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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01067 8305
1869-1894.
25th
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary
OF THE N. Y.
NEW YORK 4
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 9
FEBRUARY 27th, 1894.
1369-1994
WITH BY-LAWS AND ROLL OF MEMBERS.
INC. 1869.
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PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY.
BY T. A. WRIGHT, NEW YORK.
1895.
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MOTT MEMORIAL. HALL, 64 MADISON AVENUE.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY, .
V.
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, 1894,
VI1.
COMMITTEE ON CELEBRATION, VIN.
SUB-COMMITTEES, IX.
AFTERNOON RECEPTION, .
.x.
EVENING EXERCISES -- PROGRAMME,
XI.
PRAYER BY REV. DR. CHAMBERS. . 1.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY SAMUEL S. PURPLE, M. D., 2.
LETTER FROM HENRY R. STYLES, M. D.,
S.
ADDRESS BY EDWARD F. DE LANCEY,
10.
ADDRESS BY GEN. GEORGE S. GREENE,
12.
ADDRESS BY HENRY T. DROWNE, .
13.
ADDRESS BY HON. A. T. CLEARWATER,
15.
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS BY GEN. A. W. GREELY,
17.
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION,
33.
BY-LAWS,
35.
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES, 1895.
43.
OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES, 1869-1895,
44.
COMMITTEES, 1869-1895,
47.
ROLL OF MEMBERSHIP, 1869-1895,
49.
INDEX OF MEMBERS,
75.
iii
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY,
1894.
President, 1 First Vice-President,
-
JAMES GRANT WILSON.
- SAMUEL S. PURPLE. RUFUS KING.
Second Vice-President, -
Recording Secretary,
- THOMAS G. EVANS. NEWLAND MAYNARD.
Corresponding Secretary,
Treasurer,
- WILLIAM P. KETCHAM. RICHARD H. GREENE.
HOWLAND PELL.
Executive Committee.
ELLSWORTH ELIOT, Chairman.
ISAAC TOWNSEND SMITH,
WILLIAM G. VER PLANCK, PHILIP R. VOORHEES.
Publication Committee.
THOMAS G. EVANS, Chairman.
BEVERLY R. BETTS,
EDWARD F. DELANCEY,
EDMUND A. HURRY, SAMUEL S. PURPLE.
Committee on Biographical Bibliography.
HENRY T. DROWNE, Chairman.
THEODORE M. BANTA,
THEOPHYLACT B. BLEECKER.
Board of Trustees.
Class of 1595.
THOMAS C. CORNELL,
HENRY T. DROWNE, FREDERIC D. THOMPSON,
Class of 1896. SAMUEL BURHANS, JR., EDMUND A. HURRY, JAMES J. GOODWIN,
Class of 1897. RICHARD H. GREENE, SAMUEL S. PURPLE, JAMES GRANT WILSON.
vii
:
Librarian,
Register of Pedigrees,
COMMITTEE ON CELEBRATION.
SAMUEL S. PURPLE, Chairman.
SAMUEL BURHANS, JR., Treasurer.
RICHARD H. GREENE, Secretary.
EDMUND S. F. ARNOLD,
EDMUND A. HURRY,
THEOPHYLACT B. BLEECKER,
WILLIAM P. KETCHAM, ex-officio,
GILBERT S. CODDINGTON,
RUFUS KING,
THOMAS C. CORNELL,
CHARLES L. LAMBERTON,
S. VICTOR CONSTANT,
HERBERT D. LLOYD,
EDWARD F. DE LANCEY,
HENRY T. DROWNE,
J. PIERPONT MORGAN, HOWLAND PELL,
ELLSWORTH ELIOT,
JOHN V. L. PRUYN,
THOMAS G. EVANS, ex-officio,
JOSIAH C. PUMPELLY,
JAMES J. GOODWIN,
FREDERIC D. THOMPSON,
GABRIEL GRANT,
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT,
GEORGE S. GREENE,
WILLIAM F. HOLCOMBE,
A. VAN WYCK VAN VECHTEN, JAMES GRANT WILSON, ex-officio.
TOBIAS A. WRIGHT.
Executive Committee.
SAMUEL S. PURPLE, Chairman.
RICHARD H. GREENE, Secretary.
SAMUEL BURHANS, JR., CHARLES L. LAMBERTON, ELLSWORTH ELIOT, HOWLAND PELL, JOSIAH C. PUMPELLY.
viii
SUB=COMMITTEES.
Dan and Scope.
CHARLES L. LAMBERTON, Chairman.
A. VAN WYCK VAN VECHTEN. JOHN V. L. PRUYN,
ffinance.
SAMUEL BURHANS, JR., Chairman.
JAMES J. GOODWIN, J. PIERPONT MORGAN, CORNELIUS VANDERBILT.
Programme and Exercises.
JOSIAH C. PUMPELLY, Chairman.
EDMUND S. F. ARNOLD,
GILBERT S. CODDINGTON, RUFUS KING.
THOMAS C. CORNELL, GEORGE S. GREENE,
Printing and Invitations.
HOWLAND PELL, Chairman.
S. VICTOR CONSTANT, FREDERIC D. THOMPSON, TOBIAS A, WRIGHT.
Reception and 1Rooms.
ELLSWORTHI ELIOT, Chairman.
THEOPHYLACT B. BLEECKER, HENRY T. DROWNE, HERBERT D. LLOYD.
Speakers.
SAMUEL S. PURPLE, Chairman.
THOMAS G. EVANS, GABRIEL GRANT,
RICHARD H. GREENE,, JAMES GRANT WILSON.
ix
AFTERNOON RECEPTION
IN THE ROOMS OF THE SOCIETY, 23 WEST 44TH STREET.
From 4 to 5.30 o'clock.
IReception Committee.
MISS ELIZABETH CLARKSON JAY,
MISS LUCY DU BOIS AKERLY,
MRS. HENRY BAETJER,
MRS. CHARLES AVERY DOREMUS,
MRS. FERDINAND PINNEY EARL,
MRS. HENRY HERRMAN,
MRS. JAMES MARSLAND LAWTON,
MRS. DE WITT CLINTON MATHER,
MISS MARGARET MORRIS NORWOOD,
MRS. THOMAS JEFFERSON OWEN,
MISS MARY CLOSE PURPLE,
MRS. SYLVANUS REED,
MRS. JOHN STANTON,
MRS. EDWIN AUGUSTUS STEVENS,
MISS BESSIE THAYER SYPHER,
MRS. GAMALIEL CYRUS ST. JOHN,
MRS. LUCAS ELMENDORF SCHOONMAKER,
MRS. HOWARD TOWNSEND,
MISS MARY MILDRED WILLIAMS,
MRS. MANSFIELD TRACY WALWORTH,
MRS. WILLIAM HOPKINS YOUNG,
MRS. JOHN AUGUSTUS DI ZEREGA.
X
EVENING EXERCISES.
BERKELEY LYCEUM THEATRE, 19 WEST AITH STREET.
8.15 o'clock.
OVERTURE-Carmen-Biset.
PRAYER,
REV. TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, D. D., L.L. D. SELECTION-La Serenata-Moszkowski.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY, - SAMUEL S. PURPLE, M. D. ROMANZA-"O Promise Me!"-De Koven.
LETTER OF GREETING,
HENRY R. STILES, M. D.
MR. EDWARD F. DE LANCEY. ADDRESS,
WALTZ-Espana-Waldteufel.
ADDRESS, - -
GEN. GEORGE S. GREENE.
MR. HENRY T. DROWNE. ADDRESS,
SELECTION-The Fencing Master-De Koven.
HON. ALPHONSO T. CLEARWATER. ADDRESS,
POT POURRI-Orpheus-Offenbach.
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS, GEN. ADOLPHUS W. GREELY.
MARCH-Washington Post -. Sousa.
xi
INTRODUCTORY.
A Society which successfully passes through twenty-five years of existence is in a position to congratulate itself and to be congratulated by its friends, and the attainment of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its foundation is a proper subject of celebration.
So thought the members of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and at a meeting called in the summer of 1893, a committee was appointed to prepare a programme for the anniversary celebration to be held on the 27th day of February, 1894, the Society having been formed on that date in 1869. At a meeting of this committee in October a sub-committee was appointed to consider and report upon the plan and scope of the celebration. Its report was unanimously adopted by the general committee, and in accordance with its recommendations, it was decided to give a reception in the rooms of the Society on the afternoon of the Anniversary Day, under the supervision of a committee of the lady members of the Society, and to hold a public meeting in the evening at the Berkeley Lyceum Theatre. An executive committee, and committees on finance, on speakers, on programme and exercises, on printing. and invitations and on reception and rooms were appointed and the best energies of all the members of these committees and of the general committee were enlisted to make the celebration a success. Dr. Samuel S. Purple, one of the earliest and most honored members, was unanimously chosen to prepare a historical sketch of the Society. General Adolphus W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief Signal Officer of the United States Government, whose labors in Arctic exploration have given him world-wide fame and who is an enthusiastic genealogist, accepted an invitation to deliver the anniversary address, and Judge Alphonso T. Clearwater of Kingston, N. Y., a member of the Society, was also invited to speak.
These addresses, with a prayer by the Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, D.D., Senior Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Church of the City of New York, and short speeches by the ex-Presidents of the Society, should, it was decided, comprise the exercises of the evening.
Invitations to both the reception and the evening meeting were sent to all the . genealogical and historical organizations throughout the country, and many responses were received congratulating the Society on its successful career and wishing it "many happy returns of the day."
The attendance at the reception and at the evening meeting was gratifyingly large and indicated how greatly the interest is genealogical research is increasing ; and the Society started on its second quarter-century with every assurance of continued usefulness and prosperity.
V
THE ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.
The officers and trustees of the Society and the invited guests, among whom were gentlemen representing many kindred organizations throughout the country, assembled in the library at half past seven o'clock on the evening of the Anniversary Day, and at halt past eight o'clock proceeded to the Berkeley Lyceum Theatre, in the building adjoining, and took seats upon the stage, the large audience which awaited them there having, in the meantime, been entertained by music from Stub's orchestra.
Dr. Purple, the chairman of the general committee, having announced the programme of the evening, called upon the Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, D. D., to invoke the Divine blessing upon the Society and its work, after which Gen. James Grant Wilson, the president of the Society, took the chair and introduced the speakers.
PRAYER BY REV. DR. CHAMBERS.
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, Thon art the King im- mortal, eternal, invisible, the only wise God. Thon art the Father of Light, in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning; from whom cometh every good and perfect gift. We bless Thee for the abundance of Thy mercies unto us. We thank Thee for life and health and reason, for home and country and friends, and for the blessings of a Christian civilization. Help us to make suitable return unto Thee for Thy constant and varied goodness unto us. We pray for thy blessing to rest upon the Society which this night celebrates the completion of twenty-five years of its existence. We thank Thee for the favor which Thou hast shown to it during the past quarter of a century ; for the friends Thou hast raised up for it; for the degree in which Thon hast prospered its honorable and praiseworthy labors in recalling the past and transmitting its glories and its privileges to genera- tions to come. Thon hast told us in Thy Word that the fathers are the glory of their children. Help us to bear in mind the teachings of Thy Holy Word, to recall the past, to cherish the
2
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
memory of what Thon hast done in the years that are gone; that. we may imitate the virtues of our forefathers, and shun their fail- ings, and so fulfil the purposes for which we were brought into existence. Be pleased to attend the exercises on this occasion with Thy favor and Thy blessing. Direct all that shall be said or done and cause it to inure to the welfare of this institution. that it may gain further friends in the time to come, and still more fully accomplish the praiseworthy object for which it was founded. Look upon us in mercy as we are before Thee. Forgive all our sins and accept us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory, now and forever. Amen.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY SAMUEL S. PURPLE, M.D.
The duty has been assigned to me to outline briefly the his tory and work of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, whose twenty-fifth anniversary we this day celebrate.
On the evening of the twenty-seventh day of February, 1869, seven gentlemen, interested to a greater or less degree in genea- logical history, on the invitation of Dr. David Parsons Holton, assembled at his residence. After the Rev. Edmond F. Slafter had presented the plan, scope and progress of the New England Historie-Genealogical Society, which was organized in Boston in 1845, and of which he was then the corresponding secretary, it was determined that an effort should be made to establish a simi- lar society in this eity, for the State of New York.
After a free interchange of opinions, a committee was appoint- ed to prepare a certificate of incorporation, and on the twenty- sixth of March, 1869, it was filed in the office of the Secretary of State at Albany, N. Y. The trustees mentioned in this certificate met on the twenty-fourth day of April, and elected the officers of the Society. For the next ten weeks, the meetings of the Society were held at the residence of one of the members. The first quarterly meeting of the Society was held in Mott Memorial Hall, 64 Madison Avenue, on the seventh day of July, 1869. A com- mittee had previously been appointed to prepare a seal for the Society, and on the eighth day of May, 1869, it was adopted by the Board of Trustees whose names are mentioned in the act of
3
Address by Dr. Purple.
incorporation. The objects contemplated, as announced, were to collect, preserve, and print when practicable, the scattered records of the early inhabitants of the colony of New Netherland, and Province and State of New York; to preserve the pedigrees of their families, and, as far as possible, those of other families.
These results could only be accomplished by the preservation of such material as:
First-Copies of ancient inscriptions and epitaphs; full and exact copies of inscriptions from the cemeteries, monuments, tombs, tablets, etc., to be found in every city, town, village and hamlet of the State: extracts from town, church and parish rec- ords; transcripts of public records of births, marriages and deaths, and of private family records; personal reminiscences and narra - tives, taken from the lips of old persons yet living among us; autobiographies ; lists of soldiers and sailors, histories of regi- ments and military organizations, ete., in the Revolutionary War, the Second War, and the late Civil War.
Second-Lists of names found in ancient documents, such es- pecially as were engaged in any honorable public service ; also, the original documents or full copies thereof, where they con- tain any important facts illustrative of the lives and actions of individuals, or of the history of the State.
Third-Tables of longevity; statistical and biographical ac- counts of attorneys, physicians, ministers, and churches of all denominations ; of graduates of colleges, governors, senators and representatives in Congress, or in the State Legislature, military and naval officers, and other persons of distinction.
Fourth-Biographical memoirs, sketches and notices of per- sons who came to North America, especially to the colony and State of New York, before the year 1700, showing from what places in Europe they came, their families there and their de- scendants in this country; full and minute genealogical memoirs and tables, showing the lineage and descent of families from the earliest date to which they can be authentically traced, down to the present time, with their branches and connections.
Fifth-Printed books, pamphlets, broadsides, etc., of a genea- logical, biographical and historical nature; official reports, reports of societies; church manuals; historical, biographical, statistical, commemorative addresses, sermons, etc.,-anything, in fact, which preserves a name, a date or a faet which may possibly be of use to some future investigator. 3
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The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
It is difficult, indeed, for parties not conversant with genealog- ical and historical studies to appreciate how important a single fact may be in tracing their early ancestry. A fact of residence or removal, a date of birth, marriage or death, may farnish or cor- roborate some item necessary to connect the parted links of the ancestral chain, or to elncidate some important historical truth.
The objects and work here outlined have been kept constantly in mind by the members of this Society during the period of a quarter of a century, and to-day we come before the public to render a short and we trust a creditable account of our steward- ship.
When this Society was organized, but few persons in our midst recognized the importance of our mission. The addition to the membership was slow, and at the close of the first year it was found that, notwithstanding a great amount of zealous effort, the Society numbered but thirty-six resident members, thirty-six cor- responding, one honorary and four life members-in all seventy- seven members.
The literature of family history comprising printed pedigrees, books and pamphlets published in the colony and State of New York, from the introduction of printing here in 1693 to the date of our organization, amounted to scarcely threescore and ten in muaber, and many of these were pamphlets of less than thirty pages. Mark the contrast ! The average issues during the past twenty-five years will equal this number in each year, and the rapid growth of this study has become an important factor in the requisites of social organization. So remarkably is this the case that all grades of the community are alive to the study, causing demands upon our own and other libraries for facilities of investi- gation which astonishes even the casual observer.
As before stated, additions to the resident membership of our Society at first came in slowly, but, as the years passed on, now and then a wealthy and liberal member joined our little band and became a warm friend.
One cansed to be made, at great expense, an accurate tran- script of the records of the Society of Friends in this city and vicinity.
A second paid the expense of a copy of the records of the First and Second Presbyterian Churches of the City of New York, and also of the Reformed Dutch Church of New York, from 1639 to 1800, at a cost of over fifteen hundred dollars.
5
Address by Dr. Purple.
A third contributed a transcript of the records of churches on Long Island, notably St. George Church, Hempstead.
A fourth, the records of Amboy, Woodbridge, Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting of Friends from 1686 to 1800.
A fifth, the records and family papers of the Macy and Coffin families, of Nantucket and New Bedford.
A sixth, a distinguished archivist and historian, important additions to the marriage licenses of the city and colony of New York, not comprised in the volume of marriage licenses published by the Legislature of New York in 1860.
And need I say that some of these benefactors having finished their earthly career, the influence of their good deeds still lingers around us, and we hope will awaken other members to emulate their noble example.
The board of trustees of the Society, toward the close of the first year, directed their attention to the matter of a medium for the publication of the Society's proceedings; and early in the month of December, 1869, a bulletin of eight pages was issued. the edition being 2,000 copies. It contained some notes on the history of the Society, a list of its officers and members; reviews of recent published works on family history, genealogy, local his- tories and biographies, in preparation and recently published, and a list of donations to the library. This was sent out as an experi- ment, to ascertain the desirability of the publication of a maga- zine. The response which this small tract called forth led the trustees, at a meeting held on the eleventh of March, 1870, to order the publication of a quarterly magazine in the interests of American genealogy and biography. A publication committee was appointed by the board, and the first number of Volume I. of the "New York Genealogical and Biographical Record" was soon issued. The subscription price was placed at one dollar a year, and the first volume comprised fifty-two pages. With the issue of the number for October, 1870, the continuance of the "Record" was announced and the size and price of the second volume increased.
It was soon evident that the magazine would prove an expense to the Society, and in December of that year a club was formed which was composed of a few members of the Society, who as- sumed the pecuniary responsibility of the publication, giving, to the library the books received for review, and the balance of the edition not required for the subscribers. The "Record" Club
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The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
continued practically to manage the publication for five years, and until the amount received from subscriptions paid for its publica- tion, when, at the desire of the board of trustees, the club dis- solved and the Society assumed its duties and responsibility. The " Record" has now completed its twenty-fourth volume, and we can say, without fear of being charged with egotism, that the twenty-four volumes are a mine of New York family history and biography second to no other publication. The contributors to the pages of the "Record" have been and still are among the most distinguished and learned writers of this city and State. No genealogist or biographer can safely ignore the contents of these volumes ; for in them are found the records of birth, marriage and death of the first white children born of Dutch, Huguenot and English parents on this Island and in the State-children born here before the purchase of the Island from its aboriginal inhab- itants.
But it is not of these only that our volumes treat, but of all nationalities, from the first settlement of white men and white women upon these shores to the present time. In them have ap- peared the marriage, birth, baptismal and death records of the earliest, and many of the later churches and societies, organized during the first and second centuries of civilization upon these shores. Contributions to the history of ancient families in Albany, New York, and many other early settlements in this State, from competent and trustworthy scholars of American his- tory, are found in its precious and most valuable pages. In so much as it is difficult to find a work in public libraries of this city that is as frequently called for by writers as the "New York Genealogical and Biographical Record."
The publication of the marriage, birth, or baptismal and death records of various churches in this city, early received the atten- tion of the publication committee of the Society. In the volume of the "Record" for 1873 we commenced printing the registers of the First Presbyterian Church, which began in the year 1728, and have brought their publication down to the year 1800. In the same volume we began printing the records of the Society of Friends of the City of New York and vicinity, commencing in 1640 and extending down to 1800. In 1874 the records of the Reformed Dutch Church from 1639 were commenced, and the marriages have been printed down to 1800. The baptisms have also been printed down to 1746, and are being continued. These
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Address by Dr. Purple.
records are the most complete of all the churches in the city, and their importance to the genealogist and historian cannot be over estimated. They throw a flood of light upon the genealogical and social history of New Amsterdam and New York, and scarcely a family whose ancestor arrived in the colony previous to 1700 but will here find a record of his descendants.
It may be asked how much of the vast material in possession of the Society has been printed : The answer is that the twenty- four volumes of our quarterly "Genealogical and Biographical Record" contain nearly five thousand pages relating to family history and biography. And that the first volume of the Society's collections, published in 1890, containing three hundred and forty pages, is made up of the marriages recorded in the archives of the first church established on this Island, in 1628, and it contains over 29,400 names of persons who were married before the year 1800.
By a wise provision in the by-laws of the Society, adopted at its institution in 1869-which provision still governs it-the fees of the life membership constitute a perpetual fund to be invested by the trustees for building purposes, the ammal interest of which, if need be, may be used for current expenses. This fund has recently been added to by a loving mother's bequest of $20,000, in memory of her only son, who was a life member of our Society. This fund amounts at the present time to nearly $25,000, and is available only for a building for the Society's use. Such a building is greatly needed, and may we not hope that ere long some benevolent friend or friends will add to this a sum sufficient to place the Society in possession of a well-equipped building fully adapted to its wants.
But, ladies and gentlemen, we will detain you no longer. Suffice it to say, this Society feels that it has claims upon the publie for having planted in the unpropitious soil of this City and State of New York a love for family history, and in furtherance of these claims we commend your attention to the speakers who will now, at the request of the president, address you.
O
The New work Genealogical and Biographical Society.
LETTER FROM DR. STILES.
LONDON, ENGLAND, February 7th, 1894.
GEN. JAMES GRANT WILSON,
President New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. New York City.
My Dear Sir :
I accept, with sincere pleasure, the opportunity afforded by your courteous invitation, to offer my congratulations to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, on the occasion of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of its birth. I should, of course, prefer to be with you in person and to say what I have to say, with the living voice and from a full heart; but, as that cannot be, I shall have to ask you to be my mouth-piece for the nonce.
I very well remember the boisterously stormy evening in February, '69, when the Society was born at Dr. Holton's residence, No. 124 West 54th Street. The rain was a veritable deluge and the wind roared and "blew great guns;" but the medical faculty, true to their professional instincts, were there in force-besides our host, Dr. Holton, there were, I think, Dr. William Frederic Holcombe, my brother, Dr. S. Edward Stiles and myself ; and the ministry was on hand also,-the Rev. Seymour A. Baker and the Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, of Boston ; and good mother Holton was hovering around with true motherly solicitude.
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