Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 10

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 744

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When twenty-eight years of age, he married Rebecca, daughter of William Davidson, who lived on Campbell Mountain, and had six children - Charles, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Will- iam, Nettie, and Fannie. William Davidson was the son of William Davidson, Sr., who was the father of seven children --- John, James, Thomas, William, Nelson, Walter, and Nettie. Mr. and Mrs. A. Parker Cook are the parents of four sons, namely: Har- mon, born December 22, 1875, a pupil at Walton Academy; George C., born February 10, 1878; Edmond, who was born August 21, 1880; and Walter, born June 24, 1885.

Mr. Cook owns one hundred and eighty-two acres of farm land and a fine, large house, where he accommodates twenty-five summer boarders, the situation of the estate on the bank of Beaver Kill giving exceptional facili- ties for fishing and other sports. He has erected commodious barns, and he keeps on the premises ten choice Jersey cows. This pleasant summer resort is about one and one- half miles from the railway station, Cook's Falls, and during the heated season is well filled with city residents, who seek the cool and quiet of country life. Mr. Cook is an earnest member of the Prohibition party, in whose cause he is an able champion. He is an energetic, practical man, whose success in life is largely due to his own untiring efforts, who performs his duties as a citizen in a con-

scientious manner, and enjoys the esteem and good will of his townspeople.

ECTOR SHAW is a native of Ham- den, Delaware County, N.Y., and an influential and worthy citizen of that town, for the welfare of which he is ever laboring. He is of Scotch ances- try, being a son of Donald Shaw, who was born in Argyle, Scotland, in 1788, and was brought to America by his parents when but nine years of age. Twenty-four years later he married Janet McNaught, who was also Scotch, being a native of Dunbartonshire on Loch Lomond, where she was born in 1798, a daughter of John McNaught. She sailed for the New World in 1817; and in 1821 they were married in Bovina, and settled in Ham- den, on the flats one mile below the village, where they were at one time the possessors of one thousand acres of land.

They became the parents of nine children, of whom six are still living, two sons and one daughter having died in the prime of life. One son, Donald Douglas Shaw, was a brill- iant young lawyer, a graduate of Yale in the class of 1856, who studied his profession in Albany, and was elected Assemblyman, but died December 29, 1859, and was buried on the day when he would have taken his seat in the legislature. He was a genial, scholarly man, with prospects of a brilliant future, whose loss was keenly felt by a large circle of admiring friends made in his short but effec- tive career. Another son, Augustus Shaw, died of consumption, in Hamden, March 13, 1861, at the age of twenty-nine years. The children now living are: Alexander, a retired merchant, with a family at Delhi; Marshall, of Rock Island, Ill., who was an officer in the Civil War, but was forced by illness to resign his commission; Hector, the subject of this sketch; Edwin, a farmer near Hamden; Cath- erine, wife of Daniel Crawford; and Arthur, who married Jennie Bostwick, daughter of Marcus and Deborah (Kellogg) Bostwick, and is the father of four children. Donald Shaw, the father, died in September, 1865. His widow, Janet, is still living, and at ninety-six years of age her mind is yet clear.

THOMPSON K. WALKER,

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Hector Shaw was born in the village of Hamden in 1828, and received a common- school education. He has been twice mar- ried. His first wife, Harriet Bastow, was the mother of two children, namely: Arabella, who died when five years of age; and Malcom, an electrician in Albany, who is married and has a daughter. On February 2, 1866, Mr. Shaw married Miss Rachel McClaren, of Hamden, daughter of David and Catherine (Coon) McClaren, the father a native of Glas- gow, Scotland, and the mother of New York State. Mr. McClaren was a farmer in Ham- den, where he died in 1850, aged fifty years. His wife, Mrs. Shaw's mother, survived him about thirty-two years, and passed away after reaching her seventy-eighth year. Mrs. Mc- Claren was the mother of three daughters and one son, the latter dying when an infant of eighteen months. These daughters are: Mary C., wife of the Rev. George Brown, of Wal- ton; Mrs. Shaw; and Emily, wife of John Gemmell, of New York City, who resides in Syracuse.

Mr. and Mrs. Shaw are the parents of two children, as follows: David Alexander, who was a student at Delhi Academy, a graduate of Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., and of the business college at Poughkeepsie, and is now a book-keeper at Mishawaka, Ind .; and Catherine, wife of the Rev. H. A. Perci- val, a Presbyterian minister of Mishawaka. Mr. Shaw has lived in his large, pleasant house in the village for the last four years, his farm of three hundred and eighteen acres, three miles from Hamden, being occupied by one of his tenants. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church, where she is a con- stant and interested attendant. Mr. Shaw is a Republican, of which party organization he has long been an active member. He is held in great esteem by his associates and fellow- townspeople, whose interests he ever has at heart, and for whose progress and improvement he is always ready to lend a helping hand.

HOMPSON K. WALKER, the genial and capable proprietor of the Downs House at Downsville, N. Y., is a man of versatile talents and varied experience,

among other things having had much to do with educational matters. He is a descend- ant, in the fifth generation, of Philip Walker, who was of English ancestry, and whose son, Philip, Jr., was a brave soldier in the Revo- lution, and afterward served as Town Clerk in the town of Rehoboth from 1787 to 1801. These facts show the character and tendencies of the early Walkers, and those who have fol- lowed have duly exemplified the same. This Philip, Jr., was father of Thompson Walker, who was born in Rhode Island, June II, 1786, and died May 12, 1842, in Roxbury, N. Y. He was a carpenter, and, coming to Roxbury in his early manhood, here followed his trade until his death.

By his wife, Mary Lynch, he had four chil- dren - George W., Daniel L., Delia C., and Henry L. He was a Democrat, and a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Henry L. Walker was born in Roxbury, September 6, 1818, and was educated in the district schools, after which he started in business, first driving a team for Isham Brothers, tanners and merchants, and after a year being promoted to a clerkship, in which he remained three years. He then went as clerk for Matthew Griffin, and after three more years went into business with Harvey Keator, establishing himself in Kingston, Ulster County. Many years later he went to Roxbury, and bought the old homestead and the farm connected with it, comprising in all about one hundred and forty acres. His wife was Allice Griffin, born March 10, 1814, a daughter of Ezekiel and Charlotte (White) Griffin. Her father was born April 24, 1776, and her mother on June 11, 1779, a daughter of John and Tabitha White. Mrs. Allice Griffin Walker died January 10, 1887. Henry L. Walker was an industrious and a very pros- perous man, and one who is well remembered for his great generosity. In politics he was a Republican. He died February 13, 1890, and had two children - Thompson K. and Mary C., the latter of whom was born October 18, 1854, and died February 4, 1874.

Thompson K. Walker was born in Kings- ton, March 22, 1849, and while yet a boy removed to the old home at Roxbury. There he attended the academy, and then finished a

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full course at the Franklin Institute. He was book-keeper for Dr. Keator for a while, and when but twenty years old began teaching school at Olive, Ulster County, N.Y. Here he remained for two years, and then accepted the position of principal in the union graded school at Napanock in the same county. /After holding this position for fifteen years, in 1883 he resigned, and engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Middletown. During this time he bought the Holding House property, and there for about two years he conducted a hotel. By this time an ac- complished landlord, thoroughly acquainted with the business of inn-keeping, he came to Downsville, and bought the Downs House, which is beautifully located among the hills and in close proximity to some of the best trout brooks in the country. What sportsman who makes his yearly visit to these pleasant streams does not know the hospitality of "mine host" of the Downs House? The place is well managed, everything being neat, orderly, and in good condition; and those travelling on business, as well as those seek- ing sport and recreation, are glad to lodge at this hostelry, the doors of which are always open to welcome the stranger.

In 1871 Mr. Walker married Evelyn M. Munson, daughter of John H. and Julia (Hodge) Munson. Her father, who was born in 1815, a son of Heman and Julia Munson, was a farmer in Delaware County. He and his wife raised a family of six children: Ainer, who resides at the old homestead; Albert H., who lives at Sheridan ; Milton D., of North Franklin; Dr. J. A. Munson, of Woodbourne; Mrs. Josephine McMinn, of Oneonta; and Mrs. Walker, of Downsville. Heman Munson, father of John, married Sarah Hecock, and came from the Eastern States, settling at Meredith. There they carried on their farm for about forty years, and thence moved to Oneonta, N.Y., where Mr. Munson died. His widow still lives in Oneonta. They were Universalists, but John H. Munson's family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The wife of John H. Munson, Julia Hodge, was a daugh- ter of John A. and Evelyn (Goodrich) Hodge, who raised a large family of children, namely :

Julia, wife of John Munson; Rebecca, wife of Major Osterhout; Evelyn, wife of C. Clark, of Owego; Lucretia, wife of I. Wilson, of Illinois; Lavinia; Walter, a Major in the late war; Henry and William, who died young; and John, a Lieutenant in Company K, One Hundred and Forty-fourth New York Infantry, now living in New Mexico, and practising medicine as well as being inter- ested in mining. Mrs. Munson is still living at Oneonta. She is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church.

Thompson K. Walker has one child, Harry L. Walker, born December 7, 1872, who is with his father in the hotel business, con- nected with which they also have a large liv- ery. Mr. Walker is a Republican and a man of liberal religious views, being ever ready to adopt those principles which embrace the most modern and progressive thought. Fra- ternally, he is a Mason, belonging to Downs- ville Lodge, No. 464, A. F. & A. M., Wawarsing Chapter, No. 286, Ellenville, N. Y., Rondout Commandery, No. 53, Rondout, N. Y., and Dewitt Clinton Consis- tory, No. II, Middletown, N.Y. He is also a member of Lancelot Lodge, No. 189, Knights of Pythias, Middletown, N.Y. He has shown marked ability for carrying on a line of business in which it is most difficult to please, his success being such as to win the plaudits of his patrons. A highly intelligent gentleman, possessing a well-stored and well- trained mind, courteous, obliging, and genial, he has a happy faculty for making his guests feel at home, and for retaining them as friends.

The portrait of Mr. Walker on another page will be recognized with pleasure by many who have tarried for a longer or shorter time under the hospitable roof of the Downs House, here perhaps first realizing the warm welcome of a wayside inn.

IRAM E. STOUTENBURG, cash collector of the Adams Express Company, and a business man of ability, is a native of Delaware County, having been born in Delhi on Octo- ber 14, 1842. The first of his paternal

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ancestors to come to America was his great- great-grandfather, Jacobus Stoutenburg, who emigrated from Holland early in the eigh- teenth century, in 1717, and, settling in Eastern New York, became a pioneer of Dutchess County, where he purchased land and improved a farm. He raised a large family; and among them was Tobias Stouten- burg, father of Peter Stoutenburg, who was the grandfather of Hiram E. Peter Stouten- burg after his marriage moved still farther westward, coming to Delaware County and buying wild land in the town of Kortright, being among the earliest settlers of that town. Erecting the customary log cabin of the pio- neer, he spent many a long year in the ardu- ous labor of clearing his land and placing it under cultivation. He was, however, pros- pered in his undertaking, and resided here until his death, at the ripe old age of ninety years. He married Lydia Borden, who bore him twelve children; namely, William, Ed- ward, Tobias, Jackson, Alfred, Charles, Silas, Ann, Sarah, Eliza, Catherine, and Maria. His wife also spent her last years on the homestead, living to an advanced age. His mother, who after the death of her husband left her home in Dutchess County, to live with her grandson, William Stoutenburg, lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and two years; and her venerable form is held in vivid remembrance by the subject of this sketch, her great-grandson.

William Stoutenburg, eldest son of Peter and Lydia, was reared to agricultural pur- suits, remaining on the paternal homestead until attaining his majority. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, he, too, became a pioneer, settling in the village of Delhi at a time when two or three houses sheltered its entire population. In addition to farming, he also followed the trade of a millwright; but he has long since retired from active life, and is now spending the sunset years of his life in comfort and plenty. The maiden name of his wife was Caroline Peake. She was a native of Delhi, and the daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth (Clark) Peake, who were of New England birth. To them were born five children - Sarah, Maria, Hiram E., William C., and Janc. The latter died at

eight years of age. Sarah is the wife of A. M. Burdick, a retired farmer of Delhi. Maria, the widow of George Hutson, lives in the village of Delhi. William C. was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, and soon afterward died from its effects, at Phila- delphia, Pa. The mother, a woman of much force of character, and a faithful member of the Baptist church, departed this life in 1886, at the age of threescore and ten years.

Hiram E., the third child of his parents, and their eldest son, received a good educa- tion in the district schools and academy of Delhi, assisted in the management of the home farm until after the breaking out of the late Rebellion, when, in response to his coun- try's call, he enlisted, September 15, 1861, in Company G, One Hundred and First Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Captain A. Buckham. This regiment belonged to the Third Army Corps, which was then commanded by General Heintzelman, afterward by General Sickles; and in December, 1862, it was consolidated with the Thirty-seventh New York Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Keeley, and Mr. Stoutenburg became a member of Com- pany A, which was commanded by Captain Dougherty. In May, 1863, the regiment was united with the Fortieth New York; and here Mr. Stoutenburg remained until September IO, 1864, when he was removed to the hos- pital, from there receiving his honorable dis- charge in the spring of 1865. He has a long and honorable war record, having been an active participant in forty-two of the most hotly contested battles of the Rebellion, be- sides numerous skirmishes. The following are some of the most important battles in which he was engaged: with the One Hun- dred and First New York at Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, Peach Orchard, Savage Station, Chickahominy Swamp, White Oak Swamp, Charles City Cross-roads, Malvern Hill, sec- ond Bull Run, Groveton, Chantilly, and Fred- ericksburg ; with the Thirty-seventh New York at Chancellorsville; with the For- tieth New York at Antietam, Bealeton, Bermuda Hundred, Brandy Station, Bristoe Station, Callett's Station, Cold Harbor, Culpeper, Deep Bottom, Gettysburg, Harri-

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son's Landing, Jerusalem Plank Road, Kelley's Ford, North Anna River, Peters- burg, Rapidan, Ream's Station, Snicker's Gap, South Mountain, Spottsylvania (1863 and 1864), Sulphur Springs, Va., Wilderness, Wapping's Heights. A number of these were from one to four days' continuous fight- ing.

Mr. Stoutenburg was promoted to the rank of Orderly Sergeant three times, but twice, on account of consolidation, was reduced. He, however, held that position at the time of being wounded, and was discharged as Orderly Sergeant of Company E, Fortieth New York Regiment. He was three times wounded during his army life, the first two wounds being slight ; but the third was occa- sioned by a shot from a sharpshooter's rifle, which shattered the bone of the arm to such an extent that he was obliged to have it ampu- tated at the right shoulder joint, which neces- sitated a six months' stay in the hospital.

Returning to Delhi after the cessation of hostilities, Mr. Stoutenburg was soon after elected Under-sheriff, a position which he held for three terms of three years each, from 1865 to 1874. Since then he has been with an express company, first in the employ of the National Express, and more recently in that of the Adams Express. He is well fitted for the responsible position of cash collector, which he is filling with such fidelity, being a most genial and accommodating man, with whom it is a pleasure to transact business, and one whose sterling integrity, and every- day honesty have gained for him the entire confidence of his employers and of the public in general. Mr. Stoutenburg is quite promi- nent in England Post, No. 142, Grand Army of the Republic, of Delhi, of which he was elected Commander in 1889, serving one year. He had previously been Quartermaster since 1866, and still holds that position.

The union of Hiram E. Stoutenburg with Miss Frances A. Hine, a daughter of Reiley Hine, of Franklin, was solemnized on Octo- ber 14, 1865. Their only child is a daughter, Estella M., who married John J. Burke, a prominent business man of Delhi, of whom a sketch appears on another page of this vol- ume. Mr. and Mrs. Burke are the parents of

one child, a little daughter named Leda. Politically, Mr. Stoutenburg is a stanch sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party. Religiously, he and his family are valued members of the Second Presbyterian Church, and active laborers in the good works of that organization.

DMUND H. ROSE bears a name that has long been known and highly re- spected in Delaware County. Among the pioneers of this section of the Empire State was one Hugh Rose, who came here from Scotland prior to the Revolutionary War. He settled in the town of Stamford, being the first to make his home on the stream of water that in his honor has since been known as Rose's Brook. Taking advan- tage of the water-power, he put up a saw and grist mill, the very first one in the vicinity, and for many years followed his former occu- pation of a miller. On his arrival he took up six hundred acres of land, but this he let revert to the government. He subsequently, however, acquired two hundred acres that are now included in the homestead of the subject of this sketch, his great-grandson. His mill was built of logs, as was also the house which sheltered himself and family. In his home on Rose's Brook he rounded out a full period of years, dying there at the age of eighty-six. He was a religious, God- fearing man, and one of the prime movers in organizing the Presbyterian church at Kort- right Centre.

His son, Hugh Rose, the second, was born in Stamford, and was, like him, both a miller and a farmer. He and his family at first occupied the primitive log cabin, subsisting principally upon the game from the forest and the productions of their own land, and were clothed in "homespun," which was spun, woven, and fashioned into garments by the dexterous fingers of the good housewife. When he first moved into his humble habita- tion, it had neither doors nor windows; but the appearance of a panther led him to hasten his operations and hang the doors. He was persevering, and cleared a fine homestead, on which he resided until his departure from this

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life, at the age of sixty-four years. He mar- ried Elizabeth Barlow, who bore him ten chil- dren, of whom only one, Edmund Rose, of Delhi, is now living. His wife survived him, living until seventy-three years old. Both of them were consistent members of the Reformed Presbyterian church at South Kort- right. In politics he was a Whig.

The third Hugh Rose, son of the second Hugh, was born on the farm which his father cleared from the wilderness, and afterward succeeded him in its ownership. Toiling early and late to place his land under cultiva- tion, and adding somewhat to its acreage, he had at the time of his decease, when only forty-four years old, a farm of two hundred and forty acres. He married Isabelle Blakely, the daughter of William Blakely, of whom a sketch appears on another page of this volume. She survived him, dying on the old home- stead, at the age of sixty-four years. Of the four children born to them three are now liv- ing, as follows: James H., a resident of Stamford; Mrs. Gibson Grant, of Stamford; and Edmund H. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Rose were held in high esteem by all who knew them, and were valued members of the United Presbyterian church of South Kortright. Po- litically, he was a Republican.

Edmund H. Rose was the youngest child of Hugh Rose, the third, his birth occurring August 14, 1855, on the farm where he now resides. He received the rudiments of his education in the district school, and this was further advanced by an attendance at Walton Academy. Following in the pathway marked out by his honored ancestors, he has devoted his time and attention to the various branches of agriculture; and, having come into posses- sion of the old homestead, where his entire life has been spent, he has made constant and valued improvements, and owns now one of the finest estates in this locality. He has two hundred and eighty-eight acres of land, on which he has a comfortable residence and substantial farm buildings. His farm is de- voted chiefly to dairying, his fifty fine Jersey cows yielding him an average of eight cans of milk a day throughout the year.

Mr. Rose and Miss Ida L. Kilpatrick were united in marriage on February 19, 1879.

The home circle established by this pleasant union has been gladdened by the birth of five children, namely: Clarence A., born Septem- ber 5, 1881; Everett Bruce, born July 23, 1887; Edmund H. and Ethel J., twins, born January 13, 1889; and Anna Belle, born Au- gust 9, 1891. The parents of Mrs. Rose, Richard and Juliet (Dennison) Kilpatrick, were for many years esteemed members of the agricultural community of Kortright, where her father's death occurred in 1880. His widow is still living, and resides in Stamford.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Rose are valued mem- bers of the United Presbyterian church at South Kortright. In politics he casts his vote with the Democratic party. He has shown good judgment in the management of his business and farming operations, and has met with excellent success. In the various relations of life he acquits himself well, sus- taining the character of an estimable and valued citizen, neighbor, and friend.

RSON J. ELLS, of Walton, Dela- ware County, N. Y., is one of the old- est and most successful business men of this town, where he is the proprie- tor of a large furniture establishment, and has won a well-deserved reputation as a man of ability, integrity, and uprightness, the competency he is now enjoying being the re- sult of the assiduous labor of many years. The family name was formerly Eells, but was changed by the last generation, one "e" being dropped, making it Ells, as above spelled.

Jacob Eells, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in New Canaan, Conn., in 1785, son of Moses Eells, who learned the trade of a weaver, at which he worked throughout his life, using, as was the custom in those early times, an old-fashioned hand loom. Moses Eells married Miss Comstock ; and they were the parents of eight children, six of whom lived to rcar families of their own. Both Moses Eells and his wife lived to be over ninety years old, not an uncommon occurrence in those times.

In Colchester, Delaware County, in 1806, Jacob Eells married Miss Maria Halliday, who was born in Johnstown, but removed with

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her parents to Colchester when but three years of age. She was the daughter of Will- iam Halliday, a Revolutionary soldier, who served for seven years in the war, being held as a prisoner during a portion of that time. Although a man small of stature, he possessed wonderful strength, activity, and endurance. Tradition has it that he reaped grain with a sickle for ninety-six years in succession - an unparalleled record. He married Miss Hitt, and ten children were the results of this union. A few years before his death Mr. Halliday lost the sight of one of his eyes, but this misfortune did not prevent his being an attentive reader of the Bible to the last. He died at the extraordinary age of one hundred and four years, a Deacon of the Baptist church, in whose doctrines he was a firm believer.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 10

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 744

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 744