Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II, Part 35

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 736


USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II > Part 35


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Mr. Randall has a warm place in his heart for the boys who wore the blue, and has long been a member of John C. Fremont Post, No. 590, Grand Army of the Republic. Since 1867 he has been identified with the Rising Star Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. For some time after his return to Yonkers in 1865, he was chief engineer for the Harlem Chemical Works; then occupied a position on contract with the Otis Elevator Works, and from 1870 to 1883 was employed as chief engineer in the Baldwin &


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Flagg Hat Factory. Since 1885 he has held the very responsible position of chief engineer of the immense buildings of the O. B. Potter estate, including the "sky-scraper " Potter building and Empire building, in New York city. His business office is at No. 1113 Empire building, and he not only attends to the employment of every one connected with the running of these buildings but also has charge of all repairs, alterations and changes required by the tenants of the estate.


The first marriage of Mr. Randall took place March 18, 1861, when Miss Mary Palmer became his wife. She died, leaving one son, Frank, who is now a prominent dealer in real estate in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the 8th of June, 1865, Mr. Randall married Miss Emma, daughter of Edward Crisfield, and they have had five children, namely: Wallace, who died at the age of six years; Frederick Eugene, also deceased; Walter Melville, who died when three years old; Edna Estelle, who was born in 1875, and is now the wife of Milton P. Kaler, of Yonkers; and Warren Lester, who is still at home with his parents. They are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church, and enjoy the friendship of a multitude of acquaintances.


FRANKLIN HORTON.


This highly esteemed citizen of Yorktown Heights, Westchester county, was born July 6, 1862, and is the son of William and Annette (Purdy) Hor- ton, and a grandson of Henry and Ann (Carow) Horton. He occupies and cultivates the farm upon which he was born.


The Horton family were early in this county. William H. Horton, the father of Franklin, is now of Guthrie Center, Iowa, and was at one time overseer of Ward's Island for about six years. He was born and raised on the old Horton Homestead in Yorktown. His father, Harry Horton, was one of the leading men in that township. William H. married Annette, a daughter of Isaac and Hester (Vail) Purdy, who died at the age of thirty- seven years. On the Vail side of the family there were ancestors who took an active part in the Revolutionary war. The old Vail homestead, located in the town of Somers, was owned by Isaac Vail, the grandfather on the maternal side, and was known at an early day as Cortlandt Manor. The Purdy family also has long been established and favorably known in this county. Mr. Horton, our subject, has a large number of old papers handed down to him dating back as far as 1700. William H. Horton had three chil- dren: Isaac P. and Randolph, both of Guthrie county, Iowa, and Franklin, who is the subject proper of this sketch.


Educated in the public schools and reared to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Horton married on attaining manhood and continued to make his home on


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the old place, attending the crops and flocks, and adding both to his business and his friendships. He has a property of one hundred and thirty-two acres, which is well situated and brings him a neat income. His wife, whose maiden name was Julia Hahn, was a native of this county and the daughter of Paul and Paulina Hahn; her father is deceased.


Mr. Horton is an enthusiastic Democrat, taking an active part in poli- tics. For a time he had the position of inspector of streams of Westchester county in the department of public works of New York city; was gate-keeper in the Grand Central Railroad depot in New York city for three years, and was appointed gate-keeper at the Amawalk reservoir on August 10, 1898. He is well and favorably known in this county.


JACKSON YOUNG.


Jackson Young, for many years a leading representative of the agricultural interests of Westchester county, was born in New Castle, October 12, 1815, and died in Mount Kisco, January 30, 1891. His parents were John and Sarah (Carpenter) Young, both natives of Sing Sing. His father, who was born January 5, 1782, died April 13, 1838,. and his mother, whose birth occurred July 15, 1789, passed away September 15, 1829. Mr. Young was an enterprising and practical farmer and an honest, upright man who was recognized as a leader in the community in which he resided. Both he and his wife were members of the Society of Friends, as were their respective families. They had eleven children: Mary, who was born September 22, 1807, and died August 26, 1829; Deborah, born March 25, 1809, and died February 2, 1899; Eliza R., who was born September 23, 1810, and died February 27, 1840; Emeline M., who was born February 14, 1812, and died January 7, 1891; De Witt C., who was born October 2, 1813, and died March 10, 1889; Jackson, who was born October 12, 1815, and died January 30, 1891; Lydia R., who was born October 12, 1817, and died April 1, 1847; Asa W., who was born April 30, 1820, and died August 28, 1898; Jessie C., who was born September 1, 1822, and died April 21, 1875; John W., born March 28, 1824, and died November 17, 1897; and Harrison, who was born February 2, 1826, and died January 6, 1859.


Jackson Young, whose name introduces this review, was reared in the town of New Castle, near Sing Sing, and when a young man went to New York city, where for twenty years he was engaged in the grain business,. meeting with gratifying success in his undertaking. He then returned to Westchester county and made his home in Mount Kisco until his death, devot- ing his energies to agricultural pursuits. He followed practical and progress- ive methods of farming, and his richly cultivated fields yielded to him a golden.


Jackson young


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return for the care and labor bestowed upon them. He also possessed excel- lent business and executive ability, and his capable management was an important element in his success.


February 14, 1846, Mr. Young was united in marriage to Miss Julia A. Putney, a daughter of Jeremiah Putney, who was born in Westchester county, April 7, 1788. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Young, namely: Rockwell, born September 12, 1850; C. P., who is engaged in busi- ness with his brother Rockwell at White Plains; E. E., who is conducting a clothing store in Peekskill; A. W., a lumber merchant of Mount Kisco; and George W., proprietor of a clothing store in Middletown, New York.


The members of the young family were originally advocates of the Whig party, and on its dissolution became Republicans. Jackson Young was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the latter organization, but never sought or desired office, preferring to devote his energies to his business interests. He was a man of strong will, of great energy and of strict adherence to a course which he believed to be right, and commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact.


ROCKWELL YOUNG.


Rockwell Young, who is actively connected with the business interests of White Plains, as a dealer in lumber, builders' materials, coal and feed, was born in the city of New York, in 1850, and is the oldest son of Jackson and Julia A. (Putney) Young, whose sketch precedes this. He spent the .first nine years of his life in the metropolis and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Mount Kisco. As the days of his childhood and youth passed, he occupied a portion of his time by mastering the branches of learn- ing taught in the private schools and in the Bedford Academy. In 1871 he left home and entered upon an independent business career as a partner in the firm of Young, Tripp & Company, of White Plains, dealers in coal and builders' materials. He was connected with that house for fifteen years, when, in 1886, he, with Jackson Young, purchased the property of Charles Wiegand and established his present business, soon after forming a partner- ship with his brother, Cornelius, under the firm style of R. Young & Brother. They have built up a large and profitable business. Their lumber yard is situated on Railroad avenue, at the Harlem Railroad crossing, where they have extensive sheds for the protection of their lumber and coal. They now enjoy a large and constantly increasing patronage, and are business men of prominence, sustaining an unassailable reputation for honorable dealing in trade circles. Mr. Young is one of the founders and trustees of the Home Savings Bank at White Plains; also one of the promoters and trustees of the White Plains Building and Loan Association, and a member of the board


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of directors of the Central Bank of Westchester County, White Plains, the oldest bank in this section.


On the 25th of October, 1876, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Young and Miss Matilda A. Mathews, daughter of John H. Mathews, of Mount Kisco, New York, and they now have two children,-Edna J. and Mabel E. In his political views concerning the national policy Mr. Young is a Republican and keeps well informed on the issues of the day. He has served for one term as alderman of the village of White Plains, and is a pub- lic-spirited citizen who takes a commendable and active interest in the vari- ous measures and movements calculated to benefit the community.


ASA W. YOUNG.


Asa W. Young, the son of Jackson Young and the leading lumberman of Mount Kisco, was born in New York city January 25, 1859, attended the schools of Mount Kisco, where his father moved when he was a child, and also the Albany Business College. Upon leaving college he entered the employ of S. H. Weeks, a lumberman at Mount Kisco as bookkeeper, and after two years he purchased the hardware business and formed the firm of Young, Ganum & Smith, and had a store at Mount Kisco and one at Bruster, New York. This business continued for four years, when he sold his interest in that enterprise and bought the location of the Seller estate and the lumber business of A. G. Carpenter, the office and yards of which were on the site. He conducted the business for five years and then admitted W. I. Halstead as a partner and has since engaged in the management of the firm of Young & Halstead, and they have a large business in lumber, grain and coal, and all kinds of building materials.


Mr. Young is a successful business man, and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his village. In politics he is a Republican. Frater- nally he is a member of Kisco Lodge, No. 708, of the A. F. & A. M. In 1885 he married Miss Mary E. Moger, a daughter of Joseph Moger, and granddaughter of the late David Moger, who was a prominent landmark in that section for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Young attend the Methodist Episcopal church, and are leading young people in the society of Mount Kisco. He is a very popular citizen, and this fact attests his intelligence and business integrity.


CAPTAIN JOHN I. STORM.


A prominent and representative citizen of Peekskill, Captain John Isaac Storm is now one of the leaders of the Republican party in Westchester county, his large acquaintance and unbounded popularity giving him an in-


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fluential following, while his shrewd judgment of men and affairs makes his counsel of value in all important movements. In business circles he has also taken a foremost rank, and for many years was identified with river transpor- tation, his success being all the more notable from the fact that it has been secured by his own judicious management.


The Captain is descended from one of the oldest and most prominent Westchester county families, -one that was well represented in the war for independence. He traces his ancestry back to Dirck Storm, who came from Utrecht, Holland, to Harlem, New York, in 1662. The arms of the family were a field, a ship at sea under a storm: crest the helmet of a knight, visor closed affronte and surmounted by eagle's wings; motto, Vertrowt (in God we trust). Riker in his history of Harlem says that " Dirck Storm sailed from Amsterdam September 2, 1662, with his wife, Marie Pieters, and three sons, Gregoris, Peter and David. In 1670 he was secretary of Brooklyn and after- ward for some years town clerk at Flatbush; was clerk of the session for Orange county in 1691, and in 1697 he and his family were living on Philipse manor, where his descendants became numerous and noted." In 1699 David Storm was chosen one of the deacons of the old Dutch church, and afterward served several terms as elder. In 1730 Thomas Storm was collector of the manor. In fact, the Storm family was very prominent in the early days in this vicinity. Nicholas Storm, Sr., by his first wife, Rachel, had three chil- dren, namely: Abraham, Elizabeth (wife of Cornelius Van Tassel), and Isaac. For his second wife he married Maritje Dutcher, daughter of Johannis Dutcher, and to them were born the following children: Maritje; Rachel, wife of Isaac Van Wart, one of the captors of Major Andre; and Nicholas, Jr. Nicholas Storm, Sr., lived in the present town of Elmsford, his house being located on the site of the present hotel at that place. He was a stanch patriot and his name was enrolled among the militia of the manor. His son Abraham was for a short time captain of the Tarrytown company, was major of the first regiment of minute men, and a member of the committe of public safety in 1776-7. He lived at his first place in Elmsford, then known as Storm's Bridge. His will, dated April 4, 1792, gave in addition to bequests to his wife, and to the son of his brother, Nicholas Storm, the sum of fifteen pounds to the old Dutch church, by the sale of a slave, Sam, the balance of the proceeds of said negro to go to his sister, Catharine De Voos.


Nicholas Storm, Jr., was born on Philipse manor, in the present town of Greenburg, November 20, 1756, and resided upon the farm now occupied by Mrs. Decker, who is one of his descendants. In the Revolutionary war he took up arms against the mother country, and in his application for a pension, dated March 27, 1838, says that he entered the service in July, 1776, in Captain William Dutcher's company, and was stationed at Tarry-,


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town for a term of six weeks. In October he again enlisted in the same company, and for a time was stationed at Throgg's Neck; in January, 1778, he again enlisted in that company,-all of which were at that time in service; and in May, 1779, he served under Captain Daniel Martling. He died May 28, 1835, in his seventy-ninth year. His widow, Mrs. Leaney Storm, in her application for a pension, February 18, 1837, says she was married on the 19th of December, 1778, at Bedford, New York. She passed away in 1844, at the age of eighty-three.


The paternal grandparents of our subject were John and Elizabeth (Jewell) Storm, the former of whom was born at Irvington on the Hudson. The great-grandfather, who also bore the name of John, was carried from his home near Dobbs Ferry to the old sugar-house prison at New York in the early part of the Revolution, and on his way home died from poison, prob- ably administered there. Isaac, Jeremiah and Thomas Storm, soldiers of the French and Indian war from the manor, and the late General Henry Storm, of Tarrytown, belonged to the same family. When the Continental army lay at White Plains, in October, 1776, General Schuyler made his headquarters at the home of Nicholas Storm, Sr., and an old colored woman belonging to the family used often to tell how he powdered his hair.


Captain John I. Storm's parents were Jacob and Mary (Ferris) Storm. The father, also a native of Irvington on the Hudson, was a highly respected and honored citizen of his community, was widely known for his generosity and kindness of heart. and was a consistent Christian gentleman, serving his church as elder for forty years; he was also a strong anti-slavery advocate. He was the founder of Sleepy Hollow cemetery and for many years served as its superintendent.


On the maternal side Captain John I. Storm is a lineal descendant of Captain Oliver Ferris, who was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, November 22, 1753. He was a son of Josiah, through John, Jr., and John was descended from Jeffrey Ferris, the progenitor of the family in America. Oliver Ferris was married February 10, 1776, to Abigail, daughter of Enos Lockwood, by the Rev. Blackleach Burritt, who, on the 17th of the follow- ing June, was taken prisoner by the British and incarcerated in the old sugar- house prison, on account of his stanch patriotism. Captain Ferris did good service in the Connecticut militia, and the records of the pension office at Washington, D. C., show that he enlisted May 10, 1775; was in the expedi- tion to Canada under General Montgomery; was in Colonel John Mead's reg- iment from August 14 to September 25. 1776; in Colonel Wooster's regiment in 1777; was quartermaster in Colonel Mead's regiment in 1778; was appointed commander of the war vessel Wakeman March 9, 1779; and was commissioned brigade quartermaster of the Fourth Brigade of the militia of


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Connecticut July 4, 1781. After the Revolution he came to Tarrytown, New York, and purchased the historic Major Van Tassel place, the date of trans- fer being March 31, 1802. He died August 17, 1825, and ten years later his son, Benson Ferris, Sr., sold the homestead, comprising ten acres, to Wash- ington Irving, who rebuilt it and gave it the title of Wolfert's Roost. His grandson, Benson Ferris, Jr., son of Benson, Sr., was born there. The Captain's widow applied for a pension February 18, 1837.


Captain John I. Storm was born in Tarrytown on the Hudson, February 15, 1838, and his elementary education was acquired in the schools at that place. Soon after attaining his majority he went to Washington, D. C., where he entered the employ of Smull & Sons, dealers in hides and fat, as superintendent, in which capacity he remained with the firm for some time. He then returned to Tarrytown, and was in the office of the provost marshal, Captain W. W. Pierson, for a short time. In July, 1865, he entered the service of the Lower Hudson Steamboat Company as clerk on board the steamer Sleepy Hollow, and after two years spent in their employ was made captain of the steamer General Sedgwick, running between Grassy Point and New York city. From this time forward he was more or less interested in freight transportation on the Hudson, and in 1870 came to Peekskill, where he purchased the Peekskill freight line, running between that point and New York city. In this undertaking he met with well deserved success, and con- tinued his connection with the same until 1878. Subsequently he was identi- fied with the various enterprises at Peekskill and Tarrytown, and in 1885-6 was interested in the Newburg Steamboat Company, being captain of their steamer, James T. Brett, for two years.


After severing his connection with the transportation business, Captain Storm commenced giving considerable attention to political and public affairs. In March, 1888, he was nominated and elected by his party as a member of the board of trustees of the village of Peekskill, in which capacity he served for three years. In 1889 he was nominated by the Republican convention in Westchester county for the office of register, and after a hotly contested cam- paign was elected, and in that capacity also he served for three years, with promptness and fidelity. He was elected president of the village of Peeks- kill in March, 1899. He is deeply interested in public affairs and the good of the community where he has so long resided. He is genial, courteous, enterprising and progressive, of a commendable public spirit and of the high- est integrity, reflecting great credit on the community which has honored him in the highest office.


On January 27, 1876, Captain Storm was married to Miss Georgene Hal- stead, a daughter of George P. and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Halstead, and by that union there was one child, named Winnefred, now a student at the


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Ossining Seminary. The wife and mother died February 14, 1894, and the Captain was again married November 10, 1896, his second union being with Georgiana Haight, daughter of Henry L. and Mary (Wildey) Haight. Her maternal great-grandfather, Thomas Wildey, was a soldier of the Conti- nental army in the Revolutionary war and was killed at the battle of White Plains.


DWIGHT S. HUBBELL.


Ceaselessly to and fro flies the deft shuttle which weaves the web of human destiny, and into the vast mosaic fabric enter the individuality, the effort, the accomplishment of each man, be his station the most lowly or one of pomp and power. Within the textile folds may be traced the line of each individuality, be it the one that lends the sheen of honest worth and honest endeavor, or one that, dark and zigzag, finds its way through warp and woof, marring the composite beauty by its blackened threads, ever in evidence of the shadowed and unprolific life. Into the great aggregate each individuality is merged, and yet the essence of each is never lost, be the angle of its influ- ence wide-spreading and grateful, or narrow and baneful. He who essays biography finds much of profit and satisfaction when he would follow out the tracings of a life history, seeking to find the key-note of each respective per- sonality, as one generation succeeds another. The subject of this review stands as a representative of old and honored families of English lineage, and in trac- ing the genealogy the record is one which bespeaks the unblotted scutcheon and lives significant of honor and usefulness in the various relations thereof.


Dwight S. Hubbell, the popular and efficient deputy postmaster at White Plains, Westchester county, is a native of Connecticut, having been born in the city of Bridgeport on the 24th of November, 1853, the son of Levi H. and Caroline (McEwan) Hubbell. The father was born in Derby, Connecticut, of English parentage. He was an undertaker by profession and was engaged in this line of enterprise at Bridgeport at the time of his death, which occurred August 3, 1887, when he had attained the age of sixty-five years. He was at one time a member of the state militia of Connecticut, and in his political proclivities was a Jeffersonian Democrat and a stanch advocate of the princi- ples implied. In religion he clung to the faith of his fathers, who had been communicants of the established church in England, and was himself promi- nently identified with the Protestant Episcopal church. His devoted wife passed away in 1892, at the age of sixty-eight years. Of their four children three are now living: Mrs. Mary G. Mays, of White Plains, New York; Harris B., of Park Ridge, New Jersey; and Dwight S., subject of this sketch. The deceased daughter was Alice G., who became the wife of W. E. Phillips.


Dwight S. Hubbell received his educational discipline in the public


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schools of his native city, and such was his interest in and devotion to his- studies that he was enabled to graduate in the high school at the early age of sixteen years, His initial efforts in connection with the practical affairs of life were made by his securing a clerkship in a mercantile establish- ment, where he remained for some time, gaining excellent ideas in regard to general business operations. In the year 1873 the young man came to Westchester county, New York, to accept the position of deputy postmas- ter at Mount Vernon, under the incumbency of Andrew Bridgeman, in whose grocery the postoffice was then located. In this capacity at Mount Vernon Mr. Hubbell served for the long period of twenty-five consecutive years, being deputy in turn to Postmasters Bridgeman, David Quackenbush, Colo- nel Henry Huss and Clarence S. Mcclellan. It is scarcely necessary to to revert to the fact that within this long interval there had been a constant expansion of the business of the office, demanding in turn more intricate and important service on the part of the officials in charge, and implying a con- stantly increasing knowledge of the details of the postal service. The official reports of the department accord to the Mount Vernon postoffice one of the best records in the state, and it is not to be doubted that this came as the direct result, in no small measure, of the efficient services of Mr. Hubbell, for his service had been consecutive and he had practically assumed the major responsibility of the practical workings of the office during his protracted tenure of the position of deputy.


In 1898, a new postmaster being appointed, he accepted a similar posi- tion in White Plains postoffice. He had given a full quarter of a century to work and the improvement of the service of the Mount Vernon office. How- ever, his ability in the line was so widely recognized that he received calls to other positions of similar character, and he soon became the deputy post- master of White Plains, in which capacity he is now retained. He is recog- nized as an authority on postoffice matters, and his advice has been brought into requisition on many occasions, while he has frequently been called upon by the department to superintend the establishment of branch offices. In his work he has been signally conscientious and painstaking, of which no better evidence may be adduced than that implied in the statement that during his twenty-five years of service in the Mount Vernon office he indulged in vaca- tions aggregating in all only ten days, certainly a record almost unprece- dented. As a citizen and a man he enjoys a distinctive popularity and holds the respect and high regard of all who know him or his efficient services and sterling worth. For about a year and a half Mr. Hubbell conducted an agen- cy for foreign steamship lines, at No. 20 East First street, Mount Vernon, but the exacting demands of his government position eventually prompted him to abandon all extraneous interests of a business nature.




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