USA > New York > Schoharie County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 9
USA > New York > Schenectady County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 9
USA > New York > Greene County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 9
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William W. Van Loan, father of Miss Jane, received his education in the public schools of Catskill. He began his business career in the village, conducting a grocery store until 1828, when he sold it and went to New York City. There he opened a general merchandise store where the South Ferry Station now stands. In those days New York had not outgrown her early boundaries, and Canal Street was still the end of the city. Miss Van Loan remem- bers the old city well. In the summer of 1832 the cholera epidemic in New York drove Mr.
Van Loan and his family back to Catskill, and the store and the town residence were closed. But in the fall the family returned to the city, where they remained until 1834. Mr. Van Loan then came back to his native place and went into mercantile business here in the store where Mr. Fox now is. He owned consider- able land, which had been part of his father's estate. lle served the town as Postmaster for some years, having the post-office where Mr. Bourke is now located. He died at the age of seventy-two. Ile and his wife were members of St. Luke's Church. Mrs. Van Loan was born in this village, and died here at the ripe age of eighty-four. She was a daughter of Captain Barent Du Bois, who was a lifelong resident of Catskill with the exception of the time he served in the Continental army during the Revolution. Of the children born to Will- iam and Sally (Du Bois) Van Loan, only two grew to adult years. These were Jane and Rachel. Rachel, who died in 1891, at the age of seventy-two, was the wife of John Breasted, who was prominently identified with the Alair Iron Works and with the Morgan Iron Works. Ile was born here, son of Peter Breasted, a painter, who was a lifelong resi- dent in this town. John Breasted had an office in New York for some years, but later returned to Catskill, and in company with others built the Prospect Park Hotel. He was the manager of this until failing health com- pelled him to give up business. He died in 1884. Hle gave a bell for St. Luke's Church. The Van Loan family has been identified with St. Luke's Church longer than any other
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family now living, and Miss Van Loan has re- cently shown her appreciation of the signifi- cance of this fact, as well as her affectionate veneration for her grandfather and sister, by the gift of a beautiful spire and a costly altar rail for the new church. This building is said to be the handsomest on the Hudson, and the spire, which has been erected at a cost of fif- teen hundred dollars, is a masterpiece of design and construction, and greatly admired. It can be seen twenty miles down the Hudson, towering up into the blue. In it is hung the bell given by Mr. Breasted. The altar rail, which is of solid brass, is exquisitely en- graved, and will be inscribed through its en- tire length on the front and back. On one side the inscription will be in memory of Mrs. Breasted, and on the other in memory of Cap- tain Isaac Van Loan. It is to be made and put in at a cost of one hundred and fifty dollars.
ILLIAM S. HAMLIN, Postmaster, and general merchant, Glenville, Schenectady County, N. Y., was born in this town, February 28, 1855, son of Anson B. and Abigail (Ostrom) Hamlin. The father was born in Connecticut, September 7, 1807, and the mother was born in Glenville, April 1, 1811.
Anson B. Hamlin followed the cooper's trade in his early days; and, coming to Glen- ville when still a young man, he kept a hotel here for some time. He subsequently carried on a farm for a number of years, and, returning
here in 1867, he was engaged in mercantile business until selling out to his son in 1882. His last years were spent in retirement, and he died May 19, 1895. He was a man of good business ability and upright character, and he gained the good will of all with whom he had dealings. In politics he was a Republican. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Os- trom, became the mother of ten children, five of whom are living, namely : David H. ; Jew- ett C. ; Christopher; William S., the subject of this sketch; and Clarissa. The others were: Lyman G., Oliver, Heman, Rachel A., and Betsey. Mrs. Abigail O. Hamlin died in 1889.
William S. Hamlin after attending the com- mon schools of Glenville completed his studies with a commercial course at a business college in Troy. Beginning when twelve years old to make himself useful as an assistant to his father, he later gave his whole time to the business in the capacity of a clerk, and con- tinued as such until becoming its proprietor. He conducts the oldest-established general store in this part of the town, keeps a large and varied stock, including agricultural imple- ments, feed, fertilizers, and so forth, and has a numerous patronage.
On November 23, 1882, Mr. Hamlin was united in marriage with Anna Bell, a native of West Charlton, Saratoga County, daughter of George Bell.
Politically, Mr. Hamlin is a Republican. He served with ability as Town Clerk one year, and is giving excellent satisfaction as Post- master. He has a wide circle of friends and
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acquaintances who appreciate his many sterling qualities, and he is a member of Touareuna Lodge, No. 35, 1. O. O. F.
ENRY VAN DRESER, a prominent dairyman and poultry raiser of Coble- skill, N. Y., proprietor of Eureka Stock and Poultry Farm, was born September 4, 1839, in Schoharie, Schoharie County, a son of John I. and Anna (Warner) Van Dreser. On the paternal side he comes of substantial Dutch ancestry. Ilis grandfather, the Rev. Henry Van Dreser, a Presbyterian minister, emigrated from Holland to New York, and for seventeen years thereafter preached in Schenectady. Ile married Anna Fergueson, a fair Scotch maiden, who bore him thirteen children.
John I. Van Dreser spent a large part of his early life in Schoharie, where for seven years he kept a livery stable. In 1846 he removed to Cobleskill, and, buying a large farm, was here engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years. When well advanced in age and unable longer to care for his property, he soll his estate, and from that time until his death, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years, made his home with his sons, J. W. and Henry. Ile was very successful as a farmer, and quite active in public life. He was a reg- ular attendant at the Lutheran church, which his wife joined when a girl of sixteen. Iler maiden name was Anna Warner. She was born in Warnersville, a daughter of Jacob Warner, a well-known farmer and the first
dairyman in Schoharic County. The first summer that Mr. Warner made a specialty of this particular branch of industry his herd of twenty cows produced a ton of butter, which he sold in the city of New York, whither he drove with a team. This transaction attracted such attention that for many years after he was known far and wide as "Butter Jake." Of the seven children born to John 1. and Anna (Warner) Van Dreser, six grew to maturity, namely: Sarah, the widow of the late Peter Shaffer; Cathering, deceased; Jacob W .; Henry, the special subject of this sketch; Mary J., wife of Clinton Tillepaugh; Emma, wife of John F. Face; and Almira, wife of Adam V. Karkar. The mother died at the ad- vanced age of fourscore and four years.
Henry Van Dreser was reared on the home farm, and educated in the district schools. Early becoming interested in the art and sci- ence of agriculture, he decided to make farm- ing his life occupation. In early manhood he bought in partnership with his brother Jacob the farm on which he now resides, an.l for sev- eral years they worked it together. In 1895 Mr. Van Dreser purchased his brother's in- terest in the estate, which he has since man- aged alone. He has added substantial improve- ments, including the erection of the present conveniently arranged hen-house, it being the largest in Schoharie County, and in every de- partment has met with eminent success in his undertakings.
He served as president of the Cheviot Sheep Breeders' Association of the United States and Canada for three years. He is authority on
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breeds and breeding of thoroughbred cattle, and has served in the capacity of judge at the different fairs in this and other States for many years. He has been employed for the last four years by the New York State Farmers' Institute as instructor in his special lines of agriculture. He carries on general farming, but makes somewhat of a specialty of the rais- ing of stock and poultry, and dairy products. He has served ably as president of the New York State Breeders' Association, which is devoted to the improvement of the breeding of cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, and is a charter member of the Barnerville Grange, be- fore which he often lectures or reads papers of interest.
Mr. Van Dreser was married October 16, 1873, to Miss Emma J. Becker, daughter of the late James Becker, who died on his farm in Cobleskill, February 16, 1895, leaving a widow and four children. Mrs. Van Dreser is a graduate of the Normal College, a woman of culture and refinement. She holds a State certificate, and prior to her marriage she taught most successfully both in Cobleskill and Albany.
AMES STEVENS, of Greenville, N. Y., a leading insurance agent of this sec- tion of Greene County, was born on the farm where he now lives, in a house near his present dwelling-place. His family is an old one in the town, having been first represented here by his great-grandfather, Reuben Stevens, who came from Stamford, Conn., took up a
tract of land, and became one of the pioneer settlers of this region.
Reuben's son Samuel, grandfather of James Stevens, was born in Stamford. After coming here he engaged in farming. He died of typhus fever when only thirty-two years of age, this being in 1813. His wife, whose maiden name was Sally Jones, was a native of Stamford. She bore him three children, all of whom are deceased. Left a widow while yet a young woman, she married a second time, and lived to be eighty-four years of age. In religion she was a zealous Baptist.
Mr. Stevens's parents were Orrin C. and Mary A. (Smith) Stevens, the father a native of Greenville. Orrin C. Stevens worked at carpentering while a young man, but subse- quently he carried on the farm where his son now lives. Ile owned a hundred and sixty acres, and vas a successful farmer. He was warmly interested in all public affairs, and held various town offices, including among others that of Supervisor. For some time he was a Justice of the Peace. In politics he was an old-time Democrat. For years he was a trustee in the Presbyterian church, and one of its most active and influential members. Val- uable service was rendered by him as one of the Sons of Temperance. He lived to the age of eighty-three years. His wife, Mrs. Mary A. Stevens, who died in 1884, after a useful life covering three-quarters of a century, was born on a farm in West Springfield, being one of a family of six children. Her parents were Daniel and Sarah (Day) Smith. Of her seven children, three are deceased. One of them,
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a son Samuel, was Captain of Company A of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteers in the Civil War, and lost his life in 1864, dur- ing the attack on Petersburg. The living children are: James, the subject of this sketch; Daniel, who is a physician and drug- gist in Nebraska; Anna, who is the wife of D. H. Smith, a dentist of Holyoke, Mass. ; and Orrin C., second, who is retired from business and resides in Middleburg.
James Stevens grew up on the farm where he now resides. His education was received in the common schools, and at Greenville Academy. Throughout his active life he has devoted more or less time to agricultural pur- suits, and for forty years he also did a large amount of land surveying. He has lived in the house which is now his home since 1883, when he removed here and took charge of his present farm of one hundred and thirteen acres. Ile carries on general farming. In 1880 he began the insurance business, being elected that year secretary and treasurer of the village fire insurance company. This office he has since held, and in the intervening years he has had the satisfaction of seeing the company constantly increase until now it carries over two million dollars insurance. In the same year Mr. Stevens received his appointment as general agent of four other fire insurance com- panies, and in 1893 he organized the Greene County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he has since been secretary, treasurer, and general agent. This company, which does a general insurance business at sixty per cent. of stock rates, now has out over two
thousand, one hundred and fifty policies in fire, representing two million, two hundred and ninety-two thousand, six hundred and seventy dollars. Its total receipts for the year 1898 were twelve thousand, five hundred dol- lars, and the amount of money in the treasury on December 11, 1898, was thirteen thousand, four hundred and forty-two dollars, and twenty- six cents. The agents of the company operate in Greene, Albany, Columbia, Delaware, and Schoharie Counties.
Mr. Stevens was married in 1866 to Eliza- beth Sherrill, who was born in Greenville, daughter of Ezra Sherrill, a well-known farmer of this place. She is the mother of two chil- dren - Lucena and Orrin C., third. Lucena married Theodore Coonley, a farmer of this place. Orrin C., third, who is engaged in insurance in Greenville, married Arcia Cook, and has one child, James C.
Politically, Mr. Stevens is a Democrat. He has held the office of Supervisor, and from January, 1889, to April, 1893, he was Deputy County Clerk. For five years he was clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Shortly after being first elected to the office of Town Clerk, he was chosen Second Lieutenant in Company A of the Twentieth Regiment of State militia, and went South, serving for a time in the Union army. For many years he was a member of John W. Watson Post, G. A. R., of Catskill, and held the office of Adjutant in the post ; but he subsequently joined the C. Swaine Evans Post, No. 580, of South Westerlo.
Mr. Stevens is a Mason, having joined the organization in March, 1858, in Cascade
SOLOMON SIAS.
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Lodge, F. & A. M., of Oak Hill. In 1864 he was a charter member of James M. Austin Lodge, No. 557, of Greenville. Of this he was first Senior Deacon, for five years he was Junior Warden and Secretary, and for two years Master. He was formerly connected with the Coxsackie Royal Arch Chapter, No. 85 ; and upon the organization of the Green- ville Chapter, No. 283, he became a charter member of that body. He has held the offices of Scribe and King. He is also a charter member of Zeus Lodge, No. 360, of the Greenville Knights of Pythias, was formerly Chancellor, and is at the present time Master of Exchequer. Mr. Stevens is a liberal sup- porter of the Presbyterian church, of which his family are members.
OLOMON SIAS, principal of the public schools of Schoharie, N. Y., and one of the leading educators in the county, is a native of Danville, Caledonia County, Vt. He was born June 13, 1829. His father, the Rev. Solomon Sias, son of Benjamin and Abigail Sias, was born in Lon- don, Merrimack County, N. H. Grandfather Sias removed with his family from London to Danville, being among the pioneer farmers in that town, where he and his wife lived to a good old age. They had eight children.
Solomon Sias, Sr., grew to manhood on the paternal farm, attending school as opportunity offered. Feeling himself called to preach the gospel, and giving such proof of his calling that people heard him gladly, he became a cir-
cuit rider and later a presiding Elder, his cir- cuit taking in at different periods Western Maine, New Hampshire, and Eastern Vermont. By himself he acquired a knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He was a fluent and forcible speaker, thoroughly familiar with the Holy Scriptures, a man of great resource of thought and expression. He was accustomed to ride on horseback from place to place to preach every day and evening, wherever he could get an audience. In Lynn, Mass., where he was pastor of the Union Street Meth- odist Church, 1815-16, he started the first Methodist Sunday-school in New England. He was sent several times as a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he belonged. He died at the age of seventy-two, a well-preserved man to the last, after thirty years of service in his Master's vineyard. He married a widow, Mrs. Amelia Rogers Hewes, the ninth lineal de- scendant of John Rogers, the Smithfield martyr. Mrs. Sias died at the age of sixty- seven, having reared five children, three by her first husband, Mr. Hewes, and two by her second, namely : Solomon, the subject of this sketch; and Amelia, who married Azro Mathewson.
Mr. Sias, of Schoharie, was educated at Newbury Seminary, Newbury, Vt. ; at Middle- bury College in that State and at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., where he be- longed to the class of 1852. He was an assist- ant teacher at Newbury Seminary as early as 1850. He received the degree A. M. from Middlebury College, Vt., and of Doctor of
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Medicine from the University of Vermont at Burlington. From 1854 to 1859 he taught at Fort Edward Institute, New York, holding the chair of professor of natural science under Joseph E. King president of the Institute. Leaving Fort Edward, he accepted a call to take charge of a college for women at Bonham, Tex., where he remained conducting the affairs of the college for eight years. Ile then came to New York State and accepted a call to take charge of the seminary at Charlotteville. In 1874 he came to Schoharie and took the posi- tion he now holds, which, with the exception of a brief period - 1877 to 1878 - spent in Texas as president of the Soulé University at Chapel Hill, he has held continuously from that date.
The Schoharie school has greatly improved under his management, and is now a first-class high school in every respect and very flourish- ing. About two hundred students are enrolled and five subordinate teachers are employed. Mr. Sias is the oldest principal in active ser- vice in the county, and is among the oldest in the State as principal and teacher. He has arranged for the Schoharie school the most ad- vanced course of any school in the county, and he always keeps up to the times in means and methods of educational work, using the latest approved text-books and reference books. His efforts are uniformly indorsed by the State regents, at whose request he has spoken upon numerous educational topics in the conventions held at the State capital. He has attended all of the meetings since 1866 and every county institute for thirty years, speak-
ing at many of them. He has been secretary of the county institute for nearly fifteen years, has been assistant conductor one year, besides often serving briefly as assistant conductor of other institutes.
Hle was married July 2, 1857, to Lina Baker, daughter of Daniel Baker, of Youngs- town, New York. One child was born of this union, a son named Frederick. He was edu- cated in the Schoharie schools, then learned telegraphy at Brooklyn, N. Y., and became manager of a telegraph office. Taken suddenly ill with typhoid pneumonia, he died at the age of nineteen.
Professor Sias is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to which he has belonged since 1866, and for several years he was an observer for the Smith- sonian Institution. He has had charge of an educational department in the Schoharie Re- publican, to which he has contributed articles that have been copied by the leading educational papers of the State, and he has been a frequent correspondent of several other journals. He is an active member of the Schoharie County Historical Society, of which he was one of the three original organizers. He was instrumen- tal in securing the "Old Stone Fort " for the purposes of the society. He is likewise con- nected with the medical society of this county, having served as brigade surgeon during the Civil War. Mr. Sias was made a Mason in Connecticut, was afterward connected with the order in Vermont and later in Texas, where he was Master of a lodge. He is now a twenty- seventh degree Mason, a member of Schoharie
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Lodge, No. 491, and of the chapter and coun- cil. As an Odd Fellow he belongs to To- wos-scho-ho Lodge of Schoharie, has twice been Noble Grand, is now a member of Mid- dleburg Encampment, and Past Captain of Canton Young, No. 45, of Schoharie. In poli- tics he is a Democrat.
Mrs. Sias is a graduate of the collegiate department of Fort Edward Institute, and has taught school. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sias are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has preached a great number of sermons in pulpits of Schoharie and the neighboring towns.
NDREW G. LIDDLE, a stirring farmer of Princetown, was born in this town, February 23, 1859. Son of Alex- ander and Barbara (Gregg) Liddle, he comes of highly reputable Scotch ancestry, being of the fourth generation in descent from Alexan- der Liddle, a native of Scotland, who emi- grated with his parents when a young man, and was an early settler in Duanesburg. This is the line: Alexander, Robert, Alexander, sec- ond, Andrew G.
Alexander Liddle, first, became a large land owner. The farm now owned by his grandson, Alexander, second, was a part of his estate, and he resided here until his death, which oc- curred in his ninety-third year. He was a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church, and a strong Abolitionist. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Gifford.
Robert Liddle, the grandfather, was born in
Duanesburg, January 12, 1803. He was a prosperous farmer during his active years, and he died in Duanesburg at the age of eighty- eight. Politically, he was originally a Whig, and later a Republican. In his younger days he took an active part in military affairs, and was Captain of a local rifle company. He was an Elder of the Presbyterian church. Robert Liddle was three times married; and his first wife, Sarah Smith, a native of Princetown, be- came the mother of eight children, namely : Alexander ; Abigail, born October 6, 1828; Mary, born August 31, 1830; Ann E., born March 3, 1834; Charles, born March 7, 1836; Thomas G., born July 18, 1838; Abram S., born June 9, 1840; and Robert W., born April 30, 1842. By his union with Sarah Robinson, his second wife, there were five children : Angus M., born January 29, 1846; Duncan N., born March 26, 1848; Jenette, born August 12, 1850; and Sarah C. and John E., twins, who are no longer living.
Alexander Liddle, second, the father, was born April 17, 1827, upon a farm adjoining the one which he now occupies. He was reared to farm life, and at the age of twenty- nine years he bought a farm in Princetown of one hundred and twenty-nine acres, upon which he resided for sixteen years, and which he still owns. He has occupied his present farm of one hundred acres in Duanesburg since 1885, and this property is provided with good buildings and is otherwise well improved. His energy and industry continue unabated, and he is highly esteemed by his fellow-towns- men. He supports the Republican party at
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national elections, but has never cared to hold office. Like his ancestors he is a Reformed Presbyterian in religion, and acts as an Elder of that church. Mrs. Barbara Gregg Liddle, his first wife, who was a native of Rotterdam, N. Y., died April 14, 1874, leaving two sons - Robert A. and Andrew G. Robert A. Liddle, born December 4, 1856, married Re- becca Wemple, resides in Duanesburg, and has three children - James, Barbara, and Anna. On February 9, 1876, Alexander Liddle mar- ried for his second wife Margaret Cowell, who was born in England, January 30, 1839. By this union he has one daughter, Jeannette S., who was born March 17, 1878.
Andrew G. Liddle, the special subject of this sketch, was educated in the district schools of Princetown. Ile has always resided upon the farm he now cultivates, which was purchased by his father in 1856, and since reaching manhood he has successfully managed the property. He raises oats, rye, corn, and hay, keeps about ten head of stock, and ranks among the leading farmers of this section of Schenectady County.
Mr. Liddle married Lillie B. DeForest, of Albany, and has three children, namely : Alexander, born July 7, 1883; Edith, born January 26, 1886; and Laura M., born May 6, 1890.
In politics Mr. Liddle is a Republican, and has served with ability as Supervisor for three years. He belongs to Farmers' Grange, No. 709, Patrons of Husbandry, and has served as Master for three years. He is a member of the South Reformed Presbyterian church.
HARLES VOSS, merchant and Post- master at Tannersville, Greene County, N. Y., was born in Hol- stein, Germany, February 14, 1849, son of Frederick and Maria (Retting) Voss. His great-grandfather, Hans Van Voss, who was a native of Holland, removed to Holstein, and after living there a short time had the name changed to Voss. lle was a farmer and drover, and followed these occupations until his death, which occurred when he was sixty years old.
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