was born at Turin, Lewis County, N. Y., June 10, 1856.
He attended the Union school at Turin, after which he engaged in
farming, and continued until June, 1902, when he came to Orange
County and conducted the Johnston Hotel at Newburgh. In April, 1906,
he removed to Hamptonburgh, where he is now engaged in the hotel
business.
He married Emma M. Peck, of Turin, N. Y., January 12, 1886. They have
no children. In politics Mr. Jones is a republican.
ANDREW V. JOVA, M.D., Newburgh, N. Y., was born at Santa Clara, Cuba,
March 23, 1859. He came to the United States in 1870, and entered St.
John's College, New York, graduating in 1880 with the degree of A.B.
In 1883 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
York, which was supplemented by a two years' hospital course in
Paris, one year in Berlin and eight months at the clinics in Vienna.
He then returned to America and was for eighteen months on the staff
of the French Hospital, New York City. In 1891 he located in
Newburgh, where he has built up an extensive practice. Dr. Jova is
attending physician to St. Luke's Hospital, has been chairman of the
medical board and is now a member of the board of managers of the
same institution. He is a member of the various state and national
medical societies.