USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II > Part 22
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Robert A. Hours S.L.J.
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Connecticut Valley Dental Association. He has always taken a deep inter- est in athletics and is a member of the Palisade Boat Club, one of the popu- lar local yacht clubs, and the Yonkers Bicycle Club. As a citizen he has been as progressive as he has been professionally, and every worthy move- ment for the public good has had his hearty and generous co-operation. He has for some years been identified with the Yonkers Board of Trade and has taken an active part in the work which has been carried on by that body.
Dr. Fones was married, March 31, 1898, to Miss Isadora Lynt, a daugh- ter of Peter B. and Laura Lynt, of Ardsley, this county.
STEPHEN W. SMITH.
This gentleman is a well-known contractor and builder of White Plains, New York, of whose skill many notable examples are to be seen at various points in this region. Thoroughly reliable in all things, the quality of his work is a convincing test of his own personal worth, and the same admirable trait is shown in his conscientious discharge of the duties of different posi- tions of trust and responsibility to which he has been chosen in business and political life.
A native of Westchester county, Mr. Smith was born in Harrison, Octo- ber 13, 1834, and is a son of Thomas Smith, also a native of this county, who was a farmer by occupation and a son of Joseph Smith. The father died when our subject was only four years old, leaving a widow and seven children in rather limited circumstances. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Freelove Lonsbury, was born in Newburg, New York, on the Hud- son river, and was a daughter of Isaac Lonsbury. There were eight children in the family, who lived to years of maturity, namely: Eliza Ann, now deceased, who was the wife of John Hendrickson; Daniel S., a resident of White Plains; Mary; Henry L .; Phebe, wife of W. P. Hamell, of White Plains; Stephen W., of this sketch; and Thomas L., who died in his twenty- first year.
The first sixteen years of his life Stephen W. Smith spent in Harrison, New York, where he attended the town school. He then came to White Plains to learn the carpenter's trade with his brother-in-law, George Smith, and after serving a four-years apprenticeship he traveled as a journeyman,. working at his trade in this way for several years. He then started in busi- ness on his own account as a contractor and builder, and has since erected many of the best houses at White Plains and also buildings in adjacent townships.
Mr. Smith was one of the organizers of the building and loan association of White Plains, and has also been one of its directors since 1888. For four-
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years he was chief of the fire department at that place, which also he was instrumental in organizing; is a trustee of the Home Savings Bank of White Plains, and in January, 1898, he was elected commissioner of highways. He has always taken an active and prominent part in every enterprise calculated to prove of public good. Socially he is a leading member of White Plains Lodge, No. 473, F. & A. M., having become identified with that order in 1863. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and has held several minor offices. He is now a school trustee at White Plains; has been a member of the school board for six years; assessor of the village for eight years; village trustee four years, and collector of taxes for two years. .
In 1857 Mr. Smith married Miss Sarah E. See, of New York city, the eldest daughter of Ervin and Susanna See, in whose family were four chil- dren, -one son and three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three chil- dren: Stephen C., the eldest, now in partnership with his father, was mar ried December 29, 1885, to Miss Hattie E. Eggleston, and has had two children: Hattie Pearl, who died at the age of thirteen months, and Stephen E., born May 1, 1889; Albert H., the second son of Mr. Smith, was born January 26, 1866, and was married April 25, 1888, to Louise Johns, and they have one child, Albert Irving, now aged nine years; and Gertrude F., the only daughter, is now the wife of William H. Ford and resides in White Plains. Our subject and his wife have a pleasant home at No. 35 Lexing- ton avenue, White Plains, where they delight to entertain their many friends
JOHN JAY.
John Jay, sixth son of Peter Jay, was born December 12, 1745, spent his boyhood at Rye and New Rochelle, and was admitted to the bar in 1768. On April 28, 1774, he married Sarah, daughter of William Livingston, after- ward governor of New Jersey. He soon took a foremost position in the poli- tics of the country and was prominent in the debates of the first and second continental congresses. In 1779 he was appointed chief justice of the state of New York. In 1778 he was elected president of congress. In 1779 he was sent as minister to Spain, and thence, in 1780, went to Paris as commis- sioner to assist in the negotiation of a treaty of peace with Great Britain. He returned to New York in 1784, after an absence of five years, and was received with tokens of esteem and admiration. December 21, 1784, he was appointed by congress secretary for foreign affairs, and held the office for five years. He was one of the contributors to "The Federalist." In 1789 he was appointed chief justice of the United States, -an office which he was the the first to fill. In 1794 he was sent as special minister to London, upon a delicate and most important mission, relating to difficulties growing out of
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unsettled boundaries and certain commercial complications. He discharged this duty with great ability, and upon his return to America, in 1795, was elected by a large majority governor of the state of New York. At the end of three years he was re-elected, and at the expiration of a second term was solic- ited to become a candidate for election a third time. But he had determined to renounce public life, and though nominated again, in 1800, to the office of chief justice of the United States, declined the honor and retired to his paternal estate, at Bedford, a property which was a part of the Van Cortlandt estate, and which his father had acquired by marriage to Mary, a daughter of Jacobus Van Cortlandt. There for twenty-eight years he lived a peaceful and honored life. In 1827 he was seized with severe illness, and, after two years of weakness and suffering, was struck with palsy, May 14, 1829, and died three days afterward. He was buried in the family cemetery at Rye. His public reputation as a patriot and statesman of the Revolution was sec- ond only to that of Washington, and his private character as a man and a Christian is singularly free from stain or blemish.
John Clarkson Jay, M. D., eldest son of Peter Augustus Jay, was born September 11, 1808, and married Laura, daughter of Nathaniel Prime. He was the proprietor of the estate at Rye, and was the well known representa- tive of the family in Westchester county. After a thorough preparation in schools, among which were those of the blind teacher, Mr. Nelson, and the McCulloch school at Morristown, New York, he entered Columbia College, at which he graduated, together with the late secretary of state, Hamilton Fish, and many other distinguished men, in the class of 1827. In 1831 he took his degree as M. D. He was a deep student of natural history, espe- cially of conchology, and the valuable collection of shells formerly in his possession, which is now in the New York Museum of Natural History, hav- ing been purchased by Miss Wolf and presented to that institution by her, in memory of her father, has the reputation of being the finest in the country. On this branch Dr. Jay wrote several pamphlets, among which are the fol- lowing: Catalogue of Recent Shells, etc .; New York, 1835, 8vo., pp. 56; Description of New and Rare Shells, with four plates; New York, 1836, 2d ed., pp. 78; A Catalogue, etc., together with a Description of New and Rare Species; New York, pp. 125, 4to., ten plates. The article on shells in the narrative of Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan, is also by him. He was connected with many prominent literary and social organizations both in Westchester county and in the city of New York, where he spent much of his time. He was for many years a trustee of Columbia College, and at two different periods served as trustee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the City of New York. He was one of the founders and at one time recording secretary of the New York Yacht Club, the annals of which will
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show the lively interest which he took in its management and general affairs. The records of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, now known as the New York Academy of Natural Sciences, will exhibit the interest manifested by him in that most useful organization.
Dr. Jay was an Episcopalian, and was connected for many years with Christ Church at Rye, of which he was warden. I He was well known throughout Westchester county, where he was so long greatly appreciated for his social and literary qualities.
These and many other iilustrious names have adorned the history of the Jay family in America, the members of which have ever been faithful to their country, faithful to their religion and faithful to themselves. Their residence there has added luster to Westchester county, and their noble influence will be remembered while American history continues to be read.
INGERSOLL F. KNOWLTON.
Ingersoll F. Knowlton, one of the representative and highly esteemed citizens of North Castle township, where he is successfully engaged in agri- cultural pursuits and milling, has been a resident of Westchester county, New York, since 1863, and has been prominently identified with its best interests. He is a native of Connecticut, born in Fairfield county, December 7, 1840, and belongs to one of the most distinguished families of early colonial days, several of its members being prominent officers in the Indian and Revolu- tionary wars. These include his great-grandfather, Colonel Daniel Knowl- ton, who saved the life of General Putnam in 1757 during the French and Indian war, and his great-uncle, Colonel Thomas Knowlton, whose statue adorns the grounds of the state capitol at Hartford, Connecticut. Our sub- ject's parents were Rev. Farnham and Sarah (Ingersoll) Knowlton, the latter a daughter of Simon Ingersoll, and the children born to this worthy couple were, in order of birth: Sarah, deceased; Miner N., who served with distinc- tion as a major in the civil war and is now a resident of Chicago; George; Ingersoll F .; and Mrs. Emily Hoyt. The mother died in 1853, and after long surviving her the father passed away in 1880.
The subject of this review received his education at the Literary Institute at Suffield, Connecticut, and for a time he successfully followed the teach- er's profession. November 17, 1862, he was appointed an assistant engineer by the Hon. Gideon Welles, then secretary of the United States Navy. Mr. Knowlton was in the memorable engagement of Admiral Farragut in Mobile bay, where the Confederate ram Atlanta was captured, and the United States iron-clad Tecumseh was sunk by a torpedo of the enemy.
At the close of the war he resigned his position. He now resides in
Ingersoll I Knowlton
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Armonk, Westchester county, on his own estate, on which is still standing the small house in which Major Andre was held a prisoner one night, after his capture with dispatches from Benedict Arnold.
In 1863 Mr. Knowlton married Miss Carrie S. Carpenter, a daughter of Jacob B. and Hannah (Sands) Carpenter, and by this union he had three children: Sarah; and J. Everett and Jacob C., both of whom died at the age of thirty years. The wife and mother was called to her final rest in 1867, and Mr. Knowlton was again married, February 13, 1872, his second union being with Miss Hannah Carpenter, a daughter of Rees Carpenter, a prominent citizen of Westchester county. She traces her ancestry back to Richard Carpenter, who lived and died in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. William, his son, came to America previously to 1636 and settled in Rhode Island, with Roger Williams. Joseph, son of William, removed to Long Island and bought a tract of land of the Indians near Glen Cove. Nathaniel, son of Joseph, married Tamer Coles and removed to North Castle, near Armonk. His son, Timothy, was the first white child born in this county, which so pleased the Indians that they gave it one hundred acres of land in Byram valley. He married Phebe Coles. Timothy's son, also named Tim- othy, married Hannah Ferris, a daughter of John Ferris, of Bedford. His son, William, remained on the homestead and married Deborah Cocks, in 1788, and their son, Rees, was born in 1789, and married Miss Sarah Bow- ron, a daughter of William and Mary (Story) Bowron, and they became the parents of five children, namely: Jacob, who died at the age of fifty-eight years; David, a resident of New Castle, this county; Phebe, deceased wife of I. H. Hoag; Freelove, who was the second wife of I. G. Hoag, and died in 1893; and Hannah, wife of our subject. The father of these children, one of the leading and highly respected citizens of his community, died at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. He was a member of the Society of Friends, a Republican in politics, and served as supervisor of his township for many years. Mr. Knowlton and his family are also identified with the Society of Friends, and have the esteem and confidence of all who know them.
LEWIS C. POPHAM.
Lewis C. Popham, youngest child of William Sherbrook Popham, was born on the old homestead in Scarsdale, April 15, 1833. Receiving his edu- cation at the well-known school of Rev. Dr. Harris, at White Plains, he joined his father in business, and in due time succeeded to it and the family estate. Besides carrying on his large business interests in New York city, he has been for the last sixteen years justice of the peace of the town of Scars- dale. He is of an exceedingly social disposition and justly reckoned among
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the most popular citizens of Westchester county. He married Annie J., daughter of Alexander Flemming, of Bellows Falls, Vermont. Their chil- dren are Emma A. (wife of Cornelius B. Fish), Alice H., Annie F., Alex- ander F. and Louise C.
Mr. Popham still resides in the old homestead, which was built by his grandfather, Major Popham, in 1783. It adjoins the Morris property and is rich in its collection of antiques, bric-à-brac and old paintings. A portion of the tea-set presented to Major Popham by General Washington is still in possession of the family.
SAMUEL W. PALMER.
Samuel W. Palmer, an honored citizen of Armonk, North Castle town- ship, and one of the brave defenders of the Union during the trying days of the civil war, is a native of Westchester county, born in North Castle, August 8, 1838, and is a son of Samuel R. and Eliza (Wykoff) Palmer, representa- tives of old and prominent families of this region. His parents and grand- parents were also natives of this county, and his maternal grandfather was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. The father, who was a blacksmith by trade, died in 1844, at the early age of thirty-eight years, and the mother departed this life, in 1860, at the age of fifty-seven. Both were earnest, consistent Christian people, the former a member of the Friends' church, the latter of the Reformed church.' In their family were four sons, who reached years of maturity, and three were among the " boys in blue " in the war of the Rebellion. Besides our subject, the others were John, who was wounded in the service, and is now a resident of Connecticut; Henry, who was cor- poral in the First New York Mounted Rifles; and Charles, who died in 1894.
Samuel W. Palmer grew to manhood in his native township and acquired his education in its public schools. During his youth he also learned the shoe- maker's trade, which he successfully followed for many years. In Septem- ber, 1862, however, he laid aside all personal interests and enlisted in Com- pany I, First New York Mounted Rifles, under command of Captain Thomas Farrgraves and Colonel Dodge. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the James, and was under General Benjamin F. Butler for a time. They participated in many battles and skirmishes of note, were in the siege of Suffolk, and were in several fights with General Mosby's troopers and bush- whackers. Although he entered the service as private, Mr. Palmer was pro- moted by gallant conduct to the rank of corporal, and later as sergeant, of Company I. The war being over, and his services no longer needed, he was honorably discharged at City Point, Virginia, in December, 1865, and was paid off and mustered out at Albany, New York.
Mr. Palmer has been twice married, his first wife being Jane Tucker,
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and after her death he wedded Clarissa Demorest. Politically he is an ardent Republican, and socially is an honored member of Cromwell Post, No. 466, G. A. R., of White Plains; Mount Kisco Lodge, No. 708, F. & A. M .; and Hebron Lodge, No. 229, I. O. O. F., of White Plains. Both he and his wife are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Armonk, of which he is one of the trustees, and they take quite an active and prominent part in all church work. His loyalty as a citizen and his devotion to his coun- try's interests have ever been among his marked characteristics, and the com- munity is fortunate that numbers him among its citizens.
LOCKWOOD REYNOLDS.
Lockwood Reynolds, of Croton Lake, Somers township, Westchester county, New York, was born on the old homestead, January 15, 1854, and is of Puritan stock, tracing his ancestry back to their arrival in this country on the Mayflower. His immediate progenitors were Lockwood Reynolds, Sr., his father, and James Reynolds, his grandfather. His father was a native of this county, born in Salem, October 14, 1804, and died at the age of seventy- seven years, November 3, 1881. His wife, Hester Ann, née Baker, was born in Somers, this county, August 31, 1807, and died August 23, 1886. They both passed away on the old homestead farm.
Lockwood Reynolds, of this sketch, grew to manhood on this farm, and attended the public schools. October 24, 1871, he was united in wedlock, to Miss Mariah Dunscomb, a native of Flushing, Long Island, and a student in Bedford Academy. She is a daughter of Garrett and Catherine K. (Brooks) Dunscomb and a granddaughter of Edward and Mary (Abell) Dunscomb, of England. Garrett and Catherine Dunscomb were residents of Croton Lake, where he was an iron merchant and died at the age of fifty-two years, June 23, 1869. His wife died August 14, 1852, at the age of thirty years. He was a Republican in his political affiliations. To Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have been born five children, as follows: Elizabeth D., who lives with her parents; Josephine M., the wife of Edward B. Kear; Melville, Florence A. and Charles H. The family are communicants of the Methodist Episcopal church, while in politics Mr. Reynolds is a Republican.
DAVID J. ROBERTS, M. D.
The gentleman to whose life history we call attention at this point in this series of biographical sketches, Dr. David J. Roberts, of New Rochelle, is a good representative of the medical profession in the " Empire state."
Dr. Roberts is a native of New York, born in Waterville, Oneida county,
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October 4, 1856, in which county his father and mother, Thomas and Sarah (Jones) Roberts, were born. The Roberts family trace their origin to England. Several generations, however, have been residents of America. Thomas Roberts, the father of our subject, was for many years a miller at Waterville. On his mother's side Dr. Roberts is of Welsh descent and his mother was a daughter of Elias Jones.
In his native town Dr. Roberts spent his youthful days and received his early education in its public schools, completing his studies in the Waterville Academy in 1876 and graduating. Choosing the medical pro- fession for his life work, he entered upon his studies for the same in the office of Dr. W. W. Blackner, of Brooklyn, New York, and subsequently be- came a student in the New York Homeopathic Hospital College, at which institution he graduated with the class of 1886. Afterward he spent one year in Ward's Island Hospital, where he still further prepared himself for his professional duties. At the end of that year he engaged in a general practice in New York city, but remained there only a short time and in 1887 came to New Rochelle, where he has since conducted a successful practice, his genial, sympathetic manner together with his skill as a physician having brought him into favor with all who have required his services, and he has the confi- dence and respect of all who know him.
Dr. Roberts is identified with numerous fraternal organizations, and is a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy; New York State Society, of which in 1897 he was vice-president; the Westchester County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1897; New York Pathological Society; National Society of Therapeutics; Hahnemannian, of which he is vice-presi- dent; president of the Chiron Club of Physicians; and the Metropolitan Hos- pital Alumni Association, of which he is treasurer.
JOHN F. HUNTER, M. D.
Dr. John F. Hunter, the leading physician of Mamaroneck, was born March 16, 1865, in this village. His father, Francis Hunter, is a native of France, was a lieutenant in the army of that country, and came to America when a young man, settling in New Rochelle, New York, and later here at Mamaroneck, where he died May 30, 1898. He married Catharine Mulli- gan, who is a native of county Monaghan, Ireland, and is now sixty-three years of age.
Dr. Hunter, their only child, grew up and was educated in his native village, attending the public schools and St. John's College, at Fordham, New York. At the age of nineteen he was matriculated at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, in New York city, made himself conscientiously
2.7 Hunter, This,
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thorough in the prescribed three-years curriculum of the institution, and graduated in 1889. Added to this, he also studied for two years in the Northwestern Dispensary, and was assistant surgeon under Dr. George Thompson, professor of diseases of women, and an eminent practitioner of general surgery. Then he opened an office in New York city and zealously followed his profession for two years, enjoying a splendid practice. Over- work, however, brought upon him a weakened condition, which compelled him to leave the city, in 1891, when he chose Mamaroneck for his new and more healthful residence, and since then he has been engaged in continuous practice, in partnership with Dr. Joseph Hoffman until his death, June 20, 1892.
In politics the Doctor is a stanch and active Democrat, both in town and county, but has never been willing to accept office. He is a member of Apawamos Lodge, No. 800, F. & A. M .; of Golden Cross Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of the orders of Red Men and Foresters; and in religion he is a member of the Catholic church. This large-hearted, broad-minded, genial and whole- souled man is very popular, and, we repeat, the leading physician of Mamaroneck.
He was united in marriage with Miss Madeline Baron, of New York, and they have one daughter, whom they have named Jessie.
CHARLES E. HARTSHORN.
One of the prominent citizens of Yonkers for the past eight years has been the gentleman whose name forms the heading of this biography. He built and owns a handsome residence at Belvidere place, it having been con- structed after plans drawn up by himself. He is a Republican and takes an aggressive part in local affairs, especially in such as pertain to the improve- ment of his own section of the city. Many important changes for the better in the condition of streets, sewers, etc., have been made through the persist- ent efforts of Mr. Hartshorn and a few other leading citizens, banded together under the name of the Yonkers Improvement Association, which society was founded largely through his influence. At the same time he is chairman of the executive committee of the South Yonkers Improvement Association. Always a worker in the party of his choice, he has often been sent as a delegate to various nominating committees, and at present he is a member of the executive committee of his ward.
Charles Edward Hartshorn, Sr., was born in Ulster county, New York, August 12, 1817. For over thirty years he was extensively engaged in the manufacture of various appliances and supplies for fire departments, includ- ing engines, trucks, ladders, etc. He is the inventor and patentee of the
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extension ladder, with endless chain, now in use in all civilized countries in the world. Many other devices which have been in general use for years in the fire departments of cities, here and abroad, were patented by him, and for a long period he supplied New York city with all of its equipment in this line. The Hartshorn horse truck, which supplanted the old-style hand truck, was also his idea. His place of business was at 119-121 Walker street, New York city. Formerly he was an active Democratic partisan, but though he was often urged to accept public office he persistently refused such honor. He was solicited to become a candidate for alderman, and just prior to the election of the mayor he was tendered the candidacy for the legislature, and, as usual, he refused both. For years an active Odd Fellow, he lived to be the oldest living past master of Manhattan Lodge, No. 62. This lodge, one of the oldest in the state of New York, was organized in 1824. A member of the Knights of St. John, he had the honor of wearing the Red Chapter colors of that order. After 1873 he was retired from active business, and until a short time before his death, when his daughter was married, he resided in Brooklyn, and after that he lived with her in Peekskill, New York. In religious work, as in everything in which he was interested, he was very prominent and zealous. For years he was identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, and occupied about all the official positions of the local society. He married, in 1845, Mary Jane Munday, and in 1895 they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Of their ten children all but the eldest-born, Mary Elizabeth, who died in infancy, lived to mature years. Emma is the wife of Matthew J. Le Fever, a wholesale meat dealer in Peekskill; William A., deceased, was connected with the Park National Bank of New York city; Samuel L., deceased, was employed in the Sixth National Bank in the same city; Katie I., whose death occurred in 1895, was the wife of Oran J. Lederer, of Peekskill; Frank O. is the proprietor of Washington Market in Yonkers; Anna is the wife of William H. Ingham, of this city, who is employed by a large piano house of New York city; David O. is the next in order of birth, and Ida is the wife of Stephen A. Peene, of the Yonkers Steam Laundry.
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