USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 77
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Several years after their marriage this
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worthy couple emigrated to the United States, bringing with them four children, landing in New York City after a three months' voyage. Purchasing horses and wagons, they came through the intervening woods to the town of Hamden, where they bought land, and carried on general farming on an extensive scale for those days. Two more children were subse- quently added to their household circle. Mrs. Jeannette Neish died in February, 1864, in the eighty-seventh year of her age, survived only a few weeks by her husband, who died when eighty-five years old. The record of their children is as follows: James, who is now eighty-seven years old, owns and occupies one of the finest farms in Andes; he is a widower, his wife having died in February, 1894, when past ninety years of age. John is the father of the subject of this sketch. Ann, the wife of Haskell P. Wilber, resides in the village of Walton. Mary, the widow of Wal- ter Stott, lives at Livingston Manor. Will- iam resides on the old homestead. Jeannette, the youngest, married Senator William Lewis, and both are now deceased.
John Neish, son of Alexander, was a young lad when he came to Andes, but has some remembrance of the dreary voyage across the stormy Atlantic. He married Amelia M. Barnhart, the daughter of Philip and Nancy (Knapp) Barnhart, a native of Washington County. Mr. Barnhart was born in the town of Andes, being a son of John and Eleanor (Shaver) Barnhart, the latter of whom is said to have been the first white female child born within the limits of Andes, to which place her father had come from Dutchess County. The Shaver family were of Holland descent, and on removing to this county brought some wealth with them. At the time of an Indian outbreak they hid a kettle of silver in a bin- nacle, and were never afterward able to find it. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. John Neish six children were born: one son died in in- fancy; another, Philip, who was a lawyer by profession, was admitted to the bar in Iowa, and subsequently died at the age of thirty- four years, leaving a wife and children; Juli- ana, the wife of O. G. Hendrix, lives in Wal- ton village; Alexander, also of Walton, is further mentioned below; Byron V., a rail-
way engineer, resides in Bucyrus, Ohio; Marietta, married Henry A. Neidig, living in Andes. The parents are both active and hearty people, and are esteemed members of the Methodist church of Andes. In politics John Neish is a wide-awake Republican.
Alexander Neish was reared upon the fam- ily homestead, gained the rudiments of his education at the district school, and pursued a higher course of study at the Andes Colle- giate Institute. As many men now eminent in the various professions have done, Mr. Neish began his career as a teacher, and con- tinued to exercise that calling for three years. He then entered the office of W. H. Johnson, of Andes, and, after reading law with him for some time, was admitted to the bar in May, 1869. The following month Mr. Neish opened an office in the village of Walton, and began the practice of his profession, in which he has met with eminent and flattering suc- cess. On the Ist of January, 1894, he formed a partnership with John G. More, the firm being known as Neish & More. Aside from his legal duties Mr. Neish finds time to de- vote to the interests of his community, hav- ing been President of the village of Walton for six years, and having served on the Board of Education of Walton Union Free School eleven years, this school taking a high rank among the schools in this section of the State. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party.
On April 11, 1867, Mr. Neish was married to Miss Mary A. Hitchcock, the daughter of Lucius and the late Susan (Sweet) Hitchcock, who passed from earth in February, 1894, at the age of sixty-seven years, leaving her hus- band and three children. Mr. Hitchcock is a carpenter by trade, and an esteemed resident of Oneonta. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Neish four children have been born: the eld- est, Flora M., a talented young lady and an accomplished musician, was married to F. A. St. John, October 11, 1894, and settled in Walton village; Lillian LaSalle, who, like her sister Flora, was a graduate of the Walton High School, also pursued her musical stud- ies at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston; Alexander J., a youth of six- teen years, is in school, preparing for college;
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Albert P., the youngest child, is a fine lad of nine years. The parents are sparing neither time nor expense in educating these children to become self-reliant men and women, with a definite place in this busy world of ours.
SAAC HARDENBURGH, late of Rox- bury, N. Y., was the last male descend- ant of his family possessing the old homestead in Delaware County. He was a great-grandson of Johannes Hardenburgh, of Rosendale, Ulster County, the patentee of the Hardenburgh Patent, which was granted April 20, 1708, the lands having been pre- viously purchased of the Indians. The title was confirmed, it is said, by three govern- ments -the Dutch, English, and United States. After the Revolution it was found that the monuments were lost; and an act, passed March 29, 1790, appointed Charles Tappen and James Cockburn. commissioners to make a survey of certain lines, to be prop- erly marked by stone heaps every two miles along the division lines. The grant was divided into great tracts, numbered from one to forty-two. The number of acres in the pat- ent is not known. It lies within the bounda- ries of Ulster, Sullivan, Greene, and Delaware Counties.
An elder Isaac, son of Johannes, came to the town of Roxbury in 1791, journeying by the way of Saugerties, through the gorge, up the mountain, to Tannersville, and down the Schoharie Kill, by marked trees and Indian trails. He was a man of vigorous physique, was possessed of a considerable amount of legal knowledge, and always dressed in Colonial style. He married Rachel Graham, of New York City, and became the father of seven children - Frances, Lewis, Margaret, Eliza- beth, John, Catherine, and George. He built the old stone house in the basement of which was kept the first store in the town of Rox- bury. Later he removed to Catskill, where he died on January 15, 1822. As was the cus- tom among the wealthy people of that day, he kept a number of slaves; and they were very eager to come to this land of promise, the maple-sugar country.
Lewis, the eldest son of the first Isaac, was born in 1783, was married July 20, 1806, to Agnes Laraway, and came into possession of the homestead. Lewis was a very active and energetic man. He had made many improve- ments in his lands, and had planned many more, when he was suddenly taken away by the hand of death in 1838, at the age of fifty- five years, leaving a wife and six children - Ann Eliza, Katie Maria, Rosina, Martin, Isaac, and Addison.
Isaac, second son of Lewis and Agnes Har- denburgh, was born November 2, 1827, at the old homestead in the town of Roxbury, and at his father's death came into possession of the property. He was a large, powerfully built man, of a genial and happy disposition and of a noble heart. His mental endowments were superior : he was a deep and accurate thinker, and all his life bore a reputation for sterling integrity. Two old servants, Jack and Deyona, husband and wife, who had been slaves of his father, were cared for by him to a good old age. The death of Isaac Harden- burgh occurred March 16, 1889, and was an event deeply mourned by the entire commu-
nity. Mr. Hardenburgh was united in mar- riage September 29, 1881, to Mary Shoe- maker, of Roxbury, Delaware County, N. Y., a capable, thrifty, and energetic woman, who looked well after his comfort in his declining years. One little daughter, Agnes, named for Mrs. Hardenburgh's mother, was born October 17, 1885.
This sketch of the Hardenburgh family has been kindly contributed to the "Review" by Mr. Hardenburgh's niece, Miss More, of New- ark Valley, Tioga County, N. Y. The accom- panying portrait of Isaac Hardenburgh will be recognized with pleasure by all who were so fortunate as to have his personal acquaintance.
0 2 EORGE W. ROBINSON, a well- known and enterprising dealer in every description of market vege- tables, of the town of Walton, was born near this place, December 25, 1832, son of James and Elizabeth (Case) Robinson. John Robin- son, father of James, was a native of Scho- harie County, where he was one time engaged
ISAAC HARDENBURG.
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in the manufacture of wagons. He afterward moved to Walton, where he continued his busi- ness up to the time of his death. He left nine children ; namely, Hiram, James, George W., William, Edward, Charles, Nancy M., Re- becca, and Delia. James Robinson was reared to agricultural pursuits. He married a daughter of Buel and Abigail Case; and at the time of his early death, which took place when he was but thirty years of age, he left the fol- lowing family : George W., Lyman, and Jane. Mrs. Robinson died in 1863, at the home of the subject of this sketch. The father of Mrs. Robinson came from Connecticut, and settled as a farmer in this State.
George W. Robinson, being but six years old when his father died, spent his early years under the care of his grandfather. He at- tended the district school, and afterward managed the farm and took care of his grand- parents until their death. He then exchanged that farm for another, and, after living thereon for eighteen years, moved to his present loca- tion in 1887. Here he purchased a lot, upon which he erected a fine dwelling. His first business venture in Walton was in the ice business. Continuing at that for four years, he afterward went into the raising of market vegetables on a large scale, having an exten- sive trade.
Mr. Robinson was married December 30, 1856, to Miss Sarah J. Gray, a daughter of Charles and Sarah (Butler) Gray. Mrs. Rob- inson has the following brothers and sisters : Angelina, Marcus, Erastus, Eliphet, and George. The grandfather of Mrs. Robinson was one of the early settlers of Walton, coming here in 1808. He was a soldier of the Revo- lutionary period. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have the following children: James A., who has two children; Charles, married to Miss Hattie Wakeman, has one child, Josephine, and is a carpenter residing in Walton; Ira, married to Harriett Berry, has one child - William; Herman, residing in Montana, en- gaged in business as a butcher; Addie, mar- ried to George E. Robinson; and Libbie, who is engaged as a dressmaker. Mr. Robinson is a member of Lodge No. 559, A. F. & A. M., of Walton, of which organization he has occupied the position of Trustee. He is
a Republican in politics, and has been Asses- sor for twelve years. Mrs. Robinson is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Rob- inson is a man commanding the utmost re- spect, not only in his business, but in his private life, and has shown himself to be worthy of the public confidence.
ILLIAM L. WHITE was born on the farm on which he now lives, on the fourteenth day of February, 1841. His parents, Robert and Anna (Gra- ham) White, came to America in 1834. Both were natives of regions indissolubly con- nected with some of the most romantic and pathetic episodes in Scottish history. The father was born in Ayrshire, Scotland; the mother, in Montrose. Robert White was a carpenter by trade, and was a skilled joiner, having served an apprenticeship of five years in Scotland. This trade he followed for twenty-five years after coming to America. In 1837 he bought a farm of fifty acres, which he enlarged by different purchases from time to time. Here he died April 5, 1869, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife survived him twenty-four years, reaching the advanced age of ninety-four. Both husband and wife were devout and earnest members of the United Presbyterian church. Robert White was a strong and faithful advocate for and defender of Republican principles. Of the nine children born to the Scotch couple five are now living, namely: John G., a farmer in Mount Hope, Wis. ; Jane, the wife of John D. Van Aikin, a farmer in Walton; Anna, the wife of John G. Thompson, a farmer and laborer in Bovina; William L., the subject of this memoir; Alexander, a farmer in Belle Plaine, Ia. James died at eighteen years of age, and Mary and Robert died in infancy.
William I. White spent his boyhood on the farm where he was born, and received the foundation of a good, plain education in the district schools, afterward attending the Col- legiate Institute of Andes for four terms, where he fitted himself for a teacher. During the long winter months he taught school, and through the summer vacations he did car- penter's work. He taught for six terms in
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Delaware County, and was for two terms Principal of the Cannonsville High School, where he had an attendance of ninety-five pupils. In 1869 he came into possession of his father's estate, since which time he has turned his energies toward agricultural pur- suits and stock raising and dealing. He has been somewhat largely engaged in buying and selling Western horses, five carloads of which he has made advantageous disposition of since 1890. Under his management his patrimony has been considerably augmented, and the farm boundaries have greatly extended. The White farm being adapted for a grazing farm, Mr. White keeps a herd of forty-eight cattle, and has been eminently successful in breeding Jersey dairy stock. The dairy is remunerative to its owner and satisfactory to its patrons. The average number of pounds of butter per head for 1892 was two hundred and eighty- three, the quality of which was as fine as its quantity was phenomenal.
Mr. White is in the communion of the United Presbyterian church at Bovina Centre, and has always been a stanch Republican. For ten years he has held the office of Justice of the Peace, and was in 1891 and 1892 Super- visor. Many minor offices have taxed the time and energies of this busy, practical man, who has, nevertheless, found himself able to discharge them satisfactorily to those who intrusted the duties to his hand, and without detriment to his personal work and interest. His many friends wish for him the best things that can offer. He enjoys the respect and es- teem of his fellow-beings, and the worldly prosperity that his efforts deserve.
J AMES J. GREGORY, one of the worthy descendants of the stanch pioneer, Timothy Gregory, who founded Greg- orytown, was born in Tompkins, Delaware County, May 11, 1843. Josiah Gregory, father of James, was born in the adjacent town of Colchester on March 29, 1797, and after a useful and successful life died February 15, 1886, and was buried in the family lot in Granton, having retained to the last all his faculties. His wife, whom he married July 4, 1819, was Viletty Sutton.
She died April 6, 1874. They had eleven children : Jeremiah S., born January 25, 1821, died August 14, 1822; Sally Ann, born June 15, 1822, died October 15, 1885; Jeremiah T., born June 17, 1824, is Poor Master of the town, and resides in Cannonsville (a further history of this gentleman may be found in an- other part of this volume) ; Sherman S. was born February 20, 1826, and his sketch, together with a further history of the Gregory family, may also be found in another part of this work; Charlotte, born July 22, 1828; John P., born September 29, 1830; Edwin R., born October 9, 1833; Peter W., born No- vember 15, 1835 ; Loomis M., born April 21, 1838, was drowned May 7, 1848; Jane C., born January 23, 1841. All of the above were born in Colchester, while James J., who is under consideration in this sketch, was born in Tompkins.
James J., after a common-school education, succeeded his father in the lumber business, and bought also the homestead farm, which he now carries on. This farm has been in the family for half a century; and many are the relics of the red men and of troublous times that have been found about the place and are in the possession of Mr. Gregory. It has an Indian orchard, and a tract where the abo- rigines cultivated their corn.
On January 26, 1870, Mr. James J. Gregory was married in Franklin to Anna Eliza Chil- son, a native of Hamden. She was daughter of Harvey and Betsey (Bailey) Chilson. Har- vey Chilson's father was Timothy Chilson, a descendant from one of the old Puritan fami- lies of the New England States. He came to Hamden in the early part of this century from Vermont, bringing his family with him, and for some years operated a grist-mill near his new home. Later in life he returned to Vermont, and, while crossing Lake Cham- plain, was the victim of a fatal accident, and was drowned. His wife survived him many years, passing the latter part of her life with her children in Michigan. Harvey . Chilson, father of Mrs. Gregory, received his education in Hamden, and learned the mason's trade. He married, in 1844, Betsey Bailey, daughter of Edward and Mary (Wheaton) Bailey, from Queenstown, Canada. She was of English
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descent on the Bailey side, and German on the Wheaton side. Luther Bailey, great- grandfather of Mrs. Gregory, was a Captain in the British army during the French and Indian War, and for distinguished services at that time was given by the British government a large tract of land in what is now the United States, and situated somewhere west of New York State. This claim was never taken up, as the Captain was soon after killed while de- fending Fort Defiance; and his only child, Edward, removed with the widowed mother to Canada. Harvey Chilson enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment of the New York Volunteers, and served in the late war for nearly three years, being then dis- charged for disability. After the war he settled in Michigan and took a soldier's grant of government land near Whitehall, Muskegon County. He there successfully engaged in farming. He had four children - Mary, Anna Eliza, Elihu, and Matthew E. Mr. and Mrs. James J. Gregory have one child, Bertha B., born March 3, 1874, who is now being edu- cated at the Deposit Academy. Mr. Gregory, following the precedent of his family, is an able and industrious farmer, carrying into effect all the principles brought down to him from the past, improved and supplemented by the more advanced views of the present.
LEXANDER SEARLES, of Sidney, is
probably the oldest resident of Delaware County, and is one of the most respected. He was born No- vember 7, 1800, in the town of Bedford, West- chester County, N. Y., and so is within less than six years of being a centenarian. His parents were Roger Searles and his wife, Esther Baker, of Westchester County. The former was a farmer and dealer in live stock, and lived to a good old age. His remains rest in the cemetery at Flatbush, Kings County, N. Y. ; while the mother, who died in middle life, was buried at Catskill. They had a typical pioneer family of eight sons and three daughters, all of whom save one (Esther) arrived at maturity, but have now, with a single exception (Alexander, above named), passed to the life beyond,
Having been trained to farm work in boy- hood, absorbing whatever knowledge could be obtained in the district schools of the time and locality, Alexander, at the age of eigh- teen, in company with his brother Lewis, went to work at the tailor's trade in Westerlo, Albany County. After obtaining a thorough insight into the tailoring business, he came to Franklin, where he was for forty years em- ployed in working at his trade. In 1865 he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in the town of Sidney, on the site of the present village of that name. This land he greatly improved, and sold it in 1871, much of the present village of Sidney having been built upon it since that time. About seven- teen years ago Mr. Searles moved to his pres- ent home on Liberty Street, although he has been a resident of the village for about thirty years, leading a retired life, and enjoying the competence he had accumulated by many pre- vious years of hard labor.
Mr. Searles was married, at the age of twenty-five, to Eliza Dean, of Meredith, daughter of Nathaniel Dean, whose wife was a member of the Porter family of that placc. The marriage was a happy one; and sixty-five years of loving companionship glided almost imperceptibly away, until Mrs. Searles was called to another life by the silent messenger of death. Her demise occurred February 10, 1890, when she was in her eighty-seventh year. She was a faithful wife and mother, and was ever active in works of Christian charity. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Searles, but one is now living, Porter D., who was born June 16, 1838. One son died in infancy. Helen, who became the wife of William T. Bradford, died May 26, 1889, at the age of sixty-one. And all- other daughter, Sarah, died September 8, 1846, when but nine years of age.
In earlier years Mr. Searles was a member of the New York State militia, and rose from the ranks to the office of Major. In spite of his great age, he still retains possession of all his faculties; and few men as old as he can boast of better health or fewer infirmities. Like a sturdy oak, he has weathered the storms of many winters; and, with an almost phe- nomenal memory, he can look back and from
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the scenes and events of his earlier years draw forth for the benefit of the younger gen- eration many interesting reminiscences and characteristic anecdotes. The vigor of his green old age may be in some measure ascribed to the fact that he has all his life been a man of singular temperance, having always ab- stained from the use of tobacco and alcoholic drinks, though in his early days total absti- nence was a thing almost unknown, and drink- ing habits the rule among all classes. It would be well for the younger generation if Mr. Searles's example were more widely imi- tated. It is not impossible that he may live to be pointed out with local pride as "the centenarian " of Delaware County, and thus see the dawn of a new and glorious century, full of hope and promise to the children of men.
OHN E. NEWKIRK, of Roxbury, N. Y., a prominent business man and citizen of that place, is descended from a very old family of "genuine Knicker- bockers," his early ancestors having come from Holland and settled in New York nearly two and a half centuries ago. His great- grandfather, Dr. Jacob Newkirk, who was of the fifth generation of Newkirks in this country, was born in Ulster County, N. Y., - March 17, 1750. He was one of the first physicians in the place, and was very success- ful in his profession. The last years of his life were spent in Greene County, where he died in 1833. In 1778 he married Anna Person, and had two children -a daughter, Catherine, who married Abram A. Salisbury; and a son, John Person Newkirk, who was born in Greene County, April 30, 1780, in the midst of the Revolutionary War. John P. Newkirk was a physician and a merchant ; and throughout his life he was, like his father, a member of the Dutch Reformed church. When he was twenty-two years old, he con- tracted marriage with Catherine Salisbury, who bore him these children; namely, Abram Hasbrouck, Jacob, Ann, Catherine, William, Caroline, Mary, and Harriett. His death oc- curred February 17, 1855 ; but his wife sur- vived him eleven years.
Jacob Newkirk, the second son of John P. Newkirk, was born in Catskill, Greene County, February 22, 1806. Like his grand- father, whose name he bore, he chose the med- ical profession, and was very successful in his practice. He studied with the famous Dr. King, of Cairo, N. Y. More than sixty years ago Dr. Jacob Newkirk, second, commenced his practice in Roxbury, where he remained to the day of his death. He was always a very prominent citizen, growing up with the town, and identified at all times with its progress. When he settled here, the district was little more than a wilderness: no roads had been thoroughly cleared, and his patients lived some distance apart. His first visits were made on foot or on horseback, conditions under which few physicians of the present day have to labor. Sometimes called in the mid- dle of the night, and obliged to ride several miles through rain or snow to attend an urgent case, his profession was no sinecure. Yet he lived to a good old age, being eighty-eight at his death, which occurred August 13, 1894. His wife was Deborah M. Burhans. They had two children, one of whom, William S. Newkirk, is now dead.
John E. Newkirk, the surviving son of Dr. Jacob and Deborah Newkirk, was born January 15, 1838. He received an excellent education at Roxbury Academy and Delaware Institute, where he was graduated. At the age of eigh- teen he accepted a position as clerk for Mr. H. Burhans. After holding this position two years, he started a hardware business with his brother William, buying the establishment of Edward Burhans; and for six years they car- ried the business on under the name of J. E. & W. S. Newkirk. At the end of that time he bought out his brother's share, and has since run the establishment alone, except one year in which his son was a partner. He has built up a flourishing business, and has a large patronage. In addition to his hardware busi- ness, he also has an extensive plumbing trade, and has a large tin-shop.
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