USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II > Part 19
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Connecticut, and he continued thus engaged for twelve years. Two years of this time he also ran a shop for himself. Next, for a time he was employed in a wholesale beef house for Mr. Hotchkiss in Yonkers, and finally came to Port Chester, where for a year he conducted business on his own account, and then, in 1894, he sold his shop to take his present position, where his responsibilities are heavy, as the house is a large one and doing an extensive business, handling about two car-loads of meat each week and furnishing the neighboring towns with choice meats.
In his political views Mr. Perkins is a Democrat, but he prefers to devote his energies to private business rather than take any part in the per- sonalities of politics.
In matrimony he was united with Miss Elsie H. Scott, of Goshen, Con- necticut, and they have two daughters.
PAULDING AND REQUA HOUSES.
There are several old houses in Tarrytown that have a history going back to the Revolutionary war, and some of them even far beyond it. The most famous of these probably is known as the Paulding house. It is a frame building, situated on Water street, and almost within a stone's throw of the cove, which there sets in from the river. It is not more than three minutes walk from the Hudson River Railroad depot. The track of the road is quite near it, and the house is plainly visible from the car windows, but is now very much dilapidated, -in fact, in a half tumble-down condition, with the floors rotted away, the rooms damp and deserted, the green moss growing on the roof, which consists of three layers of shingles, the lower- most being of cedar, the one put on upon the top of the other, as, after long intervals, there was occasion to make repairs.
No one would imagine from looking at the house and its surroundings now that it had ever been the seat of elegant culture and refinement, where distinguished men and lovely women met and enjoyed the pleasures of a brilliant social life. Yet here it was that James Kirke Paulding, so eminent in the ranks of early American authorship, the intimate friend and literary collaborator of Washington Irving, and secretary of the navy under Presi- dent Van Buren, lived from the close of the Revolution until the year 1800, when he removed to New York city. And from this house it was that Wash- ington Irving, then a very young man, and a guest in the Paulding family, went for half a day of boating on the river, and rowed down to Wolfert's Roost, where, going ashore, and loitering along the slopes and in the glen, the tranquil beauty and sweet attractiveness of the place so deeply impressed him that he then first conceived the idea, which he long afterward carried
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out, of buying it as a home for himself. Mr. Irving made this statement in a conversation with the late Mrs. Benson Ferris, in the presence of her son, Mr. Benson Ferris, Jr., president of the Westchester County Savings Bank, who distinctly remembers it, and communicated the fact to the writer. The garden and grounds around the Paulding house are said to have been always kept in the best of tasteful order, and the place altogether to have presented every feature of a bright and beautiful home. But it has had its day and served its purpose, and all tokens now indicate that decay will soon lay the old mansion in the dust.
Just north of it, on the corner of the street leading down to the cove, is the old house owned and occupied in those early days by Judge Isaac Requa, long since passed away. That, too, was a place of home comfort and happiness, almost as well kept and as attractive as the Paulding place adjoining. But that also, like its long-time neighbor, must soon yield to the inevitable law.
BENONI PLATT.
This gentleman, who is the manager of the search department of the Westchester county branch of the Lawyers' Title Insurance Company, with office at White Plains, was born in the town of Scarsdale, this county, in August, 1857, the son of Lewis C. Platt and Laura (Popham) Platt, of Scarsdale. (See sketch of Lewis C. Platt.)
Mr. Platt was educated in the public school, graduating at the White Plains high school, and commenced his business career as an assistant clerk in the surrogate's office, under Owen T. Coffen, and continued there for eight years, and then for nine years was deputy county clerk, under the Hon. John Digney. In January, 1896, he took charge of the search depart- ment of the Westchester county branch of the Lawyers' Title Insurance Com- pany at White Plains, which position he is now filling, with satisfaction to his employers, who are equally interested in satisfying the public.
He is a member of Hebron Lodge, No. 229, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is unmarried.
A REVOLUTIONARY REMINISCENCE.
In an interview with the Rev. Alexander Van Wart, in his home at Pleasantville, on June 15, 1885, he gave to the writer, among other recitals, the following:
His mother's maiden name was Rachel Storms, and her house was just down the hill toward the west of the "Four Corners," on the Tarrytown road. His maternal uncle, Nicholas Storms, lived there at the same time.
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Looking up toward the east one day he saw a military company manoeuver- ing at the Four Corners, on the top of the hill, near Young's house, and, supposing them to be Americans, he mounted his horse, and rode up to learn the news. He did not discover until he was right in front of them that they were British troops out on a scouting and foraging expedition. It was too late to retreat, for they saw him, and so, putting on a bold face, he rode up and inquired of them what was the news. They ordered him to dismount, took him prisoner and kept his horse. His sister, Rachel Storms, afterward the wife of Isaac Van Wart, one of the captors of Andre, was sent to beg for her brother's release. She did so, and to such good purpose that one of the soldiers said to the others, "Oh, she must be his sweetheart. Let's give him up." And they did. She was sent back a second time, to beg for a cow they had taken, and then, too, she gained her request.
Mr. Van Wart, after speaking of the fact that his father had sold the farm given to him by congress, in Putnam county, and had purchased the Young place, at the Four Corners, described the somewhat elevated sandy field just north of the corners, on the east side of the Unionville road, as the place where some thirteen American and three British soldiers, who fell in the fight at Young's house, were buried, and, he added, "I have plowed many a furrow over the graves of those who were there killed."
ISAAC R. TRIPP.
Mr. Tripp, who is the efficient justice of the peace of North Castle town- ship and one of the most prosperous agriculturists of the locality, was born April 11, 1856, on the farm which he still occupies. This old homestead has been in the possession of the family since 1825, when it was purchased by his grandfather, Isaac Tripp. He was born in 1792, about one mile from that place, in the same township, and was a son of Benjamin and Abigail (Birdsall) Tripp. The birth of Benjamin Tripp also occurred upon that farm, where his father, Anthony Tripp, had located when this section was almost an unbroken wilderness. The last named was a native of Wales, and on coming to this country he first located in Rhode Island, and throughout life he engaged in farming. His son Benjamin was likewise a farmer and was a member of the Society of Friends. He died at the age of sixty, but his wife had reached the advanced age of ninety-eight years at the time of her death. Their son Isaac, our subject's grandfather, was both a farmer and mechanic. He erected a sawmill, which he successfully oper- ated, and also engaged in coopering and chair-making, being quite well-to- do at the time of his death, though he started out in life for himself empty- handed. He never aspired to official honors, but was reserved in manner
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and domestic in taste. He departed this life at the age of ninety-one, and his wife at the age of eighty-nine. In their family were two children: John, the father of our subject; and Mary, now the widow of Walter Sutton and a resident of Bedford Station.
John Tripp has throughout life engaged in farming and stock-raising, and has also operated the old sawmill erected by his father. He is recog- nized as one of the best and most reliable citizens of his community, his course having ever been such as to command the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come in contact. In politics he was first a Whig and is now a Republican. He married Miss Cornelia Reynolds, who died in 1860, leaving two children, our subject being the older. Stephen R., born March 29, 1858, is now a resident of San Francisco, California, and is en- gaged in business in connection with the electric railroad works. The father is still living, at the age of seventy years.
Isaac R. Tripp was reared and educated in his native township and has always followed agricultural pursuits, owning and operating one of the best farms in his part of the county. It comprises one hundred and ten acres, which he has under a high state of cultivation and which is improved with excellent buildings. On the Ist of January, 1878, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Josephine Hobby, who was born in Banksville, North Castle township, this county, and is a daughter of George and Deborah A. (Mead) Hobby. To them have been born four children, namely: John H., Cor- nelia D., Alice and Annie. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are numbered among the county's most worthy and respected citizens. For seven years Mr. Tripp has most acceptably served as justice of the peace, and socially he is identified with the Junior Order of American Mechanics.
HENRY ROSSITER WORTHINGTON.
The Worthington Memorial chapel, a fine stone building, was erected in 1883, as a memorial to the late Henry Rossiter Worthington, by his widowed wife. It is built on a portion of the somewhat extensive landed property which Mr. Worthington owned in the Nepperhan valley at the time of his decease. His mortal remains lie in a vault under the chancel. It is a taste- ful structure, and is said to have cost altogether about twenty thousand dollars. The building itself and the grounds adjoining, together with the inclosure, are kept in excellent order, which must involve, in addition, a con- siderable expense.
The following tribute to the memory of Mr. Worthington is from the transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the year 1881, he having been vice-president of the organization:
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The wide and profound expressions of regret at the sudden decease of Mr. Worthington among his professional acquaintances and in the great circles of his friends were first, and largely, an expression of personal bereavement. He had earned a high place as an ingenions inventor and a successful engineer, and his work will leave an indelible impression upon pro- fessional practice, but the influence and the traditions of him as a man and a friend will outlive generations of engineers.
The foundation of this mingled esteem and affection was his intense and abiding love of the truth. The foundation was built upon by scientific methods, and the structure was adorned by personal graces and accomplishments. The love of truth that came from a high-minded ancestry was nurtured by his professional pursuits, for his profession, unlike some other pro- fessions-and this is their misfortune, not their fault-has an inevitable criterion, and that is the truth. This sentiment-for it grew in him from a conviction to a sentiment-not only con- trolled his professional and private conduct, but it stimulated in him an honest skepticism regarding those beliefs in general which have come down to us with no higher authority than that they are an inheritance. He was a willing and valiant assailant of " humbug" in every form, and, nobler than this, he was the patient iconoclast who dispelled the phantoms in the mind of many an inventor, and who saved many a plodding experimenter-not in applied science only-from impending disaster. He was also endowed with a grand humanity which practice perfected. Nor were his friends, so called, the sole beneficiaries; only a long and inti- mate fellowship with him has discovered many of his private charities, and half of them will probably never be known.
These attributes found apt and eloquent expression in his scholarly culture and brilliancy, in his spontaneous and perennial wit. As the patient, but not generally impassioned, advocate of truth, or as the exposer of a fallacy or an imposture by analysis, by analogy, by ridicule, he had few equals. And, to crown all, was his overflowing good-fellowship,-with all 'his serious thoughts and moods, his love of humor and mirth, of intimate talks with groups of friends, rambling from grave to gay, when all his truth and his kind and, withal, fantastic inspirations would grow into bloom. It was an education to hear him talk when the subject was large enough to move him.
The time is not ripe to analyze Mr. Worthington's contributions to the engineering specialty, in which he did not claim, but in which he was assigned, by general consent, the highest place. Mr. Worthington was undoubtedly the first proposer and constructor of the direct steam pump. The duplex system in pumping-engines-one engine actuating the steam valves of the other, causing a pause of the pistons at the end of the stroke, so that the water valves can seat themselves quietly, and preserve a uniform water pressure, this being a vast improvement on the Cornish engine-is generally admitted to be one of the most ingenious and effective, and certainly one of the most largely applied, advances in modern engineering.
Mr. Worthington was chiefly known as a hydraulic engineer, but apart from this specialty, his experimental and practical contributions to other departments of engineering, such as canal steam navigation, compound engines, instruments of precision and machinery tools, would entitle him to a high position in the profession.
Mr. Worthington was born December 17, 1817, and died December 17, 1880. His ances- tors in America were sprung from Sir Nicholas Worthington, of Worthington, England, who died at Naseby, for King Charles, and they came to America in I649.
It would be interesting to trace the history of this family, especially the grand old father, Asa Worthington. A minute review of the life of Henry Rossiter Worthington, with its multi- tudinous benefactions of invention, of counsel, of entertainment, would also be pleasing and instructive, but this is not the time nor the place.
His mortal remains lie on the edge of the old rocks which geologists call the primal con- tinent, and every following cycle furnishes some stone to lay on his grave. So his immortal remains illustrate every phase of progress, from silurian instinct-to live-to the last formula of civilization-to let live.
Mr. Worthington was born in the city of New York, but his parents soon after removed to
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Brooklyn, where they continued to reside for many years. His father, Asa Worthington, at one period held the position of consul at Lima, South America, which appointment he retained for a number of years. He was, at the time, connected with the business firm of Wetmore, Chaun- cey, Cryder & Company, who had an establishment house in Lima.
Mr. Worthington's wife was Miss Newton, daughter of the late Commodore John T. New- ton, United States Navy. She, with four children, survived him,-Amelia Stuart (wife of T. Whiteside Rae, civil engineer, formerly connected with the United States Navy); Henry Fraser; Sarah Newton (wife of William Lanman Bull, a banker in Wall street), and Charles Campbell (who succeeded his father as an hydraulic engineer in the business which he founded).
The mortal remains of Mr. Worthington were laid to rest in the Memorial chapel built by his widow, at Nepperhan valley, near Irvington.
ISAAC MONMOUTH HUNT.
A prominent agriculturist of White Plains, Westchester county, New York, Isaac M. Hunt is a son of Thomas and Harriet (Guion) Hunt, and was born in New York city, May 27, 1837. John Hunt, the great-great- grandfather of our subject, was born in Shropshire, England, in 1707, and in 1725, when but eighteen years old, came to America and settled in Hacken- sack, New Jersey, and from there moved to the town of Greenburg, in Westchester county, New York, which at that time was a part of Philips Manor. He married Aletha Hunt, who was born in 1711. They were the parents of five daughters and four sons. The great-grandfather, Thomas Hunt, married a lady whose maiden name was Sarah Sloate. Isaac Hunt, the grandfather, was born in Putnam county, New York, in 1771, and lived in the town of Greenburg. He married Susanna Purdy, of White Plains, New York, a daughter of Jacob Purdy, of that place.
Thomas Hunt, the father, was born in the town of Greenburg in 1798, and was for many years a merchant in the city of New York, although he made his home in his native township until his death, which occurred in 1882. He was a devoted member of the Baptist church and a faithful worker in that body. He was united in matrimony to Miss Harriet Guion, a daughter of Monmouth and Anna (Lyons) Guion. The family trace their ancestry back to the time of the persecution of the Christians in 1682, when so many of the French Huguenots came to this country to escape this persecution. Among the number was the founder of the Guion family in America. Harriet Guion Hunt was born in New York in 1798, and died in 1883, at a good old age. She left the following children: Susan A., wife of James Elliott; Benjamin G., who died in 1887; Thomas P .; Harriet E., spinster; and Isaac M., our subject.
Isaac M. Hunt received his primary education in the district schools, and then attended a select school taught by an Episcopalian clergyman, the Rev. Augustus Striker. He then returned to the farm, and, having a natural
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as well as acquired aptitude for agriculture, he still resides there and has acquired a considerable property. His two sisters make their home with him on the old homestead, among lifelong friends. He is a pronounced Democrat and has served as assessor of the town of Greenburg for fifteen years. He was a school trustee for one term. He is kindly by nature, treasures few resentments, and is ever ready to do a favor, while in every transaction he is honest, upright, and honorable to a fault. He is a man of commanding presence and amiable and engaging manners, and his extreme popularity in the community is but a natural sequence.
HON. EDWIN W. FISKE.
The name of this gentleman is one which has figured conspicuously on the pages of Mount Vernon's history during the last ten years. By reason of his strong mentality, engaging personality and recognized ability, he has become a leader in public thought and action, and is now at the head of the municipal government, administering the affairs of the city with marked loyalty to its best interests.
Mr. Fiske was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, on the 17th of July, 1861, and is a son of Samuel and Amanda (Stoddard) Fiske. The father wasa native of Massachusetts, descending from good, old Puritan ancestry. His father was Samuel Fiske, also a native of the Bay state, the original Ameri- can home of the Pilgrims. The mother of our subject was a native of Penn- sylvania. In the public schools of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Edwin W. Fiske acquired his education, and at the age of eighteen entered upon his business career, by beginning an apprenticeship to learn the process of man- ufacturing Bessemer steel in the work of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, at Steelton, Pennsylvania. From that place he removed to New York city, where for more than fifteen years he has now successfully engaged in busi- ness as a dealer in steam and hot-water heaters, supplying these to large buildings on contract. He is energetic, enterprising and capable, and his sagacity and well managed interests have brought to him a very handsome competence.
Mr. Fiske makes his home in Mount Vernon, where he located about 1885, and since that time he has been an important factor in the public inter- ests of the town. In 1889 and 1890 he served the old second ward as a member of the board of village trustees, and in 1893 he was elected alderman from the present second ward against a strong competitor. While serving in that capacity he was chairman of the committee on streets and sidewalks, and in that capacity did much toward improving the streets and avenues. In 1894 he was the unanimous choice of the Democratic party for the office of
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mayor, and is now at the head of the city government. His administration is both progressive and practical, and while he favors every movement tend- ing toward the welfare and improvement of the city, at the same time he brings to bear upon all new measures introduced the calm, unbiased judg- ment of a reliable and sagacious business man. He is unfaltering in support of the principles of his party, and his information concerning the political issues of the day is comprehensive and accurate. In other ways Mr. Fiske has also been connected with the public affairs at Mount Vernon. Soon after his arrival here he became connected with Steamer Company No. 3, of the city fire department, and soon was made its foreman. That office he filled for three years with credit to himself and satisfaction to all, when he was elected chief of the fire department. For four years he filled the latter
office and did much toward securing better equipment, better discipline and better service in every way. He is also interested in social as well as polit- ical matters, and has been a member of the executive committee of the Inter- national Association of Fire Engineers of the World. He has been president and treasurer of the Firemen's Benevolent Association of this city; is a mem- ber of Hiawatha Lodge, F. & A. M .; Mount Vernon Chapter, R. A. M .; Bethlehem Commandery, K. T .; Mecca Shrine, of New York city; Lodge No. 1, B. P. O. E., of New York city; Sons of the Revolution of New York State, and Golden Rod Council, Royal Arcanum.
Mr. Fiske was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Smith, daughter of the late Henry C. Smith, the first president of the People's Bank, of Mount Vernon, and a prominent citizen. They now have three children, two sons and a daughter. Their position in the highest society is assured, and they enjoy the hospitality of the best homes in Mount Vernon. Mr. Fiske is a man whose business career conforms to the strictest ethics of commercial life; whose public career has been marked by the most unquestioned fidelity to duty, and whose private life commands the respect of all, while his cordial, genial manner renders him a pleasant companion and has made him very popular among all classes.
S. R. SHEAR.
S. R. Shear is a son of Clark A. and Lucretia Shear. He was born in Orwell, New York, and lived there until five years of age. He afterward lived with his parents in Boylston and Richland, Oswego county, and West Camden, Oneida county. At the age of twelve years he was taken by his uncle, Wallace E. Shear, of Stittsville, Oneida county, and lived with him for several years, in that time receiving an academic education at the Hol- land Patent Union School, after which he returned to Oswego county and
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taught school two winters at Ricard. He completed his education at the Oswego Normal School, and then became principal of the Orwell village school, and later principal of school No. 8, Mexico village. In 1890 he be- came principal of the Pulaski graded schools, holding that position for two years. In September, 1892, when the Pulaski Academy and graded schools were consolidated, he assumed control of the entire system. Under his man- agement the enrollment in the academic department increased from thirty to one hundred and fifty, and the teaching force from seven to twelve. In 1897 he resigned his position as principal of the Pulaski Union School and Academy, to accept the superintendency of the White Plains public schools, a position which he now holds.
He was married in 1889, to Miss Nettie Reynolds, of Orwell, and they have one daughter, Rose Elizabeth, born June 27, 1891. Mr. Shear is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and an active member of the Sons of Veterans, having been captain of A. S. Warren Camp, No. 105, for two years.
SOLOMON MEAD.
The Mead family went originally from Somersetshire, or Devonshire, into county Essex, England, during the reign of King Henry VI (A. D. 1422), and first settled at Elmdon. There seems to have been eight distinct families of the name in England, known by their respective coats-of-arms, four having the pelican and four the trefoil as their heraldic design. A num- ber of distinguished individuals were numbered among these English fami- lies; among others, Rev. Matthew Mead, a celebrated non-conformist divine in the reign of Charles I, and his son, Dr. Richard, who was appointed physi -. cian in ordinary to King George II, and who first practiced inoculation in England. The name is spelled both with and without the final "e." The Earl of Clan-William line always used the "e." That family is of Irish extraction, and is the one from which the Meades of Virginia are derived. In England the spelling was variable.
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