USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume I > Part 21
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
1
t
171
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
sea, finally putting into Marguerita bay in California, in quest of the " fin- back " whale, a very dangerous and difficult whale to capture. The ship lost one boat and crew of five men and an officer while endeavoring to kill one of these whales. The next venture of the ship was more successful, as it was a voyage to the southward in pursuit of sea elephants, the oil from these ani- mals being of much commercial value. Thus, in brief, is outlined some of the experiences which befell the little David Chambers, -experiences which only the strongest and hardiest of men could be expected to survive, -the ex- tremes of heat and cold, exposure, wind and wave, hunger and thirst, danger in every form, -and yet he came through it all, seeming to lead a charmed life during the five long years of his service before the mast. In simple, direct language he often recalls his memories of those days, holding his hearers spell-bound while they listen to his thrilling accounts.
In 1855 Mr. Chambers landed amid his early haunts in New York state, and for twelve years he was employed by the Otis Elevator Works, of Yon- kers, as a machinist. In the meantime he made a trip to England on a sail- ing vessel, the voyage requiring sixty-five days, and there he visited the vari- ous large cities and points of interest. Subsequently he was employed in varying capacities with the following-named firms: Montgomery & Com- pany Machine Shops; Globe Works, of New York city; Long Island Rail- road Company; Baldwin & Flagg, hat manufacturers; Star Arms Com- pany, of Yonkers (with them eight years); Continental Screw Company, of Jersey City; West, Bradley & Company, of New York city; Waring Hat Factory, Yonkers; Southside Railroad Company; New York City Railroad (delivering locomotives for them to all parts of this country); the Clipper Mower & Reaper Company; the A. Smith Carpet Company; of Yonkers (mas- ter mechanic there for eight years); Greenport Ferry Company; Howard, Sanger & Company, of New York, and the carpet mill and morocco factories at Yonkers. When with Howard, Sanger & Company he superintended the construction of a novelty mill for the firm at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and then was manager of the plant for twelve years. Subsequently he was superintendent of St. John's Hospital, in Yonkers, and for a time was engineer for the sugar refinery here. He opened a shop of his own in 1899, at No. 67 Dock street, Yonkers, and here does all kinds of machine and electro- plating, etc.
Mr. Chambers is now serving his second term as inspector of engines and boilers for this city, having been appointed to the office by the mayor and city council. He has adopted a plan of very rigid examination of engines and boilers, and is exacting (but none too much so, for the welfare of all concerned) in having the rules regarding such machinery carried out to the letter. Fearless in the discharge of his duty, and being thoroughly posted
172
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
in regard to all kinds of stationary engines, he bears an enviable reputation for fidelity and skill. For two years he was the assistant to the chief engineer of the fire department, and a member of the department for seven years, and now belongs to the Exempt Firemen's Association. He is also a member of the National Association of Stationary Engineers. Years ago he was a mem- ber of the militia in this city. Politically, he is a Republican, and socially he is a Mason, a member of Rising Star Lodge, of Yonkers, F. & A. M. For four years he sang in the choir of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member, and thus, in the many and varied interests of life he has ever borne an active part, always ready to give his means and influence wherever good may be done thereby. Temperate and honorable, upright in word and deed, he possesses the respect and best wishes of multi- tudes of friends.
In August, 1858, Mr. Chambers married Miss Emma Woodruff, a daugh- ter of William Woodruff, a hat manufacturer of Yonkers. Two sons and two daughters were born of this marriage. Arthur, a machinist, married Miss Marsella McComb. Formerly he belonged to the Fourth Separate Company of Yonkers, and during the Spanish-American war he was the first sergeant of Company B, Two Hundred and Third Regiment of New York Infantry. Emma is the wife of George Esser, a hardware merchant of Poughkeepsie, New York, and they have three children: Wilbur, an engineer, is at home; and Edith, the youngest child of our subject, is deceased.
JOSEPH B. PENNELL.
Joseph B. Pennell, of Yonkers, is distinctively American: so were his ancestors, both lineal and collateral, for through more than two hundred years they have resided in this country, the original ancestors having come from England. With all that is American, in thought, spirit, purpose and movement, Joseph B. Pennell is thoroughly in sympathy, and of the progres- sive spirit which characterizes our land he is a typical representative. He belongs to that class whose efforts have ever been toward improvement and advancement, and his life also illustrates the possibilities that are afforded ambitious young men in a country where honorable effort is untrammeled by caste or distinctions of rank.
His paternal grandfather, Samuel Pennell, was a successful farmer and general business man of Maine. His father, Joseph B. Pennell, Sr., was a contractor and agriculturist, who lived in the vicinity of Buxton, Maine. Politically he was first a Whig, afterward a Republican, and later advocated the principles of the Greenback party for some time. For eleven years he acceptably filled the position of overseer of the poor. In 1879 or 1880, when
173
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
about sixty-eight years of age, he was called to his final rest. He was the father of six children, five of whom reached years of maturity.
Joseph B. Pennell, whose name introduces this review was born in Bux- ton, Maine, on the 6th of April, 1849, and was educated in the public schools of that town. He remained with his father until nineteen years of age, dur- ing which time he pursued his studies through the winter season, while in the summer months he assisted in the labors of field and meadow. Having cherished a desire to see something of the great and growing west, he left home in 1869 and went to Minnesota, where he spent one year working on a farm. He then found employment on the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad and on public works in the city of Duluth, while later he was engaged in the hotel business near Fargo, North Dakota. In 1871 he took a contract for con- structing a railroad, and continued in that line of enterprise for four years, when, owing to the failure of J. Cooke & Company, he concluded to turn his attention to other affairs. Under the pre-emption act he located a claim, in 1872, where the town of Bismarck now stands, but in 1875 sold that to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and retained a tract of seventy-five build- ing lots, some of which he still owns. He improved much of that and found it a profitable investment.
About 1876, Mr. Pennell entered the government employ, engaged in the transportation of freight and supplies to various points in the west. On the 7th of February, of that year, he left Bismarck, with eleven teams, bound for the Black Hills. His guide was the celebrated Indian fighter and scout, " California Joe," who was second only in reputation to Colonel William F. Cody, better known as " Buffalo Bill." With this scout, and accompanied by other parties, Mr. Pennell made his way with his train in safety to Rapids City, where they purchased four lots and built two houses. In the spring the guide left the party, and some time afterward, the supply of provisions being almost exhausted, Mr. Pennell started with his men for Bismarck. Owing to lack of food for themselves and fodder for their horses, their progress was very slow and at last starvation stared them in the face. Mr. Pennell's shoes gave out and he was obliged to wrap his feet in strips of blanket. For several days he subsisted on the flesh of a wolf that one of the party had luckily killed. At length he determined to secure aid for his party, and, leaving the wagons behind, he went in advance to Fort Abraham Lincoln, which was then in charge of Colonel Reno, a member of the command of the ill-fated General Custer. The colonel ordered out ten men and six mule teams to go to the assistance of Mr. Pennell's party, reaching them on the fourth day.
For several years longer our subject continued in the employ of the government, and later engaged in freighting for the Union Northern Railroad
174
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
and for private companies. On one occasion he took a contract for getting out two hundred and sixty-four thousand cross ties. Between the 5th of December, 1880, and the 11th of June, 1881, he built the Big Horn tunnel on the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, a most splendid piece of workman- ship, eleven hundred feet long. There were many hardships and trials to be endured while carrying on these various lines of work in the west, and many exciting episodes entered into his life. On a certain occasion when crossing the Black Hills with a wagon train he encountered a large body of Indians, who, flushed with victory, for they were just returning from the dreadful Custer massacre, attacked the little band. The latter made a brave and spirited resistance and finally succeeded in driving off the enemy, but one of their number was killed and several severely wounded. Mr. Pennell was captain of the wagon train, and it was doubtless owing to his wisdom and wide experience that his party escaped extermination.
At a later date Mr. Pennell took the contract for and built four miles of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, on the north shore of Lake Superior, and in 1885 he returned to Yonkers, where he has since engaged in the construction of public works under contract. He built three miles of the Croton aque- duct, the contract for the same amounting to one and a half million dollars, employment being furnished from nine to twelve hundred men all the time. He has recently completed the Kinzer cut-off for the Pennsylvania Railroad, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, -a one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dol- lar contract. He built the streets in Avon-by-the-Sea under a hundred-thou- sand-dollar contract, and had executed many other large and important con- tracts in a manner at once satisfactory to those employing him and creditable to himself. His partner in all his contracting enterprises is Thomas O'Hern, business being carried on under the firm name of Pennell & O'Hern. The firm has a wide reputation and sustains the opinion of the public in its belief in the reliability, trustworthiness and capability of the members. For twelve years Mr. Pennell was also interested in the manufacture of powder in Yon- kers and afterward in Kingston, New York, where he resided for two years. He is a member of the local board of trade and has been connected to a greater or less extent with most of the enterprises of this locality during late years.
In November, 1885, Mr. Pennell married Miss Jennie Gorey, of Yonkers, a daughter of Thomas Gorey. They have six interesting children, namely: Grace, Isabella, Alvah, Joseph, Ray and Francis. The mother and children are communicants of St. Mary's church, Roman Catholic, of Yonkers. So- cially Mr. Pennell is connected with Kingston Lodge No. 19, A. F. & A. M., of Kingston, New York, and politically he is an ardent Republican. The greater part of his life, however, is devoted to his extensive business inter-
175
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
ests. He started upon his business career without capital and the splendid success he has achieved is due entirely to his own efforts. He now controls mammoth industrial interests and employs hundreds of workmen. He is just in his treatment of those who serve him, faithful to the terms of a contract, and his business reputation is above the attack of the malevolent or envious.
LAWRENCE UNDERHILL.
The subject of this review has been a lifelong resident of Westchester county and comes from one of the representative pioneer families of this section of the Empire state. Eighty years ago he was born, near the vil- lage of Greenville, in Greenburg township, and from his early manhood he has devoted his whole time and energies to agriculture, in its various depart- ments. Now, in the evening of life, he may look back upon a well spent life, filled with the deeds of kindness to his fellow men, of industrious labor- ing for his daily bread, of self-sacrifice for others and faith and trust in his neighbors and associates. Lives like his, quiet and unassuming, may con- tain no startling events, no so-called heroic deed at which the world may gaze with admiration and applause, but the influence for good upon a com- munity and upon countless individuals whose lives were unconsciously molded by the example set before them, cannot be estimated.
Born April 1, 1818, Lawrence Underhill is a son of Benjamin Under- hill, who was born in the same locality as our subject. For his companion and helpmate along life's journey Benjamin Uuderhill chose Mary Lawrence, a native of New York city. Her parents, citizens of Nova Scotia, removed to the great metropolis of the United States in the fore part of this century and resided there until their death. Benjamin Underhill and wife were the parents of four children, three daughters and one son, namely: Margaret, widow of Hart Odell; Lawrence, Emeline and Hetta. The death of Ben- jamin Underhill occurred when he was in his eighty-fourth year. He was a son of William and Adosia Underhill.
Lawrence Underhill received a good education in the common schools of his boyhood days, and one of his last teachers was Truman Little, father of Daniel Little, ex-sheriff of Westchester county. During the summer months our subject worked industriously on his father's farm, forming habits of self-reliance, well applied energy and perseverance, which charcteristics have been noticeable traits in his make-up. He has resided for many years upon a well improved homestead comprising forty acres, on which are substan- tial buildings and other improvements. In January, 1898, Mr. Underhill was so unfortunate as to have his residence destroyed by fire, but he promptly rebuilt and has a comfortable modern house, which, though lacking the asso-
176
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
ciations which had endeared the old home to him, is provided with many of the appliances and conveniences of the homes of this period. It was soon after his first marriage that he settled upon this farm, a portion of his father's estate, and, in addition to the general management of the same, he became noted as a raiser of potatoes for the city markets and for the manufacture of cider, receiving a good income from these sources.
Formerly an earnest advocate of the principles of the Whig party, Mr. Underhill espoused the platform of the Republican party at the time of its organization and has never failed to vote for every presidential candidate of the same from Lincoln down to Mckinley. He has maintained a deep and sincere interest in all matters affecting the general public and his own com- munity as well, and has been found at all times on the side of right and progress.
When he was twenty-eight years old Mr. Underhill married Mary Ann Griffin, who did not long survive. Later he wedded Odelia Van Wart, of a prominent old Westchester county family. Her grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Mrs. Underhill was summoned to her eternal reward in May, 1884, loved by all who had known her. The five children of this worthy couple are Stephen, a resident of Yonkers; Scott, who owns a farm on Central avenue; Van Wart, who lives at home; Mary, wife of Charles Parks, a well-to-do farmer of Greenburg; and Caroline, wife of Mr. Howard.
ALBERT BADEAU.
Albert Badeau was the only son of Benjamin Badeau, who was born at New Rochelle, Westchester county, New York, on the 10th day of May, 1778, and died on the 17th day of September, 1862. He married, after reaching man's estate, Charity Bayeux, who was also born at New Rochelle, on the 23d day of January, 1786, and died on the 6th day of November, 1872. Their ancestors were originally from France and the family was founded in this country about 1684.
Albert Badeau, the subject of our sketch, was born at New Rochelle, on the 25th day of July, 1806, at the family homestead in an old-fashioned farm house, which stood on the White Plains Road, North street, opposite to the monument erected to the memory of Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, and other works. It is believed by many that Paine also wrote the Declaration of Independence for Thomas Jefferson, and, in consid- eration of the services rendered by him to the country during its struggle for independence, the house and farm at New Rochelle, now known as Mount Paine, were donated to him by the government. He at one time boarded
----===
! pal
1
1
1
----------
Albert Ballern
+
177
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
with the grandmother of our subject, and the arm chair in which he used to sit and commit to paper the productions of his fertile brain is now in the possession of the Badeau family.
At the age of fourteen years Albert Badeau secured employment as a clerk in a New York store and retained that position for two years, after which he returned to New Rochelle, and assisted his father on the farm until he reached his nineteenth year. He then accepted a position as clerk in the store of Isaac Underhill, which was situated at the old Town Dock, on Pel- ham Road. At the expiration of two years he purchased the business of his employer. Later, in connection with John Pine, he started a meat market in the village and did a profitable business in that line. He next purchased property on the south side of Main street, at the corner of Church, and in connection with John Pine and William Baber opened a store for the sale of almost everything from a jewsharp to a plow, carrying a line of dry goods, groceries, hardware, boots and shoes, coal and wood, etc. By strict atten- tion to business and honorable dealing with his fellow citizens, he gained their confidence, and was elected to fill almost every office within their gift, never failng to be elected after receiving a nomination. He was chosen president of the village for a term of years, and was president of the West- chester Mutual Fire Insurance Company, for about fourteen years. He ably represented the town of New Rochelle in the board of supervisors for three successive terms, and was its chairman at one session, and for one term was a prominent member of the state legislature. He was the popular postmas- ter of the village for twelve years. He was always recognized by his fellow townsmen as the guardian of the public treasury, and all schemes that had the suspicion of corruption found in him a bitter opponent.
At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion in 1860, Mr. Badeau was an earnest Democrat; but when he found that many of his fellow townsmen and political associates boldly came out and advocated the cause of secession in the streets, railway trains and everywhere else where the opportunity pre- sented itself, he left the Democratic ranks and proclaimed himself a loyal Unionist, and acted accordingly, becoming a prominent worker for the Union cause, and was one of the largest contributors to the relief fund that was organized for the benefit of the families of those who had gone to the front. Among many of his gifts toward benevolent objects was the bell that now tolls in the First Presbyterian church. His public and private life were alike above reproach, and at his death the community mourned the loss of one of its most valued and highly respected citizens.
He passed away on the 9th day of June, 1893, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Phoebe Augusta Drake, died on the Ist day of Febru- ary, 1877. She was born at East Chester, Westchester county, September 12
178
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
2, 1809, and was the daughter of Moses Drake, who belonged to a promi- nent old pioneer family of this 'county.
There are four children now living from this union,-three daughters and one son. The son, John E. Badeau, has held many positions of trust and is a worthy representative of this old and honored family.
JOHN NICHOLS.
The subject of this sketch is one of the retired and higly respected citi- zens of Yonkers, New York. He is of Scotch descent and a native of the Empire state, born in Westchester, Westchester county, October 30, 1831, a son of James and Mary Nichols, natives of Scotland. James Nichols came from Scotland to this country when a young man, bringing his family with him, and located in this county, where he spent the rest of his life. He died in New Orleans while making a trip through the south.
John Nichols has lived in New York state all his life, with the exception of two years spent in California, to which state he went in 1852, and where he was successfully engaged in mining operations. In his youth he learned the blacksmith's trade, in the shop of Gideon Valentine, at Westchester, where he worked two years, and from there he turned his attention to the vocation of stationary engineer, which he followed from that time until he retired from active life about six years ago. For twenty-five years he was with Baldwin & Flagg, and for seven years he was in the employ of the Alexander Smith Company. He is recognized as one of the best engineers in West- chester county. Industrious and careful, he has accumulated valuable prop- erty and owns the comfortable home in which he and his family reside.
1
- - -
In his political views Mr. Nichols is what may be termed independent, as he votes for men and measures rather than holding closely to party lines.
Mr. Nichols was married in 1855 to Mrs. Eliza Rich, and they have two children, namely: John W. is a machinist at Yonkers: he married Hor- tence Bell, and has one daughter, Grace; Carrie, the daughter of John Nichols, is the wife of Richard R. Green, foreman in the establishment of Otis Brothers & Company, of Yonkers, where he has been employed for twenty-five years. In this family is one daughter, named Ethel.
LEMUEL B. TOMPKINS.
The well known and popular proprietor of the Larchmont Hotel, at Larchmont, New York, isa native of Westchester county, born in the village of New Rochelle, July 18, 1849, and is a son of James W. and Lydia A. (Burtis) Tompkins. His maternal grandfather was Ransom Burtis, who
{
1
---
179
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
also was a native of Westchester county. The father, James W. Tompkins, was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was a machinist in that city for a number of years, after which he removed to New Rochelle. In 1849, during the gold excitement in California, he went to that state and remained on the Pacific slope until 1855, when he started for home, but the ship on which he sailed was lost and no tidings were ever received of him.
Lemuel B. Tompkins passed his boyhood and youth in New Rochelle, where he was sent to the public schools, and for a short time also he was a pupil in a private school. His education being completed, he went to sea on a vessel plying between that place, David's Island (now Fort Slocum) and New York city. Subsequently he engaged in the hotel business in his native village, as proprietor of the Cliff House, which he afterward sold, and in April, 1893, he moved to Larchmont and erected the Larchmont Hotel, which is conveniently located near the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad depot. It is fitted up in a most approved style, the rooms are well furnished, and, in fact, everything is done for the convenience and comfort of the guests. In connection with the hotel is a handsomely appointed bar room.
In 1875 Mr. Tompkins married Miss Dora Weidman, of Saugerties, Ulster county, New York, daughter of Henry Weidman, a prominent citizen of that place, and they now have five children-three sons and two daugh- ters. Socially Mr. Tompkins is a member of the Foresters and the Red Men of America.
SAMUEL T. KNAPP.
One of Tarrytown's most prominent and successful business men is Samuel T. Knapp, the proprietor of Knapp's livery barns on Depot Square, opposite the New York Central Railroad depot, where he has carried on operations for the past thirty-four years, while during his residence here he has been brought in touch, either in a business or social way, with many of the best people of the community. He was born in Rockland county, New York, about fifty-one years ago, and comes of a good family, his parents being William and Elizabeth Knapp. He received a good public-school education, and by reading, observation and practical experience in the business world he has become a well informed man. His father was for a year a well-known liveryman, and under his able direction our subject early became familiar with the business. Since coming to Tarrytown, Westchester county, thirty- four years ago, he has married Miss Anna Dammann, and they have one daughter, Flowrence LeRoy. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, and he has been honored with an election to the office of village trustee, in
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.