USA > New York > Biographical sketches of the state officers and members of the legislature of the state of New York in 1862 and '63 > Part 15
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
Mr. Taylor was married in 1844 to Miss Annie Squires, and attends the Episcopal Church. His social qualities are of a high order, and he is "great on chowder."
21
242
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JACOB TEN BROECK.
MR. TEN BROECK is a descendant of one of the old Dutch families who first settled the State of New York. Three brothers originally came to America, one settling at Claverack, another at Kingston, and the other at Albany, he having sprung from the latter. He is a native of Clermont, Columbia county, where he was born on the 13th of May, 1800, and where he was engaged in farming until 1846, when he removed into Greenport, in that county. He continued his agricultural pursuits until some seven or eight years ago, since which time he has been living a retired life in the city of Hudson, of which he has now the honor to be Mayor.
Mr. Ten Broeck received a common school and aca- demical education. He was originally a Democrat till 1856, when he supported Mr. Fillmore for the Presi- dency. He supported John Bell, toward whom he bears a strong resemblance in his personal appearance, and Edward Everett, the Union candidates, in the great contest of 1860; and has since then been acting with the Democratic party, believing that upon its success alone depends the future salvation of the country. He has held the office of Justice of the Peace some four years ; and was a quiet, industrious, and faithful member of the House during last winter. He has, also, had con- siderable military experience, having entered the service when only nineteen years of age.
Mr. Ten Broeck was married in 1821, to Miss Ann Benner, of Dutchess county, and attends the Dutch
243
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Reformed Church. He has twin sons living, whose wives are twin sisters, and has four daughters.
ERON N. THOMAS.
This gentleman is a native of the town of Pompey, Onondaga county, N. Y., where he was born on the 9th of May, 1809. He is descended from patriotic stock, his grandfather, Elijah Thomas, having been an officer in the Revolutionary army. In 1824 his parents, both natives of New England, removed from Pompey to the town of Rose, Wayne county, where the subject of this sketch still resides.
The youth of Mr. Thomas was singularly unfortunate, having been afflicted with fever sores to such an extent, that he was confined to his bed for seven years. In 1831 his leg was amputated. Almost the whole of that portion of life, devoted by the young to the acquirement of an education necessary to fit them for the duties of after years, was passed by him upon a bed of pain. His future prospects at this time were, indeed, despond- ing ; nevertheless, he has proved himself to be one of those strong characters whom the hardest misfortunes fail to overcome, and who, by the force of native energy, rise superior to the most formidable difficulties.
In 1833 Mr. Thomas became a clerk in a country store at a salary of fifty dollars a year, yet from this moderate beginning he soon managed to enter into busi-
244
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ness on his own account, and for many years was largely engaged in merchandising and commercial pursuits. Since 1859 he has devoted himself principally to farm- ing, and has taken an active interest in everything relating to the agricultural welfare of his section. He has been Supervisor, and on various occasions has been elected to other responsible offices in his town. He was appointed Postmaster during the Administration ' of General Jackson, an appointment which he has held under every Democratic Administration since. Upon the breaking out of the rebellion .he united with the Union party as a war Democrat, and in a strong Republican district, was elected to the Assembly by a majority of four hundred and eleven. His principal speeches in the House were upon the bill to abolish the office of State Assessors, and for completing the Sodus Canal, thus connecting the waters of Lake Ontario with the Erie Canal at Big Sodus Bay as a military necessity, in both of which he exhibited talent and a correct appre- ciation of the interests of the State.
Mr. Thomas has been twice married, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, though his religious views are unbiased by sectarian prejudices. Consider- ing the afflictions of his youth, and the deprivations to which they subjected him, he has been a remarkably successful man, and his life presents an encouraging example to the young, laboring under similar disabilities, worthy of imitation.
245
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
WILLIAM M. THOMAS.
MR. THOMAS was universally acknowledged, among his legislative compeers, to be one of the safest and most faith- ful men in the House. His integrity has become pro- verbial, his industry unceasing, and his face has always been sternly set against all the corrupt influences and com- binations for which the Legislature has become so famous. He is a self-made, successful business man, having, by his industry and honesty, succeeded in accumulating an inde- pendent fortune, but is far removed from selfishness, and would never sacrifice nor deny his principles to obtain place, power, fame, or fortune. He is a gentleman of plain, unpretending habits and manners - polite, not finical ; courteous, not affected, and truthful, without dissimulation- in his personal intercourse with his fellow-men.
Mr. Thomas was born on the 12th of December, 1812, in Swansea, Glamorganshire, South Wales. His maternal grandfather was an officer in the British army, and took a prominent part in the battle of Waterloo. His father, John Thomas, died in 1838, at the age of sixty-two, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Davis, died in 1848, at about the same age.
Mr. Thomas received a limited education, and came to America when about the age of nineteen. Shortly after his arrival he located at Brooklyn, where he has always since resided. He served his time at the carpenter's trade, and since the completion of his apprenticeship has been extensively and successfully engaged as a builder. He made a tour of the Eastern Continent about two years
*21
246
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ago, and is now living a retired life. Originally, he was a Democrat until 1840, when he became a Whig, and is now a Republican. He has never been an active poli- tician, contenting himself with the quiet pursuit of his own private business, and is now serving his constituents for the first time in a public capacity.
Mr. Thomas was married in 1834, to Miss Rhoda Fra- zier, who is a niece of the Rev. Dr. Nott, President of Union College. He attends the Rev. Dr. Beecher's Church, and is a gentleman of high standing and respectability in the city of his residence.
BENJAMIN F. TRACEY.
MR. TRACEY is young, able, hard-working and certain to take high and honorable rank among the public men of this State. He won the respect and esteem of the whole Assembly in 1862 by his frank and upright course, and made his mark quite as thoroughly as any other member upon the business of the House. He is a law- yer by profession, a fluent, vigorous and impressive speaker, and is certain always to seize the leading point of every subject which he attempts to discuss. His forte is argument rather than rhetoric, and he seldom fails to carry conviction to fair and unprejudiced minds. He never deals in sophistries, and is never imposed upon by them. Of thorough and unquestioned integrity, seeking always the right of every question, but at the
247
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
same time sufficiently practical never to overlook or undervalue considerations of sound expediency, and having the faculty of pressing strongly the main con- trolling argument of every question, he influenced the action of the House very largely upon every important topic which engaged its attention.
Mr. Tracey is descended from Irish ancestors, and was born in Owego, Tioga county, N. Y., on the 26th of April, 1830. He was educated at the academy in his native place, and after studying law some time with Colonel Nathaniel W. Davis, his successor in the House, was admitted to the bar. When only twenty-three years of age he was chosen District Attorney of Tioga county, where he has always resided, and having served a second term, declined an election the third time in consequence of the pressure of his private practice. Politically, he was originally a Whig, casting his first Presidential vote for General Scott in 1852. He took an active part in the organization of the Republican party, to the principles and policy of which he still firmly adheres. He is a gentleman of high standing and influence in the community where he resides, and his career in the House was eminently creditable to him- self and his constituents. He made many very warm personal and political friends during the session, and is quite certain to be heard of very often hereafter in the political history of the State and country. He joined the Army soon after the adjournment of the Legislature as Colonel of the Tioga County Regiment of N. Y. S. V., and is now serving his country in the field.
Mr. Tracey was married on the 23d of January, 1851,
248
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
to Miss Delinda E., daughter of Nathaniel Catlin, and usually attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member, and of which he has long been a trustee. His parents are both still living at an advanced age.
JOHN VAN ETTEN, JR.
MR. VAN ETTEN was born on the 4th of February, 1815. He is a native of the town of Deerpark, Orange county, N. Y., and has always been a resident of that county. He is of pure Holland extraction, and is descended from one of the oldest and most respectable families in that section of the State. Major Decker, who was shot at the battle of Minisink, in 1779, was a relative of his mother's family. His maternal grandmother was saved at the same time, while at school, from the Indians and tories under Brandt. He is a brother of Dr. Solomon Van Etten, who is now First Surgeon of the Fifty-Sixth Regiment of N. Y. S. V. Both his parents are still living; his father, Levi Van Etten, being now upwards of seventy-two years of age, and his mother, whose maiden name was Ellanor Car- penter, being nearly the same age.
Mr. Van Etten received a good common school English education, and has always been actively and successfully engaged in farming. He was elected Sheriff of Orange county in 1849, holding the position three years, and was Supervisor of his town in 1858 and '59. Besides this, he
249
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
has held several other unimportant town offices, and in every position to which his fellow-citizens have called him, he has been found honest and faithful in the discharge of every duty devolving upon him. Politically, he has always been a Democrat of the old-fashioned Conservative stamp, possessing an intense hostility toward all that class of fana- tics at the North who have been so effective in bringing civil war upon the country, and has never been found to waver a hair's breadth in his support of pure Democratic prin- ciples. As a member of the House he was straightforward, consistent, and conscientious in the discharge of his duties, and passed most of last summer in the discharge of his duties as Chairman of the Special Committee, appointed at the last Session of the Legislature, to ascertain the amount of unclaimed moneys in the several Savings Banks and other moneyed institutions in the State.
Mr. Van Etten was married in 1839, to Miss Mary V. Cuddeback, and attends the Second Dutch Church.
PETER J. VAN VLEET.
MR. VAN VLEET is a native of the town of Lodi, Seneca county, N. Y., where he was born on the 2d of March, 1815. He is of Dutch and German descent. His father, Jared Van Vleet, who is still living at the advanced age of seventy-one, was born in New Jersey, and removed thence with his parents to Lodi, in 1792. His mother, whose maiden name was Dolly Swarthout, was a native of the town of Romulus, Seneca county,
1
250
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and died in 1835 at the age of forty-three, leaving nine children of whom Peter was the oldest. His parents moved to the town of Romulus in 1817, where he has always since resided.
With the exception of three months' schooling at Ovid Academy, Mr. Van Vleet was educated at a common district school, laboring on his father's farm in the sum- mer and attending school in the winter. He has always been engaged in farming, owning and cultivating over two hundred acres, which are beautifully situated on the shores of Seneca Lake, within a mile of the State Agricultural College and farm, an institution in which he has always taken a deep and abiding interest. He has, since the age of twenty-one, held various unim- portant town offices, and during the year 1846, '47, '58, '59 and '60, occupied the position of Supervisor. He was chairman of the Board in 1858 and '59, and al- though the board was a tie between the two political parties, he was re-elected chairman in 1860. He was also quite prominent in military life, under the old or- ganization. In 1836 he was commissioned by Governor Marcy Adjutant of the 128th Regiment of Infantry, which position he held until 1845, when he received from Governor Wright the appointment of Brigade Inspector of the 38th Brigade (comprising the counties of Seneca and Wayne), with the rank of Major, holding the position several years.
Mr. Van Vleet is a consistent Democrat of the old line school, and supported Gen. Cass in 1848. Though not a noisy, scheming politician, he possesses great personal popularity, and has held many places of public trust. He
251
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
represented the only Democratic county in Central and Western New York in the Assembly, and was elected by a handsome majority over a powerful opponent, running nearly one hundred votes ahead of the State ticket. Al- though modest and unassuming in manner, and quiet and unobtrusive in the discharge of his duties, he was justly classed among the industrious, practical, substantial, com- mon-sense men of the House.
Mr. Van Vleet was married, in 1837, to Miss Jane Gulick, of Lodi, and attends the Presbyterian church at Ovid, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Dr. Lounsberry.
DANIEL WATERBURY.
MR. WATERBURY was born at Franklin, Delaware county, N. Y., in 1828. His father, the Rev. Daniel Waterbury, was a graduate of Union College and of the Theological school at Princeton; he officiated for many years as pastor of the Presbyterian Congregations in Andes, Franklin and Delhi. The successful establish- ment of the Delaware Literary Institute is attributed to his exertions. He died at Warsaw, Wyoming county, on the 22d of December, 1838, at the age of forty-five.
The family of Mr. Waterbury is Revolutionary, and his grandfather and great grandfather served in the army. Seven great uncles held commissions. His great grandfather Stevens was killed by the British in the attack on Danbury. His uncle, Asa Grant, was a Mem- ber of the Legislature of 1821 and '22, and his uncle,
252
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
David S. Waterbury, of the Constitutional Convention of 1846, both representing the same district he now does.
Mr. Waterbury was left an orphan at the age of ten. Col. Asa Grant, his mother's brother, took charge of her children, adopted and educated them, and upon his death left them his property. They attended the dis- trict school, and at a maturer age were sent to academi- cal institutions.
Mr. Waterbury, after several terms at the Delaware Literary Institute and the Delhi and Fergusonville Academies, finally graduated at the Normal School in 1848. He then spent some time in teaching, after which he entered Union College, graduating with honor in 1854, and was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Turning his attention to legal pursuits he en- tered the Poughkeepsie Law School, and after graduat- ing was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in the city of New York. In 1857, after the death of his uncle, Colonel Grant, he returned to Delaware county, where he has since been engaged in legal and agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Waterbury was nominated for the Assembly by the Republican party in 1860, and was elected. He served on the Judiciary Committee during the session of the Legislature that followed. He was re-elected to the House of 1862, his opponent being a straight Demo- crat. His speeches delivered during that session were justly regarded as efforts reflecting high honor upon him as an orator and logician. He was a member of the Salt Committee last summer which visited Syracuse and Saginaw, Michigan.
253
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
In Mr. Waterbury is found the rare combination of the scholar, the gentleman, and the efficient professional and business man. He has more than justified the ex- pectations of his friends and supporters. The same indefatigable care for the interests of the State, assidu- ous regard for the welfare of his own constituents, and unrivaled public spirit, together with an unsullied integrity, have continued to characterize his career. He is originally of Puritan stock from Rhode Island, being descended from the Waterbury, Stevens, Grant and Lewis families. He is unmarried, and attends the Presbyterian Church.
SYLVESTER WATERBURY.
MR. WATERBURY is a native of Nassau, Rensselaer county, N. Y., where he now resides, and is forty-three years of age. His paternal ancestors settled in Connecticut, and his mother's family were residents of the State of New York. He received a common school education, and has. passed his life chiefly as a farmer. Politically, he is a Democrat of the Conservative school, and has been quite prominent in the management of his party in the town where he resides. His course as a Member of the House was not brilliant, but straightforward, honest, and faithful to the interests of his constituents. He is a gentleman of character and influence in the community where he resides, and enjoys a high degree of personal as well as political popularity.
22
254
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
BENJAMIN R. WELLS.
MR. WELLS is a native of the city of New York, where he was born in 1817. He is descended from genuine Anglo-Saxon stock. He received an academical education in his native city, and is now a successful farmer in Monroe county, where he is well and favor- ably known. Politically, he was formerly a member of the old Whig party, but when it abandoned its organization, he became a firm Republican. He was a member of the House in 1861, serving with credit as a member of the Committee on Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties, and was highly esteemed as a member of that body for his honesty and integrity of purpose and the unyielding fidelity with which he discharged every duty devolving upon him.
The wife of Mr. Wells, whose maiden name was Sarah Temple Bowen, is a lady of superior female excel- lence, and, like her husband, is an ornament to the com- munity in which she moves.
NELSON K. WHEELER.
MR. WHEELER is a native of the town of Hancock, Delaware county, N. Y., and is still a resident of that county. He is descended from pure Yankee stock, his ancestors having been among the earliest settlers of
255
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Massachusetts, and is fifty-three years of age. He re- ceived an academical education, and sustains the repu- tation of a good lawyer in Delaware county. He served as a Member of Assembly in 1843, when he discharged his duties in a manner that secured him the good opinion of all his legislative associates. Politically, he was originally a Whig, with strong Freesoil proclivities, and by the natural bent of his political training, early became a Republican.
MATTHEW WIARD.
This gentleman was a Member of the House in 1861, and somewhat unexpectedly turned up again in that body in 1862. The only distinguishing mark of his legis- lative career, however, was a blue coat which he always persisted in wearing, and by which he was familiarly known during both sessions, not only to his associates, but by all who were in the habit of visiting the Assem- bly Chamber. This, however, was no discredit to him, for it is asserted that Wellington liberated Spain in a red coat, extravagantly overestimated at a sixpence, while Napoleon entered Moscow in a green one, out at the elbows.
The author stated in his volume for 1861, that he knew nothing authentic of Mr. Wiard, and he has since failed to obtain anything more authentic than what was then published of him. He disappeared from the Capitol
256
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
immediately after the adjournment of the Legislature in 1862, and has not been heard of since then.
SAMUEL WILBOR.
MR. WILBOR was born in the town of Chatham, Columbia county, N. Y., where he still resides. He is the second son of Samuel S. and Hannah Wilbor, and received a name (Samuel) which had been handed down in the family from father to son, through six successive generations. He has, also, inherited, and now lives, in the old family mansion occupied by his grandfather before him. His ancestors came to this country about the year 1650, and were subsequently among the earliest settlers of Columbia and Dutchess counties. He is sup- posed to be of Welch descent.
Mr. Wilbor was educated in the old Dutch town of Kinderhook in his native county, taking an academical course, and was inclined to pursue the study of medi- cine. His inclination, however, in this respect was soon changed by the death of his father, which devolved upon him the care of the latter's business, including the management of a large farm. Since then he has passed his life chiefly in agricultural pursuits, to which he has occasional added various mercantile enterprises. Al- though by no means an indifferent observer of the ordinary course of political events he has never been a politician in the more modern acceptation of the term.
257
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
His political conduct is shaped entirely by a desire to do whatever is best calculated to subserve the best interests of the country, and although elected to the House as a Union Republican, he is perfectly indepen- dent in his political views and feelings. His course in the Assembly was unusually quiet and unpretending, but the industry, intelligence and honesty of purpose exhibited by him in the discharge of his duties gave him a strong influence among his legislative associates. He was a member of the Committee on Federal Relations- one of the most important of the session-and a member of that which, during the past summer, has had under investigation the amount of unclaimed moneys in the several Savings Banks and other moneyed institutions in the State. In both of these positions he displayed no ordinary degree of ability, and as a member of the latter committee has aided in the presentation of one of the ablest reports that has ever been made to the Legisla- ture on that subject.
Mr. Wilbor was married in 1837 to Miss Elsie, daugh- ter of John J. Van Valkenburgh, a lady of superior accomplishments, who died in 1844. In 1849 he was again married to Miss Margaret K. Whiteside, of Champlain, N. Y., and stands high in all the social rela- tions of private life.
*22
ALPHABETICAL LIST
OF
MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY.
With the Districts and Counties they represent, Post- office address, and Politics.
Hon. HENRY J. RAYMOND, Speaker, New York city, Rep.
Dis. Assemblymen. Counties. P. O. Address. Pol.
1 Ackley, Jonathan M., Jefferson,
Worthville, ... R.
1 Allen, Andrew L., ... Cattaraugus, Machias, .. .. . . R.
3 Alley, Samuel M., ... Steuben,
Hornellsville, .. R.
2 Alvord, Thomas G.,. Onondaga, Andrus, Albert, ... .. Franklin,
Salina, R.
Malone, R.
2 Anthony, Smith,. Cayuga,
2 Avery, Eli, . Oneida,
3 Banks, A. Bleecker, . Albany,
Barry, Thomas, Cortland,
Marathon, R.
Bartlett, George, .. Broome, .
Beadle, Tracy, Chemung,
Elmira, R.
New York city, R.
Saugerties, .... D.
1 Bowe, Leroy E., ..... Otsego, Middlefield, ... R.
3 Bowen, Benjamin E., Oswego,
1 Brand, William H., .. Madison,
1 Bryan, Daniel B., .... Burr, James H.,. ..
Steuben,
Sonora, . R.
Fulton & Hamilton, Gloversville, .. R.
5 Bush, James W., New York,
1 Callahan, John, New York,
4 Case, John A.,. . Erie, Holland, . R.
11 Childs, Noah A., . New York,
Fleming, R.
Clayville, R.
Albany, . D.
Binghamton, .. R.
5 Benedict, Charles L., . Kings,
1 Bookstaver, Jesse F., Ulster, .
Mexico, .
R.
Leonardsville, . R.
New York, . D.
New York,. .. D.
New York, .. D.
259
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Dis.
Assemblymen.
Counties.
P. O. Address. Pol.
Morris, R.
15 Coddington, David S., New York,.
New York, ... D.
6 Coey, William J., ... New York,
New York, .... D. Glen Cove, .... R.
1 Coles, Isaac, .
..
Queens, .
2 Cornell, Almerin J.,. Albany, Cornell, Ezra, . Cowles, Jonathan B., Greene,
Tompkins,
Rensselaerville, R. Ithaca,. R.
1 Cruttenden, Alvah E., Allegany,
Canaseraga,
R.
4 Darcy, James, . . .. Kings,
Brooklyn,
D.
Darrow, Nicholas E.,. Orleans,
Clarendon, . .. R.
1 Davis, Emry, Chautauqua,
Busti,. R.
1 Davis, John C., . . Suffolk,
River Head, ... R.
3 Depew, Chauncey M., Westchester, Peekskill, ..... R.
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.