USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume I > Part 16
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Upon attaining his majority Mr. Gower was married, in England, on August 17, 1879, to Miss Alice Cuthbert, a daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Hacking) Cuthbert, the former being a block painter of Oswaldtwistle, Eng- land. The children born to Thomas and Hannah Cuthbert were: Ann, Alice, Sarah, Martha, Mary, Emma, Elizabeth, Jane, Thomas and one who died in infancy. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gower are: Annie. William, James F., Cuthbert, Emma J., Edward F., Henry G., Alice and Inez M. The first four are deceased. The family attend the Episcopal church and move in the best social circles of this place.
WILLIAM J. WARD.
Mr. Ward is the well-known and popular proprietor of the Ledger House, of Elmsford, Westchester county, New York, which is the best known hos- telry between White Plains and Tarrytown, many of the most prominent men of the state having been entertained there. It was erected at the close of the Revolutionary war and for several years was known as the Linda Cot- tage. For the past ten years it has been most ably conducted by the present
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proprietor, who has made many needed improvements, so that it is quite mod- ern and up-to-date in all its appointments.
Mr. Ward is a native of Westchester county, born at Fordham, August 10, 1850, and comes of good old Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather, William Ward, having aided the colonies, as a soldier of the continental army, in throwing off the yoke of British oppression. He was a native of Holland. The father of our subject, who also bore the name of William Ward, was born at Fordham, this county, and in early manhood married Miss Helen Corsa, a native of the same place, and a daughter of John Corsa, who with two brothers was a soldier of the civil war. Our subject's paternal uncle, Stephen Ward, was also one of the gallant defenders of the Union during the dark days of the Rebellion. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, and a Republican in politics, died at the age of seventy- two years, and his wife passed away at the age of seventy-four. To this worthy couple were born thirteen children, but only four are now living, namely: William J., our subject; E. F., a resident of White Plains; Andrew, also of this county; and Mrs. Caroline Blake.
The subject of this review is indebted to the public schools of this county for his educational privileges, and here he grew to manhood. At the age of thirty-three he married Miss Emily Rogers, of Westchester county, who is a native of England. Her father, William F. Rogers, died in 1892. To Mr. and Mrs. Ward have been born an interesting family of four children: Helen, Florence, Edna and Olla. In his political affiliations Mr. Ward is a Republican, and as a public-spirited citizen he takes a deep and intelligent interest in the welfare of his town and county.
LOUIS INGWERSEN.
Louis Ingwersen is one of the men of foreign birth who has taken advan- tage of the superior opportunities afforded by the New World, and here, by the exercise of unflagging industry and enterprise, has attained to an enviable position in the business world. Anxious that others of his countrymen should also share the privileges here accorded the ambitious man, he has done much to encourage immigration, and to-day is engaged in the business of arranging matters of transportation for those who would seek homes either along the Atlantic coast or in the western sections of this great republic. He may truly be called a self-made man, for the success he has achieved is the result of his well directed efforts, his great energy and commendable ambition.
Mr. Ingwersen is a native of Holstein, Germany, and a son of Johann and Elizabeth / Wohlers) Ingwersen. For four hundred years his ancestors
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were connected with the military service of the fatherland, and the paternal grandfather of our subject held the rank of major during his service under Napoleon Bonaparte. Johann Ingwersen, also a native of Holstein, received a military education in an academy in Copenhagen. He was a sea- faring man, and became captain of a merchant vessel, which sailed from Hamburg. He lost his life at sea, while in Australian waters, when only twenty-seven years of age. His widow still survives him, at the age of seventy-nine years. His parents reached an advanced age, the grandfather of our subject dying at the age of ninety-two, the grandmother when eighty- nine years of age.
In the public schools of his native land Louis Ingwersen acquired his education, but at the age of thirteen put aside his text-books and went to sea as an apprentice on a merchant vessel. He afterward served as second mate on both German and American vessels, and for seven years engaged in fishing off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. He then went to New York city and was inaster of vessels which made trips to various American seaports. For one year he was agent for the German Immigration Society, and afterward became foreign agent for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, in which capacity he served until September, 1885, when he became passenger agent for the New York Central & Hudson River Rail- road Company, with offices at No. 413 Broadway, New York city. While laboring for the interests of the corporation and thus providing a handsome income for himself, he is also of great service to those from foreign lands who seek homes in the United States, and has done much to encourage immigration of the better class, so that the addition to the population of the country is composed of those who become loyal and law-abiding citizens.
In various fraternal organizations Mr. Ingwersen has become very promi- nent. He was made a Mason in 1875, and is also a member of the chapter and commandery. He belonged to the Knights of Pythias fraternity until 1894, and of the Improved Order of Knights of Pythias; he is now serving as commander of the commandery and supreme vice-commander of the United States. He is also past grand commander of the state of New York, and was one of the organizers of the lodge at Buffalo, New York. He is a valued member of the Yonkers Teutonia Club, the Yonkers Palisade Boat Club and of the Railroad Passenger & Freight Association of New York city. In his political views he is an ardent and zealous Republican, and has long been active in local politics. He has been chairman of the Ward Association and a member of the general committee of Yonkers, and is also vice-president of the Lincoln League Republican Club, of Yonkers.
On the 15th of January, 1884, Mr. Ingwersen was united in marriage to Miss Dora Schucht, who was born in the city of Hanover, Germany, and they
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have had five children: Gertrude, Herman, Lloyd, Anna, deceased, and Minnie. For four years they have resided in Yonkers, and the hospitality of their home is enjoyed by many friends here. The life record of Mr. Ingwersen is a striking example of what may be accomplished by determined and well directed efforts, by honorable dealing and consecutive endeavor, while his prominence in political and social circles is the result of a natural fitness for leadership.
FRANCIS M. CARPENTER.
Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success; it carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character, and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, implying the exercise of the ordi- nary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experiences of the best kind, and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and self-improvement. In the legitimate chan- nels of trade Francis Marshall Carpenter has won the success which always crowns well directed labor, sound judgment and untiring perseverance, and at the same time he has concerned himself with the affairs of his native county in a loyal, public-spirited way, so that the community accounts him one of its leading and representative citizens. Many times public honors would have been conferred upon him had he not refused to accept such, but at length he was prevailed upon to become the candidate for county treasurer, and the very flattering majority he received indicated his high position in the public regard. He is now acceptably discharging the duties of the position, and as one of Westchester county's most valued officials we present him to our readers.
Mr. Carpenter was born in New Castle, this county, July 17, 1834, a son of Zopher and Phebe (Marshall) Carpenter. The Carpenters of West- chester county trace their descent from Ezra Carpenter, of Wiltshire, Eng- land, who was born in 1570. He had two sons, Richard and William, but the latter died unmarried. Richard had several sons, one of whom, Timothy, was born in 1665, came to America in 1678 and located in Hempstead, Long Island. He also had a number of sons, one of whom, John, of Oyster Bay, was born June 13, 1690. The last named had a son known as " John Car- penter, the hatter," who was born January 7, 1714, and removed to New Castle, then North Castle, in 1736, at the time of the great Quaker emigra- tion from Long Island, by way of Harrison's Purchase. He established his home on the farm recently known as the Cary place, now owned by the heirs of the late E. C. Cowdin and adjoining their residence. There lie car-
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ried on his trade and found his customers among the farmers of the vicinity. From him the different Carpenter families of New Castle and adjacent towns have sprung. He had three sons, -Abraham, Jacob and Gilbert. The first named was born December 27, 1738, married Lydia Totten and lived for some time on a farm which he cleared, the dwelling occupying the present site of Halstead's store in Mount Kisco. Subsequently he owned the place where Daniel E. Hallock recently lived, and it is related that his house there was accidentally burned by the troops in the Revolutionary war. His son James, of the seventh generation, was born January 3, 1773, married Eliza- beth Totten, and for many years resided on the place where his son Zopher afterward lived; but the last years of his life were passed in the home that occupied the site of the Jesse Brady tavern, and until lately owned by his grandson, Azariah Carpenter.
The next in the line of direct descent is Zopher Carpenter, father of our subject, who was born in New Castle, August 5, 1805, and spent the greater part of his life there. For several years prior to his death, however, he resided just across the line in the town of Bedford, in the village of Mount Kisco. He was several times supervisor of New Castle and was one of its leading and influential citizens. He had been an energetic and successful business man. His death occurred in April, 1891, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, who is living, is a daughter of James and Eliza Marshall, the Marshall family being an old one of this locality. She was born in West- chester county in 1810.
The eldest son of Zopher and Phebe Carpenter is Francis Marshall Carpenter, who, when a year old, came with his parents from New Castle to a farm, on the Sing Sing road, which was their home for many years. There he spent his boyhood, his early education being acquired in the district schools, while later he attended the Union Academy, in Bedford, of which Alex C. Reynolds was principal. At the age of nineteen he engaged in clerk- ing in a general store in Mount Kisco, in which he became a partner the fol- lowing year, together with John T. Carpenter and H. Young, under the firm name of Carpenter, Young & Company. After a time he continued the busi- ness alone and subsequently was with his brother, under the firm name of F. M. & J. T. Carpenter. Abandoning the store in 1862, he purchased the farm on which he was reared, and there carried on agricultural pursuits until 1873, when he sold that property. Since 1874 he has been engaged in the coal trade in New York city, in partnership with James H. Pettingill, under the firm name of Carpenter & Pettingill. He has a constantly increasing business and his liberal patronage has resulted from his honorable dealing, his promptness and reliability. He is also vice- president of the Mount Kisco National Bank. 9
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In 1862 Mr. Carpenter was elected supervisor of New Castle, and with the exception of the years 1869 and 1870 has continued in that position up to the present time, covering thirty-two years-a length of service exceeded in only two instances in the history of the county. In 1872 and again in 1873, 1894 and 1895, he was chosen chairman of the board of supervisors. His course in public matters has been marked by a judicious attention to the general interest. He is known throughout the county as one of the most capable and influential members of the board, and personally he has won the respect and esteem of his associates, of whatever political party. His high charac- ter and wide acquaintanceship have repeatedly brought his name into promi- nence for higher political honors, but he declined to be a candidate until 1896, when he was nominated for the office of county treasurer and was elected by a majority of forty-eight hundred. He is now discharging the duties of that position with marked ability and fidelity. It is a striking proof of the confidence reposed in Mr. Carpenter by the people who know him best that for many years past he has frequently been called upon to act as executor and been appointed as guardian or trustee to represent minor heirs. In the discharge of these trusts, as well as his public ones, he has attained a well deserved and honorable reputation.
Mr. Carpenter has been twice married. On the 24th of November, 1859, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary B. Miller, daughter of John A. Miller, of Bedford. She died in 1885, and two of their four children have also passed away, the others being Carrie, wife of Charles F. Matthews, and Zopher, a representative of the tenth generation from the Welsh ancestor to bear the family name. In 1887 Mr. Carpenter was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Catherine A. Moger, of Mount Kisco. In the com- munity in which he has so long resided Mr. Carpenter is greatly appreciated for his energy, sagacity in business, his superior judgment, his unquestioned integrity and for the various qualities which make him a public-spirited citizen and loyal friend.
CAPTAIN ANDREW FERRIS.
In this enlightened age when men of energy, industry and merit are rapidly pushing their way to the front, those who, by their own individual efforts, have won favor and fortune may properly claim recognition. Among this class is Captain Ferris, who from cook on a sloop has steadily worked his way upward until to-day he is a manager and part owner of the barge line run under the firm name of Ferris, Steedwell & Company, of Port Chester.
He was born in Greenwich township, Fairfield county, Connecticut, July 18, 1833, and spent his boyhood on the home farm. Rural pursuits not be- ing to his taste, he obtained a position as cook on a sloop running on North
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river and Long Island Sound, and was thus employed for three years, after which he served as a. deck hand with his brother, Captain David P. Ferris, who is represented elsewhere in this work. Subsequently he attained to the position of master and as such remained until 1860, when he became part owner and master of the schooner Clara Post, plying on East and North rivers, until 1884. He then was master of a barge until the spring of 1887, when he accepted the position of master of the Port Chester, remaining with that vessel until she was sold four years later, and since that time he has been manager of the line of barges with which he is now connected. He is an enterprising, wide-awake business man of known reliability, and commands the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact either in business or social life. His political support is always given the men and measures of the Republican party.
On January 23, 1860, Captain Ferris was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Lockwood, who died leaving two children: Addie, now the wife of George C. Leonard, of Port Chester; and Clarence W., who is connected with the barge line. The Captain was again married, in January, 1878, to Miss Mary E. Steedwell, of Port Chester, a sister of Edwin F. Steedwell, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume. One son has been born of this union, named Walter A.
CAPTAIN JOHN A. PRUYN.
The family of Pruyn has an American history which reaches back into the days of small things of great import, and in nearly every generation some of its members have distinguished themselves as patriots, as statesmen, or in other walks of life. The name is part of the Holland-Dutch nomenclature which has distinguished New York from its beginning. Johannes I. Pruyn, great-great-grandfather of Captain John Isaac Pruyn, located early at Kinder- hook. One of his sons, John I. Pruyn, born at Kinderhook, was a commis- sioned officer in the patriot army and served gallantly during the Revolution- ary war. He had a son, also named John I., who was the grandfather of Captain John Isaac Pruyn. This John I. Pruyn was born February 11, 1784. He married Jane Van Vleek, daughter of Abraham I. and Janette (Vosburgh) Van Vleek, of Kinderhook, who died October 5, 1823. Their children were John, who married Maria Snyder; Abraham, who married Clara Louisa M. Fairfield; Frances, who was born June 4, 1810, and died February 14, 1842; Lucas, who inarried Cynthia Willsey; Jane, who married John Chester Sweet; Isaac, twice married, first to Mary Jane Wilcox, and after her death to Sarah Elizabeth Wilcox; and Catherine Maria, who was born August 8, 1819, married Hugh Van Alstyne, of Kinderhook, a retired gentleman, and
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died November 23, 1877. After having been a widower nearly two years, John Isaac Pruyn married Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh, who was a daughter of Bartholomew and Catherine Pruyn, and was then a widow. Her father was a major in the Revolutionary army, and fought at Monmouth and in other engagements under General Washington. This marriage was cele- brated June 7, 1825. They had three children. Bartholomew, the eldest, was twice married. His first wife was Sarah C. Thomas, his second Judith A. Groat. The two others were daughters named Sarah Elizabeth and Catalina. Elizabeth (Van Valkenburgli) Pruyn was born November 16, 1788, and died January 21, 1881. John Isaac Pruyn died January 24, 1856.
Bartholomew and Sarah C. (Thomas) Pruyn, mentioned above, were the immediate progenitors of Captain John Isaac Pruyn. Bartholomew Pruyn was born on the ancestral acres at Kinderhook, and lived there for many years. At this time he is living the life of a retired gentleman in Kinderhook. He received a liberal education, read law, and for a time practiced his pro- fession with success. Soon after the beginning of our civil war he organized Company K, Thirtieth Regiment of New York Volunteers, of which he was captain. He commanded it ably for two years, or until he was discharged from the service for physical disability, and led it on several hotly contested fields of battle. After his return home he soon regained something like his accustomed strength, and his desire to serve his country in its hour of need impelled him to organize another company for service in the south, and in 1864 he was at its head, and it was attached to the One Hundred and Ninety- Second New York Volunteer Regiment. He was on duty until the war ended and on his return home was received with much honor. He took part in the engagements at Cedar Hill and Antietam, the Second Battle of Bull Run, in the battle of Culpeper Court House, and in other historic and important engagements. Since the war he has interested himself in the Grand Army of the Republic and in the local affairs of Kinderhook, in which he has been quite prominent, having held several important offices, including that of assessor. In politics he is a Republican. He has been a life-long member of the Dutch Reformed church.
By his marriage to Sarah C. Thomas, who was a daughter of Robert Thomas, of Kinderhook, a man of wealth and influence, Bartholomew Pruyn became the father of six children, in order of birth as follows: Robert, John Isaac, Elizabeth, who married Edward Van Alstyne, of Kinderhook, an extensive real-estate owner; Mary K., wife of Henry A. Best, a prominent lumber and coal merchant and landed proprietor of Stuyvesant, Columbia county, New York; and Lucas and Wilsey, who are deceased. There is no issue by the second marriage.
Captain John Isaac Pruyn was born at Kinderhook, December 29, 1853,
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and was graduated from Kinderhook Academy at the age of fifteen. He began his business career as a dry-goods clerk at Yonkers. In 1892 he established a furniture and carpet business at 117 New Main street, and in 1893 removed to his present location, 107 New Main street, where in a four- story and basement store, 25 x 90 feet, he carries the largest furniture stock in Yonkers.
Captain Pruyn's military career was begun June 6, 1874, by his enlist- ment as a private in Company D, Sixteenth Battalion of state militia. He was promoted corporal March 11, 1876; sergeant February 7, 1877; first ser- geant February 12, 1880; and sergeant major March 23, 1880, and was hon- orably discharged in December, 1881. In January, 1882, he became first sergeant of the Fourth Separate Company. He was made second lieutenant February 1, 1884; first lieutenant August 5, 1885; and captain November 26, 1887, and has since been in command of the company.
July 5, 1898, he was commissioned captain in the Two Hundred and Third New York Volunteers, by Governor Black, and organized Company B, of that regiment, largely from the membership of the Fourth Separate Com- pany. The regiment was mustered out of the service at Camp Wetherell, at Greenville, South Carolina, March 25, 1899, after about nine month' serv- ice. Captain Pruyn was a strict disciplinarian. but courteous, genial and popular with his men. In politics he is a Republican, but he is independent enough to vote for any good man for an important local office. He is an Odd Fellow, a prominent Mason, and a member of the Improved Order of Heptasophs.
Mr. Pruyn was married May 19, 1875, to Miss Mary Scott, daughter of John C. Scott, of Freehold, New Jersey, and they have four children: J. Willard, Robert Scott, Alma T. and Kenneth Linwood. Mr. Scott is a suc- cessful photographic artist and a popular citizen.
MICHAEL FITZGERALD.
Michael Fitzgerald, a prosperous business man of Yonkers, and a leading Democrat, was at one time a member of the city board of aldermen and served as a member of the board of supervisors of Westchester county for ong term. He is a son of John and Bridget (Welsh) Fitzgerald, both natives of Ireland. Michael Fitzgerald was born in county Kerry, Ireland, Septem- ber 29, 1848, and was reared upon a farm until he was about seventeen years of age. His father owned a good homestead, and was a representative man in his community, and for some time served as supervisor of the town in which he lived. He died in 1855, when but forty-seven years of age.
In 1865, when in his eighteenth year, Michael Fitzgerald determined to
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seek a new home and a fortune, if the fates were kind, in the United States. He bade adieu to the scenes and friends of his youth and bravely started forth, accompanied by his brother Frank. Coming to Yonkers, they found employment in a foundry, and after working for a number of years as a jour- neyman for various firms and in different parts of the country, Michael Fitz- gerald embarked in business on his own account, in partnership with Joseph W. Greenhalgh. In the meantime he had traveled quite extensively through the west and southwest, with a view to locating in a favorable field of busi- ness, but the result of his investigations eventually determined him to return to this place. In 1892 he bought out his partner's interest in the foundry, and has since continued the business alone, meeting with success. In 1897 he purchased, at a cost of eight thousand dollars, his present plant, Nos. 28 -30 Nepperhan street, a three-story brick building, situated on a lot fifty by one hundred feet. He does a general molding and casting business and makes a specialty of manufacturing tinsmiths' tools. He employs twelve men and numbers among his customers many of the largest concerns of this county. He justly merits his prosperity, for he has been the architect of his own fortunes and has had only himself to rely upon. Socially, he has many warm friends, and is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of Saint Mary's Roman Catholic church.
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