USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II > Part 36
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The marriage of Mr. Hubbell was solemnized on the 24th of June, 1874, when he was united to Miss Lottie J. Spalding, daughter of Henry Spalding, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and she presides with gracious refinement over their home, which is now in White Plains, whither they removed from Mount Vernon, where Mr. Hubbell has property interests, including an attractive residence. Mr. Hubbell is a communicant of Grace church, Prot- estant Episcopal, at White Plains, and has been a devoted worker in the cause which it represents. Fraternally he holds allegiance to Mount Vernon Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he has been a member since 1874. His popularity and prominence in the order is manifest from the fact that he has been chosen as grand representative of his lodge to the grand lodge of the state.
J. FRANCIS CHAPMAN, M. D.
One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of occupation to which a man may lend his energies is that of the physician. A most scrupulous preliminary training is demanded, and a nicety of judgment little understood by the laity. Then, again, the profession brings its devotees into almost constant association with the sadder side of life, -that of pain and suffering, -so that a mind capable of great self-control and a heart responsive and sympathetic are essential attributes of him who would essay the practice of the healing art. Thus, when professional success is attained in any instance, it may be taken as certain that such measure of success has been thoroughly merited.
Standing under the light of a life and character like that of the late Dr. Seth Shove, the noble man and eminent physician, whose successor he is and under whose able preceptorage he prosecuted his technical studies, Dr. Chapman could not do other than hold in high regard the calling to which he has devoted his life. He may well attribute much of his success to the one who was indeed a father to him, in more than the mere relation- ship by marriage implies, -to Dr. Shove, whose name is revered in the community, and who laid down the burden so long and willingly borne, be- queathing to his son-in-law the carrying on of the work he thus resigned at the close of a long and useful life.
A prominent and successful physician of Katonah, Westchester county, New York, Dr. J. Francis Chapman was born at East Pepperell, Massachu- setts, on the 23d of July, 1844, the son of Elias and Harriet E. (Tarbell) Chapman, the former of whom is still living at Pepperell, at the venerable age of eighty-five years, the mother having entered into eternal rest on March 11, 1878. The Doctor traces his lineage on either side to stanch old Revolutionary stock, while representatives of both family lines participated
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in the war of 1812 and the Mexican war. He was one of three children, and we may here note that his brother, Henry A., who was formerly a suc- cessful teacher in his native town for more than twenty years and merchant during later years, died suddenly at the old home on the 7th of October, 1898; and that his sister, Eliza J., is the wife of H. T. Lawrence, a coal merchant of Boston.
Until he was about twenty years of age Dr. Chapman remained at the parental home in the old Bay state, receiving his preliminary educational discipline in the old Pepperell Academy. His parents were intelligent Chris- tian people, and the influence of the early home training has had an abiding effect upon the character of him whose name introduces this review, and to the memory of his mother and to his venerable father he accords the fullest measure of filial thankfulness and honor. He was scarcely more than a mere boy when his patriotic ardor, inherited, it may be, from his Revolu- tionary sires, prompted him to go forth in defense of the nation now in the midst of the war of the Rebellion. Late in 1864, he served in the quarter- master's department of the Union army and was assigned to duty with the One Hundred and Seventh United States Infantry (colored). His regiment served until after the war closed, its members being mustered out in the spring of 1866, having been for a number of months assigned to garrison duty at the forts about the national capital.
Soon after his discharge from the army, Dr. Chapman made a visit to Vineland, New Jersey, where he formed the acquaintance of Miss Irene Shove, daughter of Dr. Seth Shove, previously mentioned. This acquaint- anceship culminated in the marriage of the Doctor to Miss Shove, October 10, 1866. In the preceding spring he had taken up the study of medicine with Dr. Shove, who had advised him to adopt this profession as his life work. He continued his studies under the direction of Dr. Shove for a period of three years, and in the fall of 1869 was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York city, having the distinction of winning the class medal known as the Harson prize, together with a check for one hundred and fifty dollars, offered as a reward for proficiency. It is also in- teresting to note that Dr. Chapman at this time received honorable mention for his graduating thesis. These circumstances all indicate most clearly the excellent preliminary training he had received, and denote as well that he had been a careful and able student of the science in which he was later to attain honors and success. After his graduation he became associated in practice with Dr. Shove, at Katonah, and this professional alliance, strengthened by the strongest bonds of mutual respect, affection and honor, was broken only when Dr. Shove was called upon to answer the inexorable summons of death, in 1878.
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Since the demise of Dr. Shove the subject of this review has continued in the practice of his profession and has ably maintained the high prestige gained by his honored preceptor in the long years of his active practice in Westchester county, his business along professional lines being of a success- ful and distinctly representative order. Mrs. Chapman, whose association from earliest childhood had been that of a physician's home, has proved to the Doctor an able coadjutor. She graduated at the Wyoming Seminary in 1865, and later pursued a course of study in the Women's Medical College, of New York, thus fitting herself to aid her husband in his work.
Dr. Chapman became a member of the State Medical Society in 1872, having previously, in 1869, become identified with the Westchester County Medical Society, of which he was secretary for ten years and president for one term. He has maintained a lively interest in the society and its work, and has done much to keep the organization on a solid foundation, fully realizing the value of the same to the profession of the county. He was appointed a member of the Tarrytown Board of Pension Examiners and served during the administration of President Harrison, the meetings of the board being held at Tarrytown. This appointment was conferred without the solicitation or knowledge of the Doctor, and resulted from the friendly intervention of the late Judge Robertson, who was his intimate friend and associate, and whose physician he was for many years. For more than two years Dr. Chapman has been an attendant of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and he is making this department of his profession a specialty, though his general practice is one of very wide scope. He is essentially a student, and his investigations and reading are prosecuted with unflagging zeal and earnestness, so that he is at all times in line with the latest develop- ments in the sciences of medicine and surgery. He is the local medical examiner for a large number of the most important life-insurance companies.
In his political proclivities the Doctor champions the cause of the Repub- lican party, of which he is a stanch adherent, though not an active worker in the political line. He is public-spirited in his attitude, and is ever ready to lend encouragement and aid to all measures which have for their object the advancement of the interests of the community. In religion he is an earnest and devoted member of the Presbyterian church at Katonah, and is recognized as one of the most indefatigable and most prominent workers in the local soci- ety as well as the church at large. He was one of the little band who aided in organizing the church in Katonah, and through the devoted efforts of the society, which at the time numbered but eleven members, the original church edifice was built and the present fine granite edifice is being erected at the village. The church was established in 1872, and Dr. Chapman has been a member of its board of ruling elders since that time, and is now president of
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its board of trustees. He was superintendent of the Sunday-school for twelve years, has been clerk of the session since the organization of the church, and a frequent delegate to the Presbytery of Westchester. In the present year he was appointed a commissioner to the General Assembly of the church, which convened at Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the 18th of May, 1899.
Dr. and Mrs. Chapman have two sons: Charles Francis Chapman, M. D., of Mount Kisco, this county, to whom specific reference is made on another page of this work; and Herbert Shove Chapman, who was born in 1870, and is in the auditing department of the North British & Mercantile Insurance Company, of New York city. The family home is one of the attractive domiciles of Katonah, being now located on an attractive site in the new town, to which it was removed from the older section of the village in 1898.
WILLIAM J. BEAIRSTO.
The city of Yonkers includes among its leading citizens the gentleman whose name initiates this biographical account, - William J. Beairsto.
He was born at Boston, Massachusetts, March 29, 1862, son of Thomas and Maria (Quigley) Beairsto, and in him is a mixture of French and Irish blood. His paternal grandfather, Johnston Beairsto, was a shipbuilder by trade and was born in Canada East, to which place his grandfather had emi- grated from Paris, France, his location being on Prince Edward island. The great-grandfather of our subject was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Thomas Beairsto was born on Prince Edward island, November 10, 1832, and for some years he was a shipbuilder in his father's employ. Coming to the United States, he located in Boston, where he made his home five years, and removed thence to New York city, where he was engaged in the fertilizer business. In 1865 he came to Yonkers, where he has since lived and is now retired. His wife died in 1897, at the age of sixty-two years. They were the parents of ten children, of whom six are now living, namely: Mrs. Anna J. Barton, William J., Ida M., Thomas, Joseph and J. Albert.
Joseph Quigley, the grandfather of our subject, was an early pioneer of Boston, having come to the United States in 1812-13. His father, Joseph, was a leading manufacturer in the city of Dublin. Joseph Quigley, Jr., engaged in the importing business in Boston, and later as a contractor, and as such he was very successful. He died in 1865, leaving a widow and children.
William J. received his education at public school No. 6, Yonkers, being a student there until his fourteenth year. Leaving school, he entered upon a three-years apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, making a spe- cialty of stair-building, and this business he followed from 1880 to 1889. He
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then became a traveling salesman for the Waterburg Rubber Company, of New York city, with which he. has since been connected in that capacity; also, he is identified with other business enterprises. He has an interest in the McElroy Smokeless Furnace Company, of 49 Warren street, New York city, inventors and manufacturers of the McElroy Smokeless Furnace, the only successful smokeless furnace on the market. Also at the same place he is interested in a leather business.
Politically Mr. Beairsto is a Republican and has always been active and efficient in promoting the interests of his party, frequently serving as dele- gate to various Republican conventions. In 1898 he was made deputy sheriff of Westchester county. For eight years he was a member of the Yonkers fire department and he is still active in promoting its interests. Religiously he is a Roman Catholic, a devont member of St. Joseph's church. He maintains fraternal relations with the Red Men. Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Commercial Travelers' Associa- tion and Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Beairsto was married, May 12, 1886, to Miss Emma Frances. Crofut, daughter of David K. Crofut, of Yonkers. The Crofut family have been residents of Westchester county for a period of two hundred years. Mr. and Mrs. Beairsto have seven children: William J., Jr., Emma Mary, Anna, Joseph A., Emma Frances, Frank B. and David E.
ALVARO JAMES ADAMS.
The profession of law is honored by the ability and integrity of the- Mount Kisco attorney whose name appears above. He is a native of Nassau, Rensselaer county, New York, born January 3, 1851, and was reared to. agricultural pursuits by his parents, Hiel and Mary (Newton) Adams. His father, a native of the same county, passed his entire life there as farmer and school-teacher, dying at the age of seventy-seven years. In his political views he was a Whig and Republican, held several local offices and was- active in the public affairs of his town and county. In his religion he was a member of the Baptist church. His father, also named Hiel, was a native of the same county and a farmer all his life, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He passed from the scenes of earth at the age of fifty-four years. The great-grandfather of our subject, Elijah Adams, was an officer in the Revolutionary war. Heroic patriotism therefore characterizes the ancestry of Mr. Adams. All his ancestors of the last century-Adams, Harris, Garri- son and Newton-indeed were strong supporters of the Revolution. A great- grandfather, Rev. Ephraim Harris, took part in the battle of Germantown, using a musket and fighting in the ranks as a common soldier, was also a
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AJ . Adams
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chaplain and was one of those sufferers who passed the severe winter at Val- ley Forge with Washington. Among Mr. Adams' ancestors was a grand- mother named Deborah Garrison, who was a daughter of Rev. Ephraim Harris and wife of Daniel Garrison.
Mr. Adams, the subject of this brief outline, in his youth attended the common schools and the State Normal School at Albany. At the early age of sixteen years he began teaching in the district schools. In 1874 he took up the study of law in the Albany Law School and graduated in 1877,. immediately after which he opened out in the practice of his chosen profes- sion at Sing Sing, in partnership with Judge Lent, and a few months after -. ward came to Mount Kisco, where he has since devoted his energies to his; profession with that success that is due to capacity and integrity.
In his political principles Mr. Adams is a stanch Republican. He has. been attorney for the village of Mount Kisco and the town of New Castle, and he now has charge of a great many claims of the people against the New York City Watershed. He has also held and now holds the office of school trustee, and was instrumental in bringing about the union of the two school districts.
Mr. Adams is a member of Gratitude Lodge, No. 674, F. & A. M., of Nassau, New York; of Buckingham Chapter, R. A. M., No. 174, of Sing Sing; of Westchester Commandery, No. 42, K. T .; of Croton Valley Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Mount Kisco, and one of the trustees of the same; of Mount Kisco Council, Jr. O. U. A. M .; and Kisco Council, No. 1562, Royal Arcanum. In respect to his religious views we may state that he is a member of the Presbyterian church.
He was united in marriage with Miss Emily Bennett, of Albany county,. New York, and they have two children,-Irene B. and Alvaro Justin.
CHARLES H. MURRAY.
The names of those who have come down to us through history from. remote ages are largely men who won fame through military prowess, who in war and conquest gained renown, but their labors were always to a greater or- less extent attended by destruction and its natural sequence, sorrow. As civilization has advanced, however, those who have gained the right and title to have their names enduringly inscribed on the bright pages of history are they whose efforts have resulted to the general good, and have been attended by progress and improvement. What more creditable monument could stand to the memory of any individual than a beautiful town or city, -a place of thriving business interests and the home of a prosperous, contented people. In Larchmont, Charles H. Murray has such a monument, for he was one of. 51
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the founders and builders of this village. In the period of its early devel- opment, no enterprise or interest there was placed on a substantial founda- tion without his support, and up to the time of his death he was an active factor in its welfare and upbuilding. Thus it is that the record of West- chester county would be incomplete without the sketch of Charles H. Murray, for many years one of its most eminent and honored citizens.
A native son of the Empire state, Charles H. Murray was born in Albany, on the 19th of April, 1817, and there spent his boyhood days and acquired his education. He began his business career as clerk in a store, where he remained, gradually working his way upward until he became a partner in the enterprise. He applied himself closely to his business inter- ests, and his honorable dealings and courteous treatment of his patrons made him one of the most popular merchants of the city. As his financial resources increased, Mr. Murray made judicious investments in real estate and stocks, manifesting superior judgment in placing his capital, and thus realizing hand- some profits thereon. He also became connected with the banking and exchange business in New York city, and, being a man of more than ordinary business ability and sagacity, he made money rapidly. This came from a close study of the conditions of any enterprise with which he was connected, so that he made no false move in placing his capital in an interest whose out- come was uncertain. He could judge and manage men exceptionally well, and his own unassailable reputation enabled him to secure the confidence and co-operation of others. In 1871 he came to Larchmont, Westchester county, and purchased a plat of ground, upon which he erected a fine and substan- tial residence, making it his permanent home until called from the scene of earth's activities in 1897. From that time forward he was closely identified with the growth and progress of the village. He promoted its material wel- fare through the organization of business concerns, which added to the com- mercial and industrial activity of the town. He was instrumental in organ- izing the Larchmont Water Company, and established a very complete system of water-works, the supply of water being brought a distance of four miles. He also formed the Larchmont Electric Light Company, became its heaviest stockholder, and was the president of the company at the time of his death. In these ways he materially advanced the interests of the village and added to its prosperity.
In 1838 or '9, probably, Mr. Murray, was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Conway, and to them were born two children, a son and a daughter: William, now a prominent resident of Larchmont; and Jessie, wife of Walter S. Neilson, also of this village. Mr. Murray was a man of domestic tastes and found his chief delight in the pleasures of home. The Murray house- hold was always noted for its hospitality and his friends found him a most
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entertaining and genial host. Mrs. Murray ably seconded her husband in all his social efforts and her sweet womanly qualities endeared her to all who knew her. She was a devoted wife and mother, an earnest Christian woman, and passed away in 1884, Mr. Murray, however, surviving until 1897. His life was indeed well spent. In his accumulation of wealth he was not un- mindful of the interests of others, and was ever ready to encourage young men of enterprise and to extend a helping hand to the poor and needy. He was also greatly attached to his church, being a member of St. John's Epis- copal church, of Larchmont, to which he contributed most liberally. He was always one of the first to subscribe for the support of any movement calculated to advance the moral, intellectual or material welfare of his town. In politics he was a most pronounced Republican in national and state mat- ters, but voted independently of parties at local elections, supporting the men whom he considered best qualified for the office. At this point it would be almost redundant to enter into any series of statements showing Mr. Murray to have been a man of broad intelligence and genuine public spirit, for these have been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. He was a man of strong individuality and broad humanitarian principles, which taken in con- nection with his rectitude of character naturally gained to him the respect and confidence of men.
WELLINGTON LOUNSBURY.
The world instinctively pays deference to the man who has achieved suc- cess, overcoming the obstacles in his path until he has reached a high posi- tion in the business world. This is a progressive age and he who does not advance is soon left far behind. Mr. Lounsbury, by the improvement of opportunities by which all are surrounded, has steadily and honorably worked his way upward and has attained a fair degree of prosperity. He makes his home in Yorktown township and owns and operates the Fowler mill, now known as the Lounsbury mill, situated on Mill Brook.
He was born in Yorktown, July 25, 1857, and is a son of Ezra and Mary Ann (Losee) Lounsbury. The birth of the former occurred in the town of Somers, Westchester county. The grandfather, Jesse Lounsbury, who was of Scotch descent, married a Miss Flewellen, who belonged to an old West- chester county family. Both died in Sullivan county, this state. Ezra Lounsbury grew to manhood in Westchester county, and wedded Miss Mary Ann Losee, who was born in Yorktown, this county, a daughter of Stephen A. and Martha Losee, representatives of an old Dutch family. After his marriage Mr. Lounsbury worked at the carpenter's trade, which he followed for over thirty years, but in 1874 purchased the mill now owned by his son,
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the subject of this sketch, William Tompkins, and turned his attention to the operation of the same. He was a life-long Republican in politics, and both he and his wife were faithful members of the Baptist church. Ezra Lounsbury died June 27, 1897, and his wife Mary Ann Lounsbury died May 10, 1899.
Wellington Lounsbury, the only child of this worthy couple, was reared and mainly educated in this county, but attended the Chappaqua Mountain Institute for some time. Since attaining to man's estate he has given the greater part of his attention to milling and in his undertakings has been remarkably successful. Besides his mill property he owns a fine farm of one hundred acres in Cortland township, and three dwelling-houses in Peekskill.
On the 29th of December, 1875, Mr. Lounsbury led to the marriage altar Miss Josephine Clayton, of Roxbury, Delaware county, New York, a daughter of John Clayton, deceased, and his wife, Sarah (Baxter) Clayton. Mrs. Lounsbury is a lady of refinement who has received a liberal education, and both she and her husband are now pursuing the work of the Chautauqua Club with the Shrub Oak class. Mrs. Lounsbury is a member of the York- town Baptist church. They give their support to all enterprises tending to advance the educational or moral welfare of the community. Genial and pleasant in manner they stand high in the community where they have so long made their home, and no citizens in the county are more honored or highly respected.
IRA D. STRANG.
Among the representative citizens of Westchester county is the gentle- man named above, who was born on the old Strang homestead in this. county, March 22, 1851. The family to which he belongs has long been associated with the history of New York state, and was originally of France, the name being then spelled De la Strange. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Nathaniel Strange, who with his twelve brothers and sisters grew to maturity in this county. Several of them attained to extreme old age, one dying at ninety-seven, one at ninety-five and three- at ninety-one years, the average age of the thirteen being eighty-five years. Nathaniel Strang married Miss Lent, whose ancestors also were early set- tlers of the Empire state.
Daniel Strang, the father of Ira D., was born on the farm since owned and occupied by his son, Albert Strang, M. D., March 13, 1810. The house where he was born stood at the east of the present one and across the road. His mother was a daughter of Jacob and Philena Lent, of Somers. His edu- cation was that of many of his contemporaries, received in the district school
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