USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume I > Part 5
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
27
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
commemorated by a public dinner in New York city, at which Chancellor Kent presided. A few months later he made a journey west of the Missis- sippi, which he described in his "Tour of the Prairies." In 1836 he pub- lished "Astoria," and subsequently the "Adventures of Captain Bonneville." From 1839, for two years, he contributed a series of papers to the Knicker- bocker Magazine. A number of these papers, together with others, were published in 1855, in a volume which received the title, "Wolfert's Roost."
In 1842 Irving was appointed minister to Spain, an office which he retained for the next four years. He then returned home, and for the rest of his life resided at his cottage residence, "Sunnyside," near Tarrytown, the spot which he had described years before, in the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as the castle of the Herr Van Tassel, and of which he wrote: "If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remainder of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley." Here in this retreat he lived in the midst of a family circle composed of his brother and his nieces, hospitably entertaining his friends, and engaged in writing his biographies of Goldsmith and Mahomet and his "Life of Washington."
His life at "Sunnyside " was simple, kindly and affectionate. He was a good friend and neighbor, and a devout communicant of Christ Episcopal church in Tarrytown. For many years he was a vestryman and warden, and it was his practice during the greater part of this time to take up the collection at the Sunday services. He never married, having lost by death his betrothed wife, Matilda Hoffman, a beautiful young girl. His death occurred at Tarrytown, November 28, 1859, and he was buried in the beau- tiful cemetery of Sleepy Hollow. The ivy upon the tower of Christ church was taken from "Sunnyside" and planted by Irving himself. It was origi- nally brought from Melrose Abbey. His pew in the church is marked with his name and was set apart years ago by the vestry for the use of any of the members of the Irving family who might wish to worship there. As near the pew as it could be placed is a natural tablet erected by the vestry to his memory. In the center is the Irving coat of arms, and on the stone the fol- lowing inscription:
Washington Irving, Born in the City of New York, April 3, 1783. For many years a communicant and warden of this church, And Repeatedly one of its delegates to the Convention Of the Diocese. Loved, Honored, Revered. He fell asleep in Jesus November 28th, 1859.
28
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
Irving died at "Sunnyside," having just taken leave of the family circle. Three days later he was buried in the old Dutch church cemetery, where he had some time before selected the spot for his grave, and where the remains of the brothers and sisters who had died before him were buried. An account of the funeral says: " It was a remarkable assemblage from the city, of mnen of worth and eminence, the friends of his youth and middle life, and universally of the population of the town and adjacent country, where he was beloved by all. The area of Christ church, Tarrytown, where the funeral services of the Episcopal church, of which he had been a member, were performed, was much too limited to contain the numbers which thronged to the simple ceremony. The neighboring hillside was covered, and the road to the cemetery lined with spectators, villagers and others, clad in their Sunday attire. The shops of Tarrytown were all closed. Thus was borne to the grave with simple but heartfelt honors all that was mortal of Washington Irving. Eulogies, resolutions and addresses from civic, relig- ious, literary and other societies followed his death. The city government of New York, the Athenaeum Club, the New York Historical Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, heaped these honors on his tomb, while personal tributes in sermons, editorial articles and various reminiscences were called forth in great number."
" By his will," says the same account, " which made ample provisions to continue the home at ' Sunnyside' to the brother and nieces by whom Mr. Irving had been surrounded, he left his manuscripts to his nephew, Pierre M. Irving, who had been his assistant in some of his more important labors of research, as his literary executor." Mr. Irving afterward published a memoir of his distinguished uncle. Mr. George P. Putnam, the New York publisher, issued a uniform edition of Washington Irving's works, in 1847, which yielded Mr. Irving and his representatives more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
On the 3d of April, 1883, the centennial anniversary of Irving's birth was commemorated at Tarrytown by " The Washington Irving Association," which had been formed on the 19th of March for the purpose of appropriately observing the anniversary. The exercises took place on the evening of April 3d, at the Second Reformed church. Judge Noah Davis presided, and from New York, Brooklyn and many adjacent points came many to swell the assemblage. The church was beautifully decorated with flowers and ever- greens. As a prelude to the addresses, Miss Hawes played the overture from the opera of " Rip Van Winkle," on the organ. Addresses were delivered by Judge Davis, Mr. James Wood (president of the Westchester Historical Society), Rev. James Selden Spencer, Donald G. Mitchell, Charles Dudley Warner and Professor William C. Wilkinson. A poem by Mr. Stephen H.
29
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
Thayer, of Tarrytown, was read by Rev. Washington Choate. Letters of regret from a number of invited guests were also read, among them being responses from Governor Cleveland, John G. Whittier, George William Cur- tis, John Jay, and President Porter of Yale. Miss Sears sang "The Lost Chord," and Professor T. S. Doolittle, D. D., pronounced the benediction. At the request of the committee of arrangements the Misses Irving opened "Sunnyside " to the public, and for several days persons from all parts of the country availed themselves of the opportunity to visit " Wolfert's Roost," which remained as it was at Mr. Irving's death. A memorial volume, con- taining an account of the commemoration, with the addresses and poem, was afterward published by the Irving Association. It is embellished by fine steel portraits of Irving and Matilda Hoffman and by views of appropriate order.
THOMAS PAINE.
Thomas Paine, the noted political and philosophical writer, is identified with Westchester county by the fact that for his Revolutionary services the state of New York granted him five hundred acres of land in New Rochelle, where he resided part of the time after his return to the United States, in 1802. Paine was a native of Thetford, Norfolk, England, born January 29, 1737, and died in New York city, June 8, 1809. His parentage was humble and his educational opportunities limited. For a time he preached occa- sionally as a dissenting minister, and in 1774, at the suggestion of Franklin, came to America. He soon became known as a writer of uncommon force and logic and an opponent of slavery. His celebrated pamphlet, "Com- mon Sense," in which he advocated the independence of the colonies, was published in January, 1776, and had an extraordinary influence in dissemi- nating republican ideas. His subsequent publications were of inestimable benefit to the patriotic cause. He was outlawed in England, for his cele- brated "Rights of Man," which appeared in 1771, in answer to Burke's " Reflections on the French Revolution," and in September, 1792, was elected a member of the French National Convention. In consequence of his out- spoken opposition to the execution of Louis XVI, he narrowly escaped being put to death during the Reign of Terror. His remains were taken to England in 1819 by William Cobbett. A monument was erected to his memory in 1839, near his original burial-place in New Rochelle. By reason of his philosophical writings, which were interpreted as grossly "infidel," Paine's memory has been greatly maligned in the past, but it is gratifying to note that in later years a more just estimate is being held of "the author hero of the Revolution."
30
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON.
Collis Potter Huntington, the great railroad magnate of the west, was born in Harwinton, Litchfield county, Connecticut, October 22, 1821, was educated in a local school, and secured his freedom from his father when fourteen years of age by promising to support himself. Engaging in mercan- tile business, he spent ten years in traveling through the south and west, and then settled with an elder brother in Oneonta, Otsego county, New York. In October, 1848, the brothers made a shipment of goods to California, which Collis followed in March. After spending three months in trading on the isthmus, he began business in a tent in Sacramento, dealing in the vari- ous articles required in mining life. He afterward opened a large hardware store in the city, became associated in business with Mark Hopkins, and in 1860 matured a scheme for a transcontinental railroad, for this purpose being associated with Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mr. Hopkins, in the first survey across the Sierra Nevada mountains. Five men organized the Central Pacific Railroad Company, of which Mr. Stanford was elected presi- dent, Mr. Huntington vice president-and Mr. Hopkins treasurer.
After congress had agreed to aid the enterprise by an issue of bonds, Mr. Huntington and his associates carried on the construction of the railroad out of their private means until the bonds became available by the comple- tion of a stipulated mileage. In addition to this undertaking, Mr. Hunting- ton planned and perfected the whole California railroad system, which extends over eight thousand and nine hundred miles of steel track and built an Atlantic system, which, by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Chesa- peake & Ohio Railway, forms a continuous line four thousand miles long, from San Francisco to Newport News, thus incidentally developing nearly seventeen thousand miles of steam water lines, including the route to China and Japan. Naturally he holds high official positions in these great thorough- fares.
Mr. Huntington continues to live, during the winter, in New York, where he manages the affairs of his railroads and other great enterprises. He is largely interested in over seven of the great steamship lines of the country, is one of the founders and directors of the Metropolitan Trust Company, of New York, and has a place on the directory of the Western Union Telegraph Company. He does not go much into general society, but keeps a hospitable house of his own on Murry Hill. He spends about seven months of every year at his charming country-seat at Throgg's Neck on Long Island Sound, whence he can reach his business and return every day. In person he is tall, of a vigorous build, with grayish-blue eyes, an aquiline nose, and a firm, solid jaw, which feature in him resembles that of General Grant. His favorite
31
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
in-door relaxations are reading and whist, of which game he is an excellent player. He has formed a large and well selected library, and has a familiar and constant acquaintance with the best books in it. He is a lover of poetry and a student of history, particularly of modern history, and has known ad- mirably how to use his scant leisure. He has also gathered a large and very valuable collection of paintings, and is pretty certain to be seen at any notable sale of pictures, not only in New York but in other eastern cities, bidding judiciously but unhesitatingly, paying a large price for a good work of art. He was, until recently, not only a skillful but also a very daring horseman, and while he was building the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, parts of which run through an extremely difficult country, he was noted for his horsemanship, even among the people of that region of horsemen.
Friends and business acquaintances know him as the possessor of a shrewd wit. He is an admirable story-teller, and knows how to settle a dis- pute with an apposite illustration almost as well as the late Mr. Lincoln. His years and labors have not told heavily upon him, and have not robbed him either of his physical activity or of his gay humor, which make him a pleasant companion and friend. He has always had the capacity to bind friends to him by strong ties, and to get the best and most zealous service out of those he employs, who know him as one who exacts the strict fulfill- ment of duty, but who also generously rewards faithful service. In business he is careful and laborious, but an excellent administrator. He has the capacity to do a great deal of work in the hours he gives to it, and he has always been wise enough to redeemn some part of his daily life from business cares and devote it to his family and to his library, where most of his eve- nings are spent. " Neither cast down nor elated," might very well be his motto; for neither has his great and fortunate career spoiled him nor changed the simple habits of his life, nor have the vicissitudes of fortune been able to disturb his equanimity.
His country residence, at Throgg's Neck, is a refuge and great source of pleasure to him. From the broad veranda of the house a neatly kept lawn slopes away under the branches of noble trees down to the water of the Sound, and here, on a clear day or pleasant evening, Mr. Huntington, a gentleman of commanding stature, dressed in black and wearing a black skull-cap, may often be seen strolling up and down in conversation with friends, or watching the steamboats and sailing vessels as they pass, rarely otherwise than in a genial humor, and always ready with his jovial story and generous laugh. His beautiful estate, consisting of thirty acres, was pur- chased from F. C. Havemeyer. This gentleman had expended a great deal on its embellishments; and Mr. Huntington, securing the best talent and sparing neither time nor money, has continued to adorn and improve the
!
32
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
house and lands until at present-with its system of water, its gas-works, its private wharf, at which large vessels are occasionally moored, its stables, conservatories, farm buildings, pastures, shady walks, gardens and flowers- it is a model residence and a place well fitted to divert the fancy, restore the strength and rest the heart of one so earnest and unsparing of himself in work.
SIMEON L. CLOSE, M. D.
This is an age of progress, and America is the exponent of the spirit of the age. In the beginning of the present century our country was in its infancy, and history shows no parallel for its growth and achievements. No other country has made as great advancement in the lines of science and mechanical invention, and the superiority of her inventions has been widely recognized throughout the civilized world. In this steady growth and devel- ment which has characterized the age, the science of dentistry has kept pace with the general progress, and in that profession Dr. Close stands among the most eminent. The advancement which has been made in dentistry is largely due to him, and in future ages the world will recognize him as a benefactor of the race. The old lines of usage and prejudice he has broken down, and in broader fields of usefulness and practice he has led a large following.
A native of the Empire state, Simeon La Fayette Close was born in Genoa, Cayuga county, New York, November 29, 1824, and is a son of Zacheus M. and Lydia (Crane) Close. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to 1646, when representatives of the name settled at Langley, near Maccleesfield, England. The name is of Saxon origin, and signifies a cliff or cleft in a valley between high hills. At various times it has been spelled Cloughes, Clows and Close. In 1665 Thomas Close, accompanied by his brothers, Joseph and Benjamin, braved the dangers incident to ocean voyages in those early days and became a resident of Greenwich, Connecti- cut. He died July 26, 1683, but left a family that has now grown until it is represented in many states of the Union. Many of its members have been prominently connected with leading events in early colonial days and since the establishment of the republic, and the ancestral history is one of which the present generation has reason to be proud. Joseph Close, the second son of Thomas Close, removed to North Salem, Massachusetts, in 1749, and died in 1760, at the age of eighty-six years. He married Rebecca Thompkins, who died in 1761, at the age of eighty-two years, and their children were: Joseph, Elizabeth, Samuel, Sarah, Rachel, Thomas, Benjamin and Rebecca. Of this family, Samuel was born June 23, 1706, and died in 1778, at the age of seventy-two years. He married Deborah Paddock, and their son, Na- thaniel Close, of North Salem, was born in 1732 and died in 1773. He also
1
N
Simon L. Close D.A.S.
33
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
had a son, Samuel, who married Mary Wood, and their son, Daniel, was the paternal grandfather of Dr. Close.
Daniel Close was born February 25, 1767, in Greenwich, Connecticut, and throughout his life followed the occupation of farming. The faniily was represented in the war of the Revolution by two. of his brothers, who par- ticipated in the battle of White Plains. He removed from Greenwich, Con- necticut, to Cayuga county, New York, where he made his home until 1833, when he went to Medina county, Ohio. In that place he engaged in farming until 1847 or 1848, when he removed to Sullivan, Ashland county, Ohio, where he made his home until his death, which occurred when he had attained the age of eighty-five years. His wife passed away at the age of eighty years. In politics he was a Whig, and in religious belief a Congrega- tionalist who took a very active and prominent part in the church work. His family numbered six children.
Zacheus Close, the Doctor's father, was born January 25, 1795, in Greenwich, Connecticut, acquired a common-school education and afterward engaged in teaching. With his father he went to Cayuga county, New York, and in 1819, in company with his brother Erastus, he walked from his native town to St. Louis, Missouri, prospecting for a suitable location. They spent considerable time in travel, visited New Orleans and other southern points, and eventually his brother, Erastus Close, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he studied medicine, practicing that profession to a greater or less extent throughout the remainder of his life. At a later date he returned to Cayuga county, New York, where he engaged in farming with his father. Subse- quently he carried on agricultural pursuits independently at Genoa, that county, where he owned a small farm. His next home was on a farm at Groton, Tompkins county, New York; later he went to Locke, Cayuga county, and in 1832 removed to Medina county, Ohio, where he conducted a farm until his life's labors were ended in death. He also engaged in teaming and in that way contracted a malarial disease which terminated his life, in his forty-fifth year. He belonged to the Congregational church, and in politics was a Whig. He was twice married, and by his first union had three sons and two daughters, namely: Simeon L., Lucian S., Harriet S., Hannah Elizabeth and Erastus S. The mother of these children died at the age of thirty years and Mr. Close afterward married Miss Lucinda Holmes, by whom he had two children,-Esther A. and Sperry B.
In taking up the personal history of Dr. Close we present to our readers the life record of one whose reputation extends throughout the country and who is especially prominent in the circles of his profession in the inetropoli- tan center. Adverse circumstances surrounded him in youth, but from the hand of fate he has wrested both fame and fortune, and his life is a splendid 3
34
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
exemplification of what may be accomplished through persevering and hon- orable effort. In his early youth he attended the public schools through the winter season, and in the summer months assisted in the cultivation of his father's farm. He studied Webster's Elementary Spelling Book, Cobb's Speller, McGuffey's Reader and Daboll's Arithmetic. He now has in his possession a grammar used by his mother in her teaching in 1818, giving declensions, conjugations, parts of speech and other exercises, and on account of its associations with one whose memory he reveres it is a much prized volume. His mother died when he was only fourteen years of age, and from that time he was dependent upon his own resources. At the age of eighteen he was induced by one of his schoolmates to accept a home with a certain man-a physician and farmer of Richfield, Summit county, Ohio-and with him remained for six years. When nineteen years of age he spent four months as a student in a seminary in Twinsburg, Ohio, and then engaged in teaching. In the meantime, however, he had endured many of the hard- ships incident to life on the frontier, had aided in splitting rails, in chopping wood and in performing the arduous task of developing a new farin. He was industrious and energetic, however, and his willingness to work enabled him to make ten dollars a month as a farm hand, which was considered a very good salary in those days. He was also economical, and when making only forty dollars a year managed to save twenty-three dollars of the amount. Thus carefully managing his expense account, when only twenty-one years of age he had money out at interest. As a teacher he was very successful and frequently had charge of schools numbering eighty pupils, both boys and girls, which necessitated his conducting two or three classes at one time. He not only had the ability to impart clearly and concisely to others the knowledge he had acquired, but was also an excellent disciplinarian and thus commanded the respect of his pupils and the commendation of the parents. After six years spent in teaching, however, Dr. Close turned his attention to other work.
In 1851 he entered the Ohio Medical College and was graduated in 1853, but, finding the practice of medicine distasteful, he ultimately abandoned the profession and turned his attention to dentistry. He was especially skillful in the diagnosis of a case and was a close student of the science of medicine and would undoubtedly have won success in practice had he persevered there- in, but, fortunately for progression in dentistry, he entered the latter field. He studied in the office of Dr. John Allen, of Cincinnati, and subsequently came with him to New York city. A year later he brought his family to this state, and has since successfully engaged in practice in the metropolis. For ten years he was associated with Dr. Allen in his office and laboratory work, and in the invention and development of the new-process continuous-gum
35
WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
work, not a little of the success of which is due to Dr. Close. In 1870 he opened an office of his own in Bond street, New York, and has since occu- pied a position of the highest eminence in the dental profession for the splen- did results secured in the work emanating from his laboratory. He has ma- terially improved Dr. Allen's continuous-gum work by a secret process of his own, and he is the only specialist supplying this material to the dental man- ufacturers. He has now fully and completely perfected the continuous gum, and has thereby largely revolutionized old methods of dentistry. He gives especial attention to the building up of the gums and restoring sunken parts of cheeks and gums, and his accomplishments in this direction are marvelous. His specialty is in this line, and so perfect and successful is the work that he receives one hundred and fifty dollars for such a set of teeth. He has done work for P. T. Barnum, the celebrated circus man, for N. P. Willis, the poet of the Hudson valley, for Commodore Stoughton, and the late Schuyler Col- fax and Commodore Stringham, and for others no less celebrated. His high standing in professional circles is shown by the fact that he is frequently called upon in consultation concerning difficult problems that arise in the profession. On one occasion he was called upon by the S. S. White Com- pany, dental manufacturers, of Philadelphia, to pass upon and give his opin- ion regarding certain imperfections in the quality of teeth, and was pro- nounced by that company as the best authority on the subject in the coun- try. His judgment on many dental questions is taken as final, for he is justly considered one of the most eminent representatives of the profession in the country.
1138295
On the 12th of May, 1852, Doctor Close was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Newell Gaston, daughter of David B. Gaston, and to them have been born four children: Monteith Edwards, who is engaged in the practice of dentistry in connection with his father; Zacheus Arthur, who is in the real- estate business in Depot Place, Mount Vernon; Martha Estelle, wife of Ed- ward M. Davis, of Mount Vernon; and Charles Lincoln, who died at the age of sixteen months. In 1861 the Doctor removed his family from Ohio to New York city, and in the spring of 1863 came to Mount Vernon. After renting a dwelling for two years, he purchased three acres of land at the cor- ner of Prospect and Clermont avenues, on Chester Hill, the most beautiful and aristocratic section of the city. Here he erected a residence which has since been his home, and no family stands higher in public regard than that of Dr. Close.
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.