USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II > Part 31
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Lieutenant Hamilton's health having become very much impaired, he returned north, during the draft riots, and took an active part in quelling the disturbances at Tarrytown, and after a much needed rest returned to the front. By advice of his physicians he resided for a considerable time after the close of the Rebellion in the thickly wooded pine-tree sections of the south. The later years of his life has been spent in the neighborhood of his boyhood home. He has contributed many interesting historical sketches to the public press, and for the past few years has been engaged in gathering material for a history of Phillips Manor.
At 4:30 A. M. on the morning of September 6, 1862, Lieutenant Hamil- ton became acquainted with a young lady of Washington, North Carolina,
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who had appealed to him, in the midst of a fierce hand-to-hand conflict, for protection, some of the opposing military forces, separated in the heat of the battle from their comrades without permission, having taken refuge upon her premises and in her dwellings. This brief acquaintance was rewarded successfully a short time afterward when Lieutenant Hamilton appealed to the young lady to provide a home and shelter for an aged slave, he having been the trusted family servant of the leading Confederate of all that terri- tory. This interview also procured the use of a warehouse with forge and much needed temporary supply of coal, which contributed toward the con- struction of the experimental torpedo boat, in order to bridge over the delay until charcoal kilns could be prepared and burned. These casual interviews, principally of a formal business nature, were, however, destined to bring about a permanent acquaintance. Lieutenant Hamilton's duties being of such an onerous character, requiring the use of three horses during the day and much mental labor until late at night, and his health not fully recovered, at length he suddenly succumbed, and was found in an unconscious state at his quarters surrounded by his colored servants and was taken to the private house of a Union resident, where several days elapsed before signs of return- ing strength were noticed, the news of which spread rapidly and soon caused unwisely the sick chamber to be filled with many friends, one of whom, quietly approaching the bedside, presented two beautiful roses, emblematic of the colors of the Confederacy, that were destined never to be separated from those of the American Union.
Invitations announcing the marriage of Miss Sarah F. Pugh to Lienten- ant Hamilton on March 3, 1863, brought together at the bride's home a large gathering of army and naval officers, which the garrison supplemented by turning out in review and by giving them a national salute upon their arrival at the principal fort. This compliment the bride, however, was called upon to return before the close of the month, she having worked night and day in preparing cartridge bags, using her own clothing and working when shot and shell came crashing all about and through the very room she was em- ployed in!
When the heat of the strife had subsided preparations were made to visit the north, but scarcely had foot been set upon the soil of the Excelsior state before orders to report for military duty in order to quell the riots then in progress were given. Here again cartridge bags had to be made, and the military experience of the bride and groom gave the citizens of Tarrytown their first opportunity to witness the impromptu manufacture of some very dangerous ammunition, which fortunately did much toward quelling the riots.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton four sons and one daughter were born: Frank, general superintendent of the department of horticulture in the parks
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of New York city; Mary Schuyler Hamilton, teacher at Pocantico Hills, Westchester county; Philip Lee, foreman for Pierson & Company; Joseph T., engineer; and John C., at home.
JOHN J. SLOANE.
The successful conduct of an extensive business enterprise demands ability and talent of no less pronounced order than that of the poet, the musician, the inventor or the scientist. Comparatively few are the men who are capable of handling mammoth business interests. To do this one must have great energy, keen discrimination and sagacity, perseverance and the ability to read and understand men. To these innate qualities he must add tact, courtesy and above all unquestioned integrity, and then may he hope to stand among the successtul few. While some of these qualities are in a measure the heritage of the individual they are of no consequence until brought into the clear light of the utilitarian and practical life; they grow by exercise, and development comes through effort. It is through the possession and exercise of these qualities that John J. Sloane has steadily advanced to the leading position which he occupies in the business circles of Yonkers as manager for the American Wringer Company.
He was born in the village of Cleator, county of Cumberland, England, March 24, 1864, his parents being Richard and Ann (McCabe) Sloane. The father was a mining contractor in the north of England, and was a member of the society commonly known as the Ancient Order of Foresters. His wife died May 29, 1891, at the age of forty-six years. They were the parents of ten children: John J., Elizabeth, Mary, Susan, Agnus, Theresa, Sarah J., Rose, Kate and Richard. In 1892 Mr. Richard Sloane, the father, came to America.
John J. Sloane acquired his education in the parochial schools of Eng- land, and after laying aside his text-books secured a position as time-keeper in the mines of England, where he was employed for six years. He after- ward engaged in mining contracting, which he followed for about twenty years, during which time he became thoroughly familiar with the business in every detail. On attaining his majority he crossed the Atlantic to the New World, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he accepted a position as clerk in a paint and oil manufactory. In 1886 he removed to Yonkers, but later spent some time in the south in the employ of a drill company, in setting up their steam drills. Subsequently he entered the service of the Metropolitan Manufacturing Company, now the American Wringer Company, at Yonkers, and has since been connected therewith, having served as mana- ger of the Yonkers branch of the business since 1888. He has built up an.
John J. Sloane.
John Haton
Andrew for cknon fokon
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extensive trade in this locality, extending as far north as Albany, and now employs forty-five men and nine horses and wagons in the conduct of the business. He has established four branch stores, located at Newburg, Pough- keepsie, Kingston and Hudson, doing an annual business of over one hundred thousand dollars. When Mr. Sloane became manager the business trans- acted through his department amounted to only about thirty thousand dol- lars per annum, -a comparison of the two figures plainly indicating his excellent management. He employs five clerks in his office, his oversight of the business is continually resulting in an extension of the trade, and he has. made judicious investments of his earnings in profitable property, owning at the present time a number of good tenement houses in Yonkers.
On the 8th of November, 1887, Mr. Sloane was united in marriage to Miss Margaret M. Stafford, a daughter of Thomas and Jane (Anderson) Staf- ford, and to them have been born the following named children: Jane, deceased; Ann; Richard, who died at the age of five years; Jennie and John Joseph. The family are communicants of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church. In his political views Mr. Sloane is a stalwart Democrat, and on various occasions has served as a delegate to the conventions of his party. In 1898, at the Democratic county convention, he was chosen as their can- didate for the assembly, his opponent on the Republican ticket being John Mulligan, a popular and representative citizen. Mr. Sloane received a sub- stantial majority over his opponent, having run ahead of his ticket in the city of Yonkers and Mount Vernon and several other voting districts. He belongs to various social and fraternal organizations, joined Nepera Tribe, No. 186, I. O. R. M., at Yonkers, in 1891; the same evening was appointed chief of the records; in January, 1892, was elected sachem of the tribe; was re-elected in 1893, and again in 1895. In 1893 he was elected a delegate to. the state convention of the order, in Binghamton; in 1894 was sent as a rep- resentative from the local tribe to the convention in Rochester; in 1895 was a delegate to New York city and there was elected great representative to. the great council of the United States and was appointed a member of the committee on state charters, serving two years. The same year he received a handsome gold medal from the Nepera Tribe, I. O. R. M., at Yonkers, as. a mark of esteem and fellowship. In 1896 he was a delegate to the state convention in Saratoga, and has attended three sessions of the great con- vention of the United States, held in Providence, Rhode Island, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, respectively. In 1897 he was elected to the state council at Buffalo, and in 1898 was state delegate to. Avon Springs, where he was re-elected great representative to the great council of the United States, held in Indianapolis in September, 1898, and at Washington in September, 1899. He is also an honored member of the 48
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Foresters, of which he has been three times elected chief ranger. He was also representative to the state lodge in 1897, and was presented with a hand - some gold badge by the Palisade Lodge, of Yonkers, also sent to the national meeting of that organization. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of New York city, belongs to the Knights of Honor, was one of the organizers and a charter member of the Knights of Columbia, and at present is a deputy grand knight of the order. For three years he was a mem- ber of the Irving Hose Company. This brief sketch will indicate in a meas- ure the great activity that has characterized his life, making him a leader in business, fraternal, political and social circles. He is a man of charming personality, cordial, genial and entirely approachable, and is very popular among an extended circle of friends.
JOHN TATOR.
The subject of this sketch is of Holland descent. His grandfather Tator was born in Holland and when a young man came to this country and set- tled in Ghent, Columbia county, New York, or rather, on a large farm near that place, where he spent the rest of his life. He was a Democrat, filled a number of local offices, served in the war of 1812, and was in various ways identified with the best interests of the town and county in which he lived. He was twice married and had a large family, his children numbering twen- ty-one. His son Peter, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Columbia county, New York, about the year 1814, and there received a common-school education and learned the trade of mason. He resided at Troy, New York, for twenty years, for twenty years lived at Ghent, and in 1880 removed to Yonkers, where he spent the residue of his life and where he died in 1898, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Kittie Dunspaugh, and who was of German ancestry, died in 1893, at the age of seventy-four years. Both he and his father before him were devoted and consistent members of the Lutheran church. In his family were three chil- dren, namely: John, whose name initiates this sketch; Mary, wife of Charles Fuller, city surveyor of Troy, New York, for twenty-five years; and Adaline.
John Tator, the immediate subject of this review, was born in Hudson, Columbia county, New York, July 12, 1843. In his youth he had the benefit of the common schools and was also for a time a high-school student. He left school at sixteen and began making his own way in the world, his first posi- tion being that of water boy on the New York Central Railroad. Shortly afterward he became a common laborer on the road, and this occupation was followed successively by that of fireman for six months, assistant road-mas- ter for ten years and road-master for fifteen years. For a time he was with
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the Boston & Albany Railroad as foreman. He was also road-master for the New York & Harlem Railroad. His last railroad work, which occu- pied his time up to September 1, 1898, was for the New York Central Rail- road Company, from Forty-second street to Poughkeepsie, and in this enter- prise he had in his employ no less than eight hundred men engaged in con- struction work. He now has under consideration a proposition to go to Porto Rico in the employ of a railroad syndicate. His residence is at Yonkers, Westchester county, where he has business interests, owning here a boarding and livery stable, at 44 to 46 School street, and having succeeded Mr. C. E. O'Dell in this business.
Mr. Tator is a public-spirited and enterprising man, is well posted in matters of public interest, and gives his support to any and all movements he believes intended for the public good. Formerly he was a Democrat, but now affiliates with the Republican party. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
February 28, 1864, Mr. Tator was married to Miss Lydia Cipperly, daughter of John and Hannah (Hayner) Cipperly, and they have a family of seven children, namely: Frederick, who married Martha Hemingway; Cora; Grace, the wife of Roswell Jacobus; Hattie, who is the wife of Charles Brockmier; Edna, wife of Ferris Montgomery; and Kittie and Arthur, who still remain at the parental home. The family are adherents of the Method- ist Episcopal church.
GEORGE FRAZIER.
This well known citizen of Yonkers, New York, is noted for his fine physique and his athletic powers. The family from which he comes was distinguished for the same qualities, and his sons also are noted athletes. The history of his life is of interest in this connection.
George Frazier was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, August 1, 1833, son of Isaiah and Hannah (Anderson) Frazier. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Frazier was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was a man of great strength and size, being six feet, five and a half inches in height and weigh- ing two hundred and eighty pounds. He was in early life a candlemaker and later a farmer, being successful in both occupations. From Edinburgh he moved over to Ireland and settled at the birthplace of our subject. His wife's maiden name was Rebecca McPherson, and she was beneath the aver- age in size. They were the parents of twelve daughters and three sons, namely: Richard, Isaiah, John, Rebecca, Hannah, Rachel, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jane, Margaret, Catherine, Mary, Ellen and Ann. All grew to adult age. Grandfather Frazier died in 1842 at the age of seventy- two years, and grandmother Frazier died two years later at the same age.
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Isaiah Frazier, the father of our subject, was born in Edinburgh, Scot- land, and learned the trade of chandler, in which business his father was there engaged. He came from Ireland to America in 1844, with his wife and six children, and located in Parry street, New York city, where he became engaged in the lime-burning business. Subsequently he removed with. his family to Norwich, Connecticut, to take charge of three large lime-kilns, and at the time of his death he resided with his son, George, at Yonkers, New York. He, too, was a man of large proportions and great strength. He was a Republican, an Orangeman and a member of the Masonic fra- ternity. Religiously he was a Presbyterian, a zealous and active member of that church. In his family were three sons and three daughters, viz .: John, deceased, was a contractor in New York city; Jane, widow of James Cannon, deceased; Margaret, who died at the age of nineteen years; George, whose name introduces this sketch; Isaiah, deceased; and Hannah, widow of Will- iam Cunningham, deceased. The mother of this family died at the age of forty-five years and the father lived to be ninety-one.
George Frazier, the immediate subject of this review, was a small boy at the time he was brought by his parents to this country, and his education was obtained in the public schools of New York city and night school at Nor- wich, Connecticut. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he learned the trade of soap and candle. making, and from his father learned a secret and valuable process of clarifying the tallow. For some time he was in business at Norwich, and became widely known for his superior make of candles. He subsequently learned the stone-cutting and flagging trade, in New York city, which he followed as a journeyman for several years and then engaged in taking contracts for stone work, paving, flagging, etc., which he has followed ever since. He has carried on a general contracting busi- ness, including the erecting of buildings, street, bridge and dock work and yacht building. He built the yacht Montana Jack for his son, which won the pennant in three successive races in one season. His contracting busi- ness affords employment for no less than two hundred and fifty men, and he has had at one time as many as sixty-five brown-stone cutters. His con- tracts have included some of the heaviest street work in the. city of Yonkers, among which may be mentioned the greater part of Main street, and Nepper- han avenue from Yonkers to the old village limits. He built the fronts to the Yonkers Savings Bank and the Westminster Presbyterian church. He also built the Lawrence dock, which he owned and which he sold to William Frederick Lawrence. From time to time he has invested in real estate and has extensive realty holdings.
Politically, Mr. Frazier is a Republican. He cast his first vote for President Lincoln and has ever since been in harmony with the principles
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advocated by this party. Fraternally, he is identified with the Masonic fraternity, maintaining membership in Rising Star Lodge, F. & A. M .; Nep- perhan Chapter, R. A. M .; and Yonkers Commandery, K. T.
Mr. Frazier was formerly a member of the Yonkers Curling Club, but resigned in 1895 and started the Van Cortland Club, of which he is a mem- ber at present. He became a curler thirty years ago, and won the title of champion curler of America, having won in four successive national tourna- ments the famous Mitchell diamond medal, with a team composed of himself and three of his sons. This was remarkable, inasmuch as no other team in America had won in two successive tournaments. The last in which he took part was at Toronto, Canada, in 1894, which they won by a score of twenty- one to seventeen, their opponents being the Champions of the West. Four pairs of handsome curling stones were sent from Scotland to the winner of this tournament. The Mitchell medal is a diamond worth seven hundred dollars. His three sons in the team with him were James, John and Isaiah, who weigh respectively two hundred and ten, one hundred and eighty-eight and one hundred and sixty-four pounds, all of whom are athletes and have won numerous medals in various athletic fields. Isaiah holds over seventy-five medals, which he has won upon various athletic fields. The day before the tournament at Toronto, Canada, between their team and the Champions of the West, they played and defeated a team representing the Ontario branch of the Curling Club of Canada, who had held championship for eight years in succession. Mr. Frazier himself weighs more than any of his sons, his weight being two hundred and tweny-six and one-half pounds, and he is tall and well proportioned. With his hands he has lifted as much as fourteen hundred and eighty-five pounds. He has won many honors on the athletic field and in con- tests of various kinds. He has a medal for rifle shooting. A team composed of himself; Charles R. Gorton, present superintendent of schools of Yonkers; Rob- ert G. Jackson, of the Yonkers Brewing Company; and Professor Elliott Mason, had the honor of winning the championship of America on "Tug-of-war" against the Scottish-American team, champions of United States and Canada. He has a medal as tug-of-war's man. For eleven years he served as a mem- ber of Lady Washington Engine Company, No. 2, of the Yonkers fire depart- ment. Although now advancing in years, he is still a man of great physical strength and endurance and with his old vigor participates in his favorite sports.
Mr. Frazier was married July 14, 1852, to Miss Margaret Stevenson Stewart, daughter of James Stewart, a tanner and currier of Paisley, Scot- land. They have had eight children, namely: Isaiah, James (deceased), George, Elizabeth Jane, John, James Stewart, Robert Davis and Mathew Stewart.
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The eldest son, Isaiah, is associated with his father in the contracting business, and, as already stated in this sketch, is an athlete. He has won medals in about all of the popular athletic, field and aquatic sports. Indeed, he is one of the best all-around athletes Westchester county ever possessed. For a number of years, also, he has been prominent in the local political and municipal affairs of his town and county. He was a member of the board of supervisors of Westchester county for two terms, from 1893 to 1897; served as chairman of the committee on printing, and was a member of the county-treasurer committee; and was in the militia, a member of
Company H, Sixteenth Battalion. After the organization of the Fourth Separate Company, of which he was the organizer, he became its captain. He is at present vice-president of the Fourth Separate Company Veteran Association. While a member of that company he won several walking medals. It was called out during the ice riots at Verplank's Point, where he had command of the forces. He has won in all seventy-five medals, as before intimated. He received a handsome medal from the Fourth Separate Company as captain, which they conferred upon him in appreciation of the valuable services he rendered. He received several medals for rifle shooting. He won in the Palisade yacht races in 1879, in four-oar contests; also in single, double and eight oar shell races. He took the American champion- ship, in 1876, at the New York Athletic Club, for running broad jump. He has also taken the medal in various other contests, -such as running broad jump, standing broad, standing high, running high, vaulting with pole, put- ting shot, throwing hammer, handle races, sack races, rowing, shooting. Besides these he was a member of the team in all the important curling matches and shared the numerous medals won by the team. At one tourna- ment of Yonkers Lyceum athletic sports, he won nine out of fourteen trophies offered. He won the single-shell boat race in 1894 for Palisade Boat Club championship.
ANDREW JACKSON JOSLYN.
Andrew J. Joslyn, a veteran of the civil war and an enterprising business man of Yonkers, is a native of Maine, born at Robbinston, July 8, 1845. His parents, William Alfred and Rebecca A. (Douglas) Joslyn, were of Scotch and English descent, respectively. Several generations of the Joslyn family resided in Canada, in which country William A. was born. He learned the trade of ship-builder, and successfully carried on that business at Eastport, Maine, for several years. In 1855 he removed to New York city, where he died some six years later. He was a man of much more than ordinary learning and ability, had received the advantages of a college education, and
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was a great Bible student and historian. In his political faith he was a stanch Democrat, of the Andrew Jackson school. To himself and wife were born six children, of whom only two survive, our subject and his eldest brother, George Washington. Those who are deceased were named as fol- lows: Charles Jefferson, Thomas Hood, Rebecca A. and Mary A. The mother died in 1855, at the age of thirty-three years, and thus the happy home was broken up.
A lad of but ten years at the time of his mother's death, Andrew Jackson Joslyn was reared among strangers, his advantages being limited. The great civil war coming on, he was eager and ready to fight for the stars and stripes as soon as he might be admitted to the service, and August 25, 1862, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment of New York Volunteers. Assigned to the Eighteenth Army Corps, he was stationed at Fortress Monroe for a short time, after which his regiment was placed in the Army of the Potomac. With that illustrious legion he took part in the engagements with the enemy at Williamsburg, Congo, Dismal Swamp, Bermuda Hundred, Fort Darling, Cold Harbor, Chickahominy, and many others. The famous Eighteenth Corps, to which he belonged, charged on the heights of Petersburg and captured the position, but had not Grant's reinforcements arrived at the time they did, the whole army would have been routed and sorely defeated. At Harrison Landing his regiment made the notable charge on General Lee and his forces, who were making a desperate attempt to recapture the position. At the battle of Drury's Bluff, the Eighteenth Corps was captured. In the encounter with the Confederates at Cold Harbor, Mr. Joslyn was wounded by a minie ball, and fell into the hands of the enemy, but was soon recovered by his com- rades, and was back in the ranks at the end of a week's treatment in the hospital. He had enlisted for three years, and he served for two years and ten months, or until the close of the war. Enlisting as a private, he was mustered out of the service as brevet first lieutenant, though then but twenty years of age.
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