Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 256

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 256

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The grocery of Ira Estes on Main street was opened about twelve years ago. The old W. S. Lang stand has been occupied for several years by Melville W. Mead's tin, hard- ware and furniture store. Mr. Mead is an enterprising bus- iness man and a prominent citizen. Mr. Estes, above men- tioned, was a stock dealer of repute before he became a merchant, and is known as a man of brains and progressive ideas.

Lewis Hunt conducted a paint shop here for many years. Dying a few years since, he was succeeded by his son, Chauncey B. Hunt.

The old hotel was occupied for many years by William R. Wing, Simon Vedder, George Rich and others. It was burned in 1875, and soon afterward the American Hotel, on the same ground, was nearly completed by John J. Ladd. It passed from his possession by legal process and was finished by other parties. It has been occupied by E. Bigelow, Frank Bigelow, John J. Wilber and others, and is now in possession of Howland McComber.

In 1870 Arthur D. Mead & William McGraw began the manufacture of carriages. Their works were on Main street in the building now occupied by John Moon, black- smith. Ten men were employed and about seventy-five wagons were made annually. A second blacksmith shop is that of Christian Mackley. W. H. Harden has carried on a small tailoring business for many years.

It was the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad which gave activity and growth to the enterprising village known as Quaker Street Depot and New Quaker Street. The first store was erected there by Hicks W .. Sheldon soon after the completion of the railroad. He was succeeded by Mott T. Sheldon, Mead Sheldon and Van Wagner, and the building was finally closed as a store and converted into a tin shop.

About five years ago a store was opened at the Depot by W. K. Wilber & Son, which is now the property of L. A. Wilber. Milo J. Auchampaugh built a store here about ten years ago, and died not long afterward. He was succeeded in its occupancy by Elias Jones, and he by S. McKinney & Sons in 1885.

The tin shop in the old Sheldon store above mentioned was established by Dexter Clement, whose successor was A. Manchester, whom Manchester & Wilber succeeded. In the spring of 1885, Elmer J. Fake opened a drug store ad- joining this establishment.

The Shoudy House was built by James Shoudy about twelve yars ago. He has ever since owned it. The pres- ent lessee and keeper is John Boyce. The Central Hotel was built in 1880 and managed until the spring of 1885 by George Passage, whose successor was William Van Bens- choten. Dexter Clement ereeted a hotel building in 1883, and occupied it only a short time. It is now occupied as a residence and meat market by Emmet Schermerhorn. Whitney's railway eating saloon was opened about two years ago.

Quaker Street Depot is the terminus.

THE TOWNSHIP OF DUANESBURGH.

183

ALITTLE.

Francis trong

FRANCIS HOAG.

FRANCIS HOAG was born in Duanesburgh September 27, 1820. His early life was passed upon a farm, and his edu- cational advantages were only such as were afforded by the common schools near by. His parents were of the good old Quaker stock, and his early religious training was in the faith and doctrines of the Society of Friends, to which faith he has clung through a long and successful life, and whose pure teachings did much to develop in him a beautiful char- acter and an earnest, steadfast and thoughtful nature. Active, energetic, persevering, he has surmounted obstacles which seemed for the time to thoroughly block the way of his advance; but no worldly ambition ever led him to forget that strict integrity and honesty of purpose were called for at his hands.

At the age of twenty-four, Mr. Hoag married Eliza I). Carpenter, a young woman of rare merit, well calculated to be a help and strength to him in all the relations of life. In 1858 they moved to Albany, where he engaged in the wholesale provision trade, for a time in Exchange street and afterward in Dean street, in which business he continued successfully for nearly nineteen years. In business, as well

as in social life, he won many warm friends. His noble manly, straightforward way of dealing, won him the confi- dence of men in leading business circles, and his credit was almost unlimited. In 1861, the death of his beloved wife brought to him the greatest sorrow of his life. Their union, during a period of more than fifteen years, had been an un- usually harmonious one. The war of the rebellion had soon afterward entered upon its dreadful career, and from his private sorrows the mind of Mr. Hoag was providentially drawn to the sorrows of a great people. His sympathies were aroused, and he gave freely of his means and influence to aid the Union cause and lend succor to the wounded he- roes in Southern fields and in Southern hospitals. Decem- her 30, 1862, he married his second wife, Mary J. Case, of Chatham, Columbia County, N. Y., and on the opening of the new year (1863) he brought her to brighten his desolate home. Two sons have been born to them: Francis Hoag, Jr., in January, 1867, and William M. Hoag, in September, 1874.

In 1877, having bought a farm near his old home at Quaker Street, he disposed of his business in Albany and moved his family to the country, building for himself a handsome residence, and settled quietly down to the enjoy- ment of a peaceful old age.

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.

George Lashen

HON. GEORGE LASHER.

Hon. GEORGE LASHER was born in Duanesburgh Septem- ber 20, 1834, a son of James McMillan Lasher, who was also born in Duanesburgh July 4, 1811. George Lasher, his grandfather, was one of the early settlers of the town. He was a native of America. His wife, Helen McMillan, was born in Scotland. Simon Kennedy, father of the wife of James McMillan Lasher, and maternal grandfather of the subject of this notice, was for a long time a resident of Sche- nectady County. His wife was Mary Perry, of Connecticut.

Mr. Lasher was educated in common schools and at East- man's Commercial College in Poughkeepsie. He bas been a merchant, and is at present engaged in farming. He cast his first vote for John C. Fremont for President, and has acted with the Republican party ever since. He has served his townsmen as Justice of the Peace; was Supervisor in 1876, 1878 and 1880; and was elected to the Assembly in 1880 by a majority of 382 over Edward W. Paige (Demo- crat), the Democratic majority in 1879 having been 299. In his responsible capacity as legislator he served with credit to himself and to the gratification of his constituents. As a private citizen he enjoys the fullest confidence of all who know him.

DE WITT DUANE McDONALD.

DE WITT DUANE MCDONALD, son of Anson D. and Hannah (Macomber) McDonald, was born in Wright, Scho- harie County, N. Y., December 15, 1827. He removed in infancy to Quaker Street and has since lived there. His educational facilities were limited to those afforded by the common schools, and even those he was unable to attend regularly, even the winter terms, after he was thirteen years old.

At that tender age, when most boys are yet treated like children and have no thought of the stern duties of life, young McDonald left home and began the battle of life in the humble capacity of a farmer's boy of all work. He grew from boyhood to manhood, still doing his daily labor behind the plow, hoe in hand, or in the fields of grain ready to be garnered, and became in all respects a practical and well-informed farmer; but it was not as a farmer that he was destined to make a place and name for himself among his fellow men.

At the age of twenty he entered the service of R. P. U. Wilber, at Quaker Street, to learn the trade of shoemaking. He soon mastered all of its details and came to be con- sidered a thorough and skillful workman. He remained in

185

THE TOWNSHIP OF DUANESBURGH.

Mr. Wilber's employ until the latter's death and after that event in the employ of Messrs. E. G. & W. K. Wilber until the reorganization of the firm, when he became a member of it. His subsequent business career is given elsewhere in these pages. It only remains to us in this connection to call attention to the sterling qualities of the man, who, from a poor lad, illy educated and without means or influential friends, has made his way against adverse circumstances to the head of a large manufacturing bus- iness, and won the esteem and confidence of all who have known him boy and man.

August 3, 1853, Mr. McDonald married Rebecca Weaver, of Quaker Street, a daughter of Jacob and Deborah (Coffin) Weaver, who has borne him eight children, five of whom are living. Formerly an old-time Whig politically, Mr. McDonald gradually developed such principles as to ally him with the Republican party, of which he has been a member since its inception. He is a member of the First Christian Church of Quaker Street.

MARIAVILLE.

This small village was named in honor of a daughter ot Judge James Duane.

This was the scene of some quite extensive business oper- ations by Hon. Silas H. Marsh, who was once County Clerk of Schenectady County and represented his district in the Assembly. He was a man of enterprise and business ability, and was responsible for about all of the growth of the vil- lage up to the time his identification with it ceased. About 1830 he bought some land of " Katie " Duane and built a store and a grist-mill and a saw-mill. About fifteen years afterwards he disposed of the mercantile business to Jacob Quackenbush. After passing through other hands, it be- came the property of James M. Lasher & Sons in 1862. In 1879 it was purchased by Bronk & Bradshaw, and in 1881 hy A. N. Bronk, the present owner.

For a time Marsh was the proprietor of a trip-hammer and shop, where the manufacture of axes was carried on on a small scale, leasing it to other parties, and finally selling it. It is now owned by Dr. Delameter and operated by Marcus Delameter. An old grist-mill here had years before been converted into a carding and fulling mill and been operated by Jeremiah Murray and William Murray. This was bought and torn down by Marsh, giving place to his grist-mill, which, with the saw-mill and store, was sold in 1862 to James M. Lasher & Sons. This firm consisted of James M., John K. and William M. Lasher. In 1865 John K. Lasher removed to New York, William M. following him in 1868, since when the firm has been James M. Lasher & Son, the junior partner being Hon. George Lasher. These gentlemen have done much to promote the prosperity of the locality, and are reckoned among Schenectady County's honored and substantial business men. Sixty or more years ago Dr. Staley built a saw-mill. It changed hands several times. Jeremiah Murray once owned it. It is now the property of Abraham Devenburg. Another saw-mill, built by Richard Walpole in 1844, has been converted into a cider and vinegar and broom-handle factory, and is owned by David W. Walpole. David Lander built a hotel about sixty years ago which was kept by different parties, among them the veteran landlord, Benjamin Wiltsie, until 1863, when it was converted into a cheese factory by a stock company who purchased it for that purpose. It was idle some time, and was finally purchased by James M. Lasher and con- verted into dwellings. Formerly a hotel, which had been made of two old dwellings moved together, was occupied part of the time as a hotel and part of the time as a store. It was reconstructed by Jeremiah Murray. About 1840 two other dwellings were joined and remodeled for hotel use. This public house was opened by Daniel Nellis. Many landlords succeeded him. It has been kept during the past twenty years by Benjamin Wiltsie, one of the oldest hotel men in Schenectady County.

Patterson & Strong and John Van Housen were once prom - inent merchants here. Besides the store of A. N. Bronk, the village now contains those of Miss Matilda Hansett, for

some time postmistress, and J A. Bradshaw, who began trading during 1885. John Devenburgh is a carriage-maker.

DUANESBURGH.

This is a village of about one hundred inhabitants, located on the Schenectady branch of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's system of railways, and contains, be- sides its business places of different kinds, a small depot and a post-office. The pioneer settlers of this place were of Scotch, English and Dutch stock, and their sturdy traits are easily discernible in the residents of to-day. The place was formerly called Jamesville, in honor of a wealthy Mr. James, who once owned considerable landed property in the vicinity. Its present name was adopted many years ago, though it is generally called by residents and their neighbors The Four Corners. As has been seen, the early attempts of Judge Duane to make Centre Square, a mile distant, the nucleus of a village, was a failure.

The house now owned and occupied by Dr. Stephen G. Delamater as a residence, was seventy-five years ago kept as a tavern by Joseph Gaige, who was for many years a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Gaige sold the tavern to his ne- phew, John Gaige, about sixty years ago, and it was subse- quently owned by Julius Keyes and Henry C. Ham. The latter sold it to Dr. Delamater.

The present hotel, nearly opposite the building whose history has just been given, was built by John Post during the closing years of the revolutionary war. About 1820 a Mr. Edwards became the proprietor, and soon afterwards John Hogh bought it and retained control until 1830, when it was purchased by Truman Case, who owned and conduct- ed it till 1874, when he died and it passed into the possession of his son, Josiah Case, who has since filled the roll of mine host at Duanesburgh, greatly to the satisfaction of his townsmen and the traveling public.

About sixty years ago, Mr. James E. O'Neill was sent here in the employ of Messrs. Brodwick & Duane, of Schenectady, widely-known merchants of their day. At first he sold goods for them on commission, walking to Sche- nectady every Saturday night to render a report of the week's business to his employers. It was not long before he was enabled to enter business on his own account. He erected the first store in the village and put in a stock of goods. He also bought a tan-yard west of the village, which had been established by one Gathan, and managed it successful- ly until 1840. His store was closed shortly after his death, which occurred in February, 1878. Mr. O'Neill liad ac- quired considerable wealth as the result of a long life's honest industry and was a leading citizen of the town, well respected throughout the county.

The leading store in Duanesburgh is the one now owned and occupied by Mr. John L. Turnbull. The building was erected by Philip James Fredericks a little less than twenty- five years ago. He kept the store until his death, about 1870, when John S. Hoag purchased it, remaining in con- trol until 1872, when the present proprietor became the owner. A general stock of dry goods and groceries is kept. Mr. Turnbull has been Town Clerk of Duanesburgh most of the time for the past decade, and is regarded as a stirring and energetic man.

The village school-house was removed to its present loca- tion forty years ago. It was previously located down by the creek, where it had stood for a time beyond the memory of any citizen.

A century ago, Dr. Abraham Delamater was a practicing physician in Duanesburgh and a surgeon as well. About the year 1800, his brother, Dr. Peter Delamater, came and for many years had an extensive ride. In 1843 Dr. Stephen G. Delamater, son of Dr. Peter Delamater, began here the practice of his profession, a service to the people which has been continued uninterruptedly ever since. Among the other early physicians were Dr. McDermott (1815-25) and Dr. Wilson (1825-35). While generally this locality has been remarkably free from those epidemics which rage from time to time in less favored places, it has not wholly escaped. Twenty years ago there was a diptheritic epidemic which carried off twenty people in the immediate vicinity of the village.

BRAMAN'S, PATTERSON'S AND GREEN'S CORNERS.

These localities are named in honor of the families of Braman, Patterson and Green. The first mentioned was

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.

formerly known as Parlor Street, in honor of the Parlor fam- ily. Dr. Joseph Braman opened a store there as early as 1840, and fifteen years later sold it to Nathaniel Herrick. George Bradford occupied it later. The present merchant is George A. Snell. William Gardinier once kept a grocery there. The Parlors once had a tannery and carried on farming and other business.

We take pleasure in making mention of the following well-known citizens, who by their guaranteed support have helped to insure the publication of this valuable work: H. P. Allen, Mrs. A. E. Abrams, Samuel Brown, Martin Bradt, A. M. Bronk, C. W. Bronk, P. A. Brumagin, John

O. Becker, Delos Braman, William Chadwick, John E. Cul- lings, G. W. Conover, Frank M. Chapman, S. G. De Lamater, D. C. Davis, Marcus De Lamater, C. I. Dodge, John Davenburg, George Dennison, Ira Estes, J. D. Featherstonhaugh, James Ferguson, A. M. Gaige, Joseph Green, William J. Gardner, Francis Hoag, David B. Hall, T. Roymen Herrick, John L. Jones, Alexander Liddle, George H. Love, Robert Lidell, George Lasher, Melville Mead, Alonzo Macomber, D. D. McDonald, R. W. Mc- Dougall, Alexander McDougall, James L. McMillan, J. K. Rhinehart, W. F. & J. H. Shute, J. L. Turnbull, Darius Tripp, J. H. Titus, E. G. Wilber, John D. Wood, I. R. T. Wood, James Wright, David W. Walpole, Benjamin Wilt- sie, Kirby Wilber.

HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF GLENVILLE.

By Rev. E. E. TAYLOR.

G LENVILLE was named from the original pat- entee, Sanders Leendertse Glen. It was formed from the fourth ward of Schenectady, April 14, 1820. It is the only town in the county north of the Mohawk. In 1665 the country around Scotia was granted to Glen, a native of Scotland, who had removed to Holland in 1645 on account of religious persecu- tions. After several years spent there in mercantile pursuits, he migrated to the New Netherlands.

The greater part of the surface is covered with a thick deposit of drift, consisting principally of clay, with an occasional outcrop of slate, and underlaid with hard pan in the south and western part, and sand and gravelly loam in the eastern. The underlying rock is generally the shales of the Hud- son River group, which crop out in the valleys and the bottom of ravines. In portions of this town this is underlaid by bird's-eye limestone, from which are obtained both lime and stone for building. This rock crops out on the banks of the streams and from the declivities of the steeper hills. The central and western parts are occupied by rugged and wooded hills, abruptly rising from the valley of the river to a height of 300 feet. The eastern part is nearly level. The Mohawk intervales are very fertile, and have been, to a considerable ex- tent, devoted to the culture of broom corn.

The streams are Crabskill, Chaugh-ta-noon-da, Aalplaats and Jan Wemp's Creeks, and Verf Kill.

Sanders Lake, in Scotia, is about a mile in cir- cumference.

Van Slyck's Island was granted to Jacques Van Slyck November 13, 1662, and later a new grant to Jaques Cornelise and Jan Barentse Wemp.

Hoffman's Ferry was established about 1790 by Harmanus Vedder, and called Vedder's Ferry until 1835. It was bought in 1835 by John Hoff- man, from whom it took its present name. The present owner is Jeremiah Vanderhyden. The rate of passage is five cents for a single individual and ten cents for one horse and carriage. This is a railroad station of the Central Road, and is an in- significant place at present, with no hotel. It has

a small store, and has a hay barn for storing hay in transit for the market. The business interests center on the opposite side of the river, in Rotter- dam.

In 1820, when the town of Glenville was set off from the City of Schenectady, much of the unoccu- pied land that was held by the city was cut up and sold in twenty-acre lots to residents of the city for wood lots. This was sold in single lots only, and but one to the same person. This rendered farm- ing on these lands for a long time impossible. It was only in December of 1883 that the city sold the last of its lots, and many of these twenty-acre lots are still held. This has been one cause of delaying the development of this part of the county.

Among the first settlers were the Glens, San- derses, Vieles, Van Eppses, Ostroms, Tolls, Bar- hydts, Browns, Johnsons and Carpenters.

The following are the names and occupations of many of the principal persons in the town:

C. P. Sanders, farmer, milk business and gar- dener; ex-Judge W. T. L. Sanders; Charles P. Sanders, Jr., attorney; John B. Wilson, specu- lator; W. C. Carpenter, carpenter ; Lorenzo Van Patten, blacksmith ; Michael Whalen, blacksmith ; J. V. Z. Weaver, farmer and Justice of the Peace ; Lorenzo Lovett & Son, wholesale butchers ; Wil- lis C. Lovett, Justice of the Peace ; Jacob H. Hal- enbeck, dealer in tin-ware, and is Overseer of the Poor ; N. S. Cheesman, practicing physician ; William Channer, broom business ; G. F. Becktel, shoe store ; James H. Gillett, cabinet-maker ; Thomas Gould, Justice of the Peace ; S. V. R. Ford, blacksmith, and has been Justice of the Peace ; Lansing Slover, grocer ; James Collins occupies one of the old Glen buildings, and is a son of Charles Collins, railroad contractor, etc .; Philip Becker, on the Reese Place ; Philip R. Toll, farmer, two miles north of Scotia ; Charles I. Toll and Philip R. Toll, farmers; Tunis Vrooman, farmer, three miles north from Scotia ; Alexander Van Eps, farmer, east front Scotia; John S. Lan- sing, farmer and milk dealer, two miles north of

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THE TOWNSHIP OF GLENVILLE.

Scotia ; A. A. Livingston, farmer and milk dealer, four miles northeast of Scotia ; Joseph K. Passage, farmer ; William Hasel, farmer, and occupies the old Viele Place, near Charles H. Tolls, one and one-half miles from Scotia, on the western turn- pike; B. H. Clute, farmer, three miles from Scotia ; Adam Swart and many others of the same name, six miles from Scotia, and descendants from first settlers ; Charles H. Toll, extensive farmer, one mile from Scotia ; Dan. Toll, farmer and broom manufacturer, two miles from Scotia ; William Rector, farmer, five miles from Scotia ; Charles W. Merselles, farmer, one and one-half miles north from Scotia ; James T. Wyatt, farmer, four miles north from Scotia, and is now Supervisor ; John Houck, farmer and Commissioner of Highways, two miles northeast from Scotia. Eastward : Will- iam Dougal, farmer ; Charles Dawson, farmer, and with his father in saw and grist-mill just over the line in Charlestown; J. J. Van Eps, farmer, and keeps hotel; James Van Vorst, farmer; J. H. See- ley, farmer, near the Freeman Bridge ; Henry Slo- ver, farmer and milk dealer ; John Oliver, farmer ; Henry Palmer and Joseph Birch, farmers. Charles Closson keeps town house and has a store. The building has been used as a town house for the past twenty years. Dan. Frank, farmer; George S. and Henry Cornell, farmers.

In the western part of the town, W. S. Hammond, hotel and store ; Philip Green, farmer ; George P., John H. and Thomas Conde, farmers, and de- scendants of first settlers ; Matthew R. Brown, farmer ; J. D. Van Eps, farmer ; George H. Van Buran keeps blacksmith and wheelwright shops ; Peter Y. Vandeveer, farmer and assessor ; James Ostrom, farmer ; Thomas Parks, harness-maker ; Johnson and Spencer and T. R. Patten, farmers ; Matthew Halenbeck, wagon-maker ; Solomon Halenbeck, farmer, and former Justice of the Peace for several years; Rockwell Harmon, farmer; Edwin Young and L. B. Rulison, physicians.

Hoffman's Ferry : Latin Johnson, farmer ; Aaron Bradt, farmer.

WEST GLENVILLE.

West Glenville is a village ten miles from Schenectady, containing twenty-eight dwellings, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, one har- ness shop, one shoe shop, one meat shop, one hotel-now closed-and two churches. It is in the northeast part of the town. The First Re- formed Church was organized in 1813, with an en- dowment from Schenectady. The church was built at once, and again rebuilt in 1872 at a cost of $8,500. There was half an acre connected for a burial ground, and there has since been added to it one and one-half acres, and the trustees are now making arrangements to again enlarge it.

The minutes show the membership of 1883 to be 278; and three Sunday-schools connected with the church, with an aggregate of 200 scholars.

The different pastors and dates of their settlement over the First Reformed Church, Glenville: 1. Rev. Peter Van Zandt, installed September 8, 1818, the town then being embraced as the Fourth ward,

Schenectady; 2. Rev. Elbert Slingerland, installed July 8, 1824; 3. Rev. Seth Bunnell, installed Decem- ber 8, 1835; 4. Rev. Wilson Ingalls, called Feb- ruary 4, 1840, and soon after installed ; 5. Rev. Abram H. Myers, called February 2, 1852, and soon after installed; 6. Rev. Peter Burghardt, called September 5, 1855, and soon after installed; 7. Rev. George H. Peck, called December 13, 1861, and soon after installed ; 8. Rev. John Miner, called February, 1864, and soon after in- stalled ; 9. Rev. William Randell, called Febru- ary 9, 1874, and soon after installed ; 10. Rev. William J. Hill, called May, 1882, and soon after installed ; 11. Rev. M. F. Nickerson has received an informal call, and is expected to be installed very soon.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 256

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452