USA > New York > Schoharie County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 25
USA > New York > Schenectady County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 25
USA > New York > Greene County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
Benjamin I. Tallmadge resided with his parents until he was about sixteen years of age. After attending the public schools of New Baltimore, he began a special course in Windham preparatory to studying law, which enabled him to secure what is known as a law student's certificate from the Board of Regents in Albany. He entered the office of his brother, the llon. J. C. Tallmadge, who was
then practising in Windham, and there he re- mained until his admission to the bar in 1893. Immediately upon his admission to the bar he formed a partnership with his brother, under the firm name of J. C. & B. I. Tallmadge, and this continued until February, 1897, since which time he has been in business alone.
The Hon. Josiah C. Tallmadge, who is now a leading attorney in Catskill, began his prac- tice in Windham in 1875, having previously studied here with his uncle, Eugene Raymond, who started in practice here over forty years ago. From 1890 to 1893 the Hon. J. C. Tallmadge was District Attorney of Greene County, and during that time was engaged in some notable criminal trials. He was one of the attorneys in the Loring Robertson case, which is one of the most celebrated, not only in the county, but in the State. Ilis success in winning this for his client won for him great praise. Tallmadge brothers were for several years the only attorneys in Windham.
Mr. Tallmadge was married in 1894 to Rose B. Graham, who was born in this town, the daughter of Lucius S. and Phoebe (Bump) Graham, the father a well-known shoe dealer. Both Mr. and Mrs. Graham are deceased, the former at the age of sixty-nine and the latter at the age of fifty-five. They were active members of the Episcopal church. Their four children are: Mrs. Tallmadge, who is the eldest ; Ella, who married L. HI. Townsend; Margaret R. ; and Edwin. Mr. and Mrs. Tall- madge have one child, a daughter Dorothy, aged two years.
Mr. Tallmadge is, as was his father, a
265
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
Democrat, but he does not engage actively in politics. He is a Mason and member of Mountain Lodge, No. 529. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is treasurer of the Board of Trustees, leader of the choir, and an active worker in the Sunday-school. Mrs. Tallmadge is the church organist. Mr. Tallmadge was one of the or- ganizers of the Windham Water Company, and he is now secretary and treasurer of the organ- ization and one of its directors.
A LBERT CHASE, a well-known farmer of Hensonville, was born in Lexington, January 4, 1819, son of Benjamin and Lydia (Skiff) Chase. The family is of English descent. Thomas and Aquila Chase, brothers, emigrated from Eng- land, and were living at Hampton, N. H., as early as 1640. A few years later Aquila re- moved to Newbury, Mass. "A large majority of the Chases of the United States," some one has said, "are his descendants." Thomas Chase married Elizabeth Philbrick, and had five sons. The fourth son, Isaac, removed to Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Mass. He was twice married, and had a number of children.
Benjamin Chase, the father above men- tioned, was a son of Zephaniah Chase, and both were natives of Martha's Vineyard. Zephaniah Chase, the grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, came to Lexington as a pio- neer. He cleared a large tract of land, and spent the rest of his life there, dying at the age of eighty.
Benjamin Chase resided on the home farm for some years. Later he purchased a farm near by, where he spent the rest of his life. His death also occurred at eighty years. When a young man he was an officer of the militia. His wife, Lydia, who, like himself, was a native of Martha's Vineyard, became the mother of ten children, nine of whom grew to maturity, and two are now living, namely : Al- bert, of Hensonville; and Ira, who resides in Jewett. The others were: Benjamin, who lived in Lexington, and died aged ninety- three; Elizabeth, who resided on the old home- stead, and died at eighty years of age; Lydia, who married Orin Burgess, of Hunter, and died at the age of sixty; William, who died in Ohio at eighty; Lucinda, who married Mathias Chittenden, and resided in Callicoon, Sullivan County, where her death occurred when she was sixty years old; Mary, who became the wife of Samuel Cook, of Sidney, Delaware County, and died at the age of sixty; and Sarah, who became Mrs. Peleg Chamberlain, resided in Michigan, and died at the same age. The mother died in 1827, at the age of fifty.
Albert Chase in his early childhood attended the common schools of Lexington. He resided at home until the death of his mother, when, a lad of eight years, he went to live with an uncle in Jewett, about two miles below Hunter village. At the age of twenty he returned to Lexington and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for about twenty-five years, becoming one of the largest contractors in this section of the county. He erected many pri- vate residences, business blocks, mills, bridges,
266
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
and other structures, employing a number of men. He came to Hensonville in 1845, when this village was in its infancy, and did an extensive business here, erecting many of the present buildings. Purchasing a saw- mill in 1863, he carried on a large lumber business for some years. He removed to his present farm, consisting of three hundred acres, in 1858, erected his dwelling-house and other buildings, and, relinquishing his contracting business a few years later, gave his principal attention to farming. Since 1880 his son, De Mont, has had charge of the cultivation of the home acres. Mr. Chase and his son have pur- chased two additional farms, one being devoted to dairy purposes, and they keep twenty-seven cows, mostly Jerseys.
In 1844 Mr. Chase was united in marriage with Miss Laura O. Woodworth, of Windham, daughter of Abner and Betsey (Judson) Wood- worth. Her father, who was a native of Cherry Valley, and followed farming during his active period, spent his last days in East Jewett, dying at the age of eighty-two years. Her mother, who was born in Windham, died at the age of forty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Woodworth reared a family of six children. Of these the three living are: Laura, who is now Mrs. Chase; Lucius, who resides in Hunter; and Lucinda, who is the wife of Dr. Mead. Mr. and Mrs. Chase have had five chil- dren - Sophronia, Lydia, Abner, Emery, and De Mont 1 .. Chase. Sophronia died of diph- theria at the age of seventeen. Lydia, who is no longer living, married Cyrus Bloodgood, clerk of Catskill County. Abner died at the
age of two years. Emery, formerly a member of the law firm of Hallock, Jennings & Chase, later Jennings & Chase, was elected Judge of the Supreme Court in 1896. He married Mary Churchill, daughter of the proprietor of St. Charles Hotel, of New York, and has two children - Jessie C. and Albert W. Chase. De Mont L. Chase is now associated with his father in carrying on the farm. He has served as Supervisor and Tax Collector. He married Josephine Osborn, daughter of Elbert Osborn, of Brooklyn, and has two children -- Leona L. and Elbert O. Chase.
Mr. Chase is a Republican in politics. He has been Overseer of the Poor, and has acted as Justice of the Peace for four years. He is connected with the Order of Good Templars, also with the Sons of Temperance, and has filled some of the important chairs in these so- cieties. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been trus- tee, steward, and class leader for many years. He has also been district steward, was a mem- ber of the building committee which erected the new church, and served as trustee of the parsonage. He was formerly superintendent of the Sunday-school, and Mrs. Chase was a teacher.
e 6) ILLIAM S. VANDERBILT, a rep- resentative citizen of the village of Greenville, was born in New York City on February 10, 1845, his parents being William S. and Susan A. (Wright) Vanderbilt. He belongs to a family that has for many years been prominent in Rockland County. His
WILLIAM S. VANDERBILT.
269
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
great-grandfather settled in Clarkstown, in that county, when a young man, and resided there on a farm during the remainder of his life. His grandfather, Isaac Vanderbilt, was born in Clarkstown, and spent his life there engaged in agricultural pursuits.
William S. Vanderbilt, Sr., son of Isaac and father of the subject of this sketch, was also born on the homestead, but at the age of fifteen he left the parental roof and learned the merchant tailor's trade. At twenty-one he began business for himself in New York City, and subsequently for twenty-seven years con- ducted it most successfully. His store was at 416 and later at 408 Broadway, and his was one of the best-known tailoring establishments in the city. He died on February 13, 1864, being only forty-eight years of age. His wife, Susan, who died in 1893, at the age of sixty- nine, was born in Greenwich village, now a part of New York City, and spent the whole of her life in the great metropolis. She was the daughter of Charles S. Wright, who was for many years one of the most influential mem- bers of the School Board of Trustees of the Ninth Ward in the city of New York, and for a long time its chairman. At one time Mr. Wright was waited upon by a committee to see if he would accept the nomination to the legis- lature. Mr. Wright declined the honor. He lived, about 1824, in the house in Greenwich village which his father had built. It was then out in the country, and the canal wound its sluggish way through what is now Canal Street.
William S., Sr., and Susan Vanderbilt, had eight children, of whom four are now living;
namely, William S., Oliver DeGray, John, and Mrs. George W. Vanderhoef. Mrs. Van- derbilt, after the death of her first husband, married Andrew Hoogland, a prominent and well-to-do citizen of New York, and one of the best-known members of the New York Produce Exchange. Mr. Hoogland was born on May 20, 1815, and died in 1879. He was a direc- tor in the Corn Exchange Bank, and of the New Amsterdam Insurance Company, and for many years a member of St. Andrew's Curling Club, its president in 1873 and 1874, and at one time president of the National Curling Club. He also represented the St. Andrew's of New York City at the national convention at Toronto in 1873. To the last-named club he gave a fine flag. He held membership in the Dutch church, and was one of its active and liberal supporters. At one time he was a mem- ber of the Seventh Regiment of militia, and later a member of the Victorian Association.
William S. Vanderbilt, the subject of this sketch, lived in New York City until 1871, when he took up his residence in Greenville. He boarded in different families for a number of years, but in 1888 began buying land, and the following year built his present handsome residence. He owns a number of fine farms, including what are known as the Lewis Sher- rill and Prevost farms. Mr. Vanderbilt is one of Greenville's most public -spirited citi- zens, and has shown this in many ways. He built in the village a beautiful opera house, and gave a great stimulus to the introduction of water in the town by placing it in all of his buildings.
270
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
Mr. Vanderbilt married in 1876 Miss Mary J. Hickok, of this town, a descendant of one of the old and leading families. She died at the age of thirty-three, leaving one daughter, Lizzie H. Vanderbilt. On November 14, 1888, Mr. Vanderbilt married Mary Reed, daughter of John K. and Ann (Sherrill) Chap- man. Iler father was born at Salisbury, Conn. While yet a mere lad his father, Rob- ert I .. , moved to the vicinity of Greenville, where he died in 1857, eighty-two years old. Mrs. Vanderbilt's father was an early gold hunter on the Pacific Coast, going to Cali- fornia by the way of the Isthmus of Panama in 1849. After acquiring considerable money for those days, he returned to Greenville, was married, and shortly after went to Janesville, Wis., where with a brother, he engaged in the dry-goods business. Here his daughter Mary was born. Ile returned to Greenville in 1865, residing there until his death in 1888, at the age of seventy years. His wife, Mrs. Vanderbilt's mother, was the daughter of Lewis Sherrill, a descendant of one of the pio- neer families of the town. Her grandfather, Jonathan Sherrill, had extensive tanneries. One of them was located on the corner where Coonleys Hotel now stands. Jonathan Sher- rill built and occupied the house that is now the residence of Dr. B. S. McCabe. His home at the time of his death was the house on North Street owned by Charles R. Knowles, of Albany (a grandson), and used as a summer residence. Ile died in 1851, in his eighty- second year.
Lewis Sherrill, for many years president of
the old Greenville Academy, was a broad- gauge public-spirited man. He was a success- ful farmer and stock-raiser, a life-member of the New York State Agricultural Society, and the first president of the Greene County Agri- cultural Society. The stone walks about the village, among other things, are largely the result of his energy and push. He died in March, 1889, at the age of eighty-eight. His wife, Esther Ford, died in 1872, at the age of sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt have two children living, the elder being William Stephen, and the younger George Vanderhoef Vanderbilt.
In politics Mr. Vanderbilt is a Republican, and some years ago he was very active in all political matters. He is a member of James M. Austin Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he has been treasurer for a number of years, and he holds membership in the Royal Arch Chap- ter, of Greenville. He is also a charter mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias organization here. He is warden and treasurer of the Epis- copal church, and treasurer of Greenville Fire District.
AGE T. HOAGLAND, editor and proprietor of the Record, Oak Hill, was born in Malugin's Grove, near Dixon, Lee County, III., March 23, 1856, son of Abram Allen and Eunice E. (Bloodgood) Hoagland. He is of the eighth generation in descent from Christophal Hoageland, who was born in Ilolland in 1634, emigrated to Amer- jca about the year 1654, and settled in New Amsterdam.
271
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
From Christophal the ancestral line is traced through his eldest son, Christopher, ? who was born in the vicinity of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; John, 3 who was born in Flatlands, N. J., in 1701, and died in 1767; Jacob Hoageland, + born in Har . binger, N. J., in 1735; Abraham Hoogland, 5 who was born in Sowerland, New Harbinger, Somerset County, N. J., about the year 1773; Benoni Hoogland,6 who was born in Gilboa, N. Y., February 25, 1796; and Abram Allen Hoagland,7 who was born in Gilboa in 1831 ; to Page T. Hoagland,s the subject of this sketch.
Jacob Hoageland resided in New Jersey until after the settlement of his father's estate, when he came to New York, and, after sojourn- ing for a time in Schoharie County, went from there to Albany County, where he passed the rest of his life. Abraham Hoogland, of the fifth generation, accompanied his parents to Gilboa in 1785. He married Polly M. Fraser, daughter of Benoni Fraser, who was one of the earliest settlers in Schoharie County and a Revolutionary soldier. On September 11, 1817, Benoni Hoogland, the grandfather, mar- ried Katy Shoemaker, who was born August 29, 1791, daughter of Jacob Shoemaker. Grandfather Hoogland died May 25, 1867, and the grandmother died May 27, 1868. They were the parents of nine children, two sons and seven daughters, and five of their family are now living.
About the year 1854 Abram Allen Hoag- land, Mr. Page T. Hoagland's father, removed from New York to Illinois, where he followed his occupation of carpenter and joiner for a
short time. Then going from there to Eall Claire, Wis., he purchased a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres adjoining the town site. Two years later he returned to New York, and from 1859 to 1866 resided in Ashland and Jewett, Greene County. After the close of the Civil War he again went to Illinois. He located in Rockford, and resuming his trade remained there until shortly after the death of his father, in 1868, when he came to Gilboa to care for his mother, who died suddenly within the following year. The next two years he spent upon a farm in Johnson Hollow, town of Roxbury, N. Y., and in 1870 removed to Oneonta, this State, where he was employed in the car-shops of the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad Company. He next settled in Bing- hamton on a leased farm, which he carried on until 1876; and the year after he cultivated the G. H. Bloodgood farm in Conesville. He then came to Oak Hill, followed his trade here for two years; and in 1879 he returned to Conesville, occupying the Hawver farm for about one year. Removing to Superior, Neb., in 1880, he resided there some years. He is now living upon a large farm in Oak Hill. His first wife, Eunice E., whom he married in 1854, was a daughter of Abraham Bloodgood. Her father, who was a tanner, spent most of his life in Jewett, and her mother was a repre- sentative of the Tower family of New England. It is said that some of her ancestors came over in the " Mayflower." Abram Allen Hoag- land's first wife died in 1894, at fifty-nine years of age. The maiden name of his second wife was Eugenia Brand Lynam. He is the
272
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
father of two children, both by his first wife : Page T., the subject of this sketch; and Edith G., who married William J. Winn, of Bridge- port, Conn.
Page T. Hoagland came from Wisconsin to Greene County with his parents when about three years old. His educational opportuni- ties were confined to the schools of the various localities in which he lived up to 1870, when he became a pupil in the Oneonta graded school, under the supervision of Professor N. N. Bull. He was graduated in 1872, and immediately entered the store of L. Goldsmith as a clerk. Afterward he worked for Joseph and Morris Price in the same capacity, and later for Miller & Pope, dealers in flour and provisions. He taught school in Sullivan County during the ensuing winter, and then, joining his father on the farm at Binghamton, he remained there the following season. In the fall of 1879, having previously taught schools in Conesville and Rensselaerville, he entered the store of Hagadorn Brothers, Gil- boa. A year later he went to Superior, Neb., and, after being employed as a clerk during the fall and winter of 1880 and 1881, he in the spring became a cow-boy, and remained on the ranch until July of that year, when he went to Plattsmouth, Neb., twenty miles below Omaha. Failing to find employment in the city stores, he worked in a brick-yard until, through the influence of a friend, he obtained a subordinate position upon the clerical force of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. In 1883 he was appointed assistant station agent on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad at Pacific Junction, Ia., resigning in January, 1884, in order to take the position of manager of the loss and damage department of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad at their headquarters in Omaha. Ile continued to serve in that capacity until the ensuing fall, when he was forced by ill health to return to Gilboa.
In March, 1885, he purchased of H. V. Jones the Jefferson (N. Y.) Courier, which he conducted for over three years, selling in Au- gust, 1888, to George M. Proper, of Eminence, N. Y. He next purchased the Monitor, a paper published in Gilboa, which he carried on until 1893, when he disposed of it to Berton G. Griffin, and coming to Oak Hill in the spring of 1894 established the Record, which he has conducted successfully ever since. He has a well-equipped plant with ample facilities for handling the constantly increasing circulation of his paper, and his advertising department is both popular and profitable.
In June, 1882, Mr. Hoagland was united in marriage with Frances Stryker, daughter of Abraham Stryker, of Gilboa. She died in 1894, at the age of thirty-seven, having been the mother of seven children. Of these, five are living - Scott R., Hazel C., Guy W., Cecil A., and Ellen F. On September 4, 1895, he married for his second wife Ella Cherritree, daughter of Walter S. Cherritree, a native of Durham and prominently identified with the foundry interests of Oak Hill.
In politics Mr. Hoagland is a Republican, and during his residence in Jefferson he served as Town Clerk and as School Trustee. He served in the same capacity in Gilboa, where
273
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
he was candidate for Supervisor in 1893, and was again his party's candidate for Town Clerk in 1898. He has been a member of the Repub- lican County Committee since 1896. He was made a Mason at Jefferson in Working Lodge, No. 554, F. & A. M., of which he was Junior Warden for two years. In 1889 he was de- mitted to Gilboa Lodge, No. 630, of which he served as secretary four years. He is now a member of Cascade Lodge, No. 427, Oak Hill. In 1892 he joined Blenheim Lodge, No. 651, I. O. O. F., from which he withdrew to be- come a charter member of Lyman Tremaine Lodge, No. 265, Oak Hill, of which he was treasurer for the years 1896 and 1897, and was chosen Vice-Grand in 1898. He was made Noble Grand January 1, 1899, serving until July I of the same year. During this year he was recommended to the Grand Lodge as sec- retary to the Grand Committee, District of Greene. He is also a member of Middleburg
Encampment, No. 129, and Valley Chapter, No. 38, Order of the Eastern Star. At the age of fourteen he was confirmed by Bishop Doane, of Albany, and has served as vestry- man of the Episcopal church. Educational and literary matters have absorbed his leisure time, and he has a well-selected library of standard works.
ILDA B. CHAPMAN, wife of J. P. Chap- man, of East Cobleskill, Schoharie County, N. Y., and a prominent worker in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, was born at Bramanville, in the town of Cobleskill,
on April 9, 1852, her parents being Nelson and Catherine M. (Braman) Bice. Her family is of Dutch origin, a representative of it com- ing from Holland in 1657, and settling in New York when it was called New Amsterdam. The name was originally spelled Buys, as it still is in Holland.
Mrs. Chapman's paternal grandfather, Joshua Bice, who was a farmer and later a merchant, settled on land in East Cobleskill. He was a man of strong Christian character, and for sixty-two years was an earnest and devoted member of the Methodist church. He was the first member of the church here. At the age of seventy-four years he handed in the class- book that he had used in the many years when he had held the position of class leader, saying he was too old to attend to it any longer.
Mrs. Chapman's father, Nelson Bice, was born at East Cobleskill, where his daughter now resides. He lived in this county nearly all his life, and for the nine years preceding his death he lived on this place. He was a farmer by occupation. For six years, while residing in Middleburg, he served as Assessor of the town, being nominated to the office by acclamation. In politics he was a Democrat. At the age of twenty-three he joined the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and from that time until his death, in 18So, he was one of its faithful members. For many years he held the office of superintendent of the Sunday- school, for eight years that of class leader, and for many years he was one of the church trus- tees. He served his townspeople as school trustee for a number of years. His wife,
274
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
Catherine, was born in Bramanville, daughter of John W. Braman. Her grandfather, Will- iam Braman, was an Englishman; and his wife, whose maiden name was De Lamater, was half French and part Dutch, being a de- scendant of the Rev. Everardus Bogardus and his wife, Anneke Jans. John W. Braman built a woollen-mill in Bramanville. The place was named in his honor, and he was one of its most highly valued citizens. He was a strong advocate of temperance. When at the advanced age of seventy he taught the village school in Bramanville. For twelve years he was a Justice of the Peace. He married Eliz- abeth Wetsell, daughter of Christopher Wet- sell, a German who owned about a thousand acres of land and a number of slaves. When the State gave them freedom, some of Mr. Wetsell's negroes remained with him, and some of them accompanied Elizabeth Wetsell when she married and left home.
Mrs. Chapman's father was an owner in the woollen-mill built by her grandfather Braman, but when she was three years of age he re- moved to East Worcester. There the family lived for the next five years, at the end of which time they went to East Cobleskill. Six years later they removed to Fultonham, and after staying in that place four years they returned to East Cobleskill, where Mrs. Chap- man has since made her home. She attended the district schools until she was sixteen years old, and was then sent to Schoharie Academy, where she remained for some time, studying academic branches and music. She subse- quently studied music with Miss Rankin, of
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.