Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 109

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1354

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W ALTER B. CULVER, a worthy repre- sentative of the agricultural interests of the town of Amenia, and one of the large land owners of Dutchess county, is descended from good old Revolutionary stock, Joshua Culver, his great-grandfather, having assisted the colonies in gaining their independence. His grandfather, who also bore the name of Joshua, was a native of the town of Amenia, and in early life learned the tanner's trade with Capt. William Young, at Amenia Union. Sub- sequently he established himself at Pine Plains in the tanning business, conducting it with re- markable success and becoming a wealthy man for his day. He married Lavinia Backus, whose birth also occurred in Amenia, and to them were born five children, all now deceased, namely: Elmira, Eliza, Backus, Roxanna and Phebe.

Backus Culver. the father of our subject, was born at Pine Plains, Dutchess county, in 1806, was there reared and educated, and later turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. From farming he drifted into stock raising, becoming an extensive dealer in live stock be- fore a railroad had been constructed through this section of the country. He married Miss Abbie Drew, and they had nine children: Joshua, Mary, Laura and Sanford (all four deceased ; Walter B .; Dudley G. ; Lavina, wife of William H. Bartlett; and P'hebe and Henry, both deceased. The father, who was an earnest Democrat in politics, was called upon to serve in several official positions, in- cluding those of supervisor and assessor of Pine Plains. In the spring of 1864 he removed to Amenia, where he lived until life's labors were ended, in 1870, in which year his faithful wife also died.

Walter B. Culver was born in Pine Plains, May 7, 1837, and in the village schools he began his education, supplementing the knowl- edge there acquired by a course at Dominie Benedict's private school at Patterson, N. Y., and also at the Dutchess County Academy, of Poughkeepsie, and the Amenia Seminary.

He remained on the home farm until after attaining his majority, and in 1859 located upon the old Culver place, south of the depot at Amenia, where he continued to live until the spring of 1864. On December 17, 1863, he married Harriet J., a daughter of Ambrose Mygatt. Their children are: Mary E., Laura B .. Ambrose M., Dudley D., Harry W., Arthur B., George R. and Bessie H. Like his father. Mr. Culver has always been an un- swerving Democrat in his political views, and has acceptably served as commissioner and assessor of his town. He is one of the most progressive farmers of the community, and is a straightforward and reliable citizen, one whose word is considered as good as his bond.

W ILLIAM VAN DE WATER is num- bered among the native sons of the town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess county, and for more than a century the family of which he is a representative has been connected with the history of that county. It furnished its repre- sentatives to the Revolutionary war, to the war of 1812, and to the Civil war, and its mem- bers have ever been loyal and patriotic citizens, giving a hearty support to all interests or measures calculated to benefit the communities in which they have resided.

As the name indicates, the family is of Hol- land origin, and was founded in America by Harman Van De Water, who with several brothers came from Holland to America. One of the number located in Canada, another in Fishkill, and Harman on Manhattan Island. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. After the British had captured New York, he removed to Pleasant Valley, Dutch- ess county, now the town of Poughkeepsie. locating on a farm. His death occurred at Pleasant Valley in July, 1816. He married Maria Barnes, a sister of David and Joshua Barnes, and they became the parents of six sons and one daughter, namely: Benjamin, who was born November 25, 1782, and died in Buffalo, N. Y .; William, who was born De- cember 2, 1784, and died in Hyde Park, No-

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vember 30, 1834; Richard, born May 8, 1790; Samuel, born in 1793; George, born January 27, 1795; Joshua, born January 21, 1799, his death occurring in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1877; and a daughter who died in early life.

William Van De Water, grandfather of our subject, was drafted for service in the war of 1812, was with the command of Capt. Valen- tine, and by him was honorably discharged. After his death the grandmother received a pension. Farming was his life work, and both he and his wife were members of the Presby- terian Church. In their family were ten chil- dren: Sarah, who became the wife of William Holmes, a farmer of the town of Lagrange; Maria, deceased; George, father of our sub- ject; Alexander, formerly a farmer, now living in Hyde Park; William A., who was a farmer and milk dealer, but is now deceased; Henry, an agriculturist in the town of Hyde Park; Hiram, a deceased farmer; John, a farmer in the town of Hyde Park; Alfred, an agricultur- ist of Kansas; and one who died in infancy.

George Van De Water was born April 29, 1821, in the town of Hyde Park, where, on his father's farm, he spent his boyhood days. He married Elizabeth Phillips, a native of Poughkeepsie, and a daughter of M. D. L. F. Phillips, who was named for Gen. La Fayette, a friend of the family. The an- cestry of the Phillips family is English. Upon their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Van De Water located upon a farm in Pleasant Valley, where he has now made his home for fifty-one years, devoting his energies exclusively to agricultural pursuits. He gives his political support to the Republican party, and has served as assessor. Both he and his wife are consistent Presbyte- rians. Of their family of seven children, Lavina died in infancy, William is the next younger; Marquis P. is a farmer of Pleasant Valley; Wilson A. was married, and both he and his wife were killed by a train in 1890; Jennie M. died at the age of nineteen years; Carrie is the wife of Israel D. Marshall, a farmer of Hyde Park; and Elizabeth is the wife of Charles Ambler, a merchant of Stissing, Dutchess county.

William Van De Water, whose name in- troduces this review, was born on his father's farm, in the town of Pleasant Valley, June 4, 1846, and to farm work devoted his energies in the summer months, while in the winter he attended the district school of the neighbor- hood, completing his education in the Colum-

bia County Academy, at Claverack. Subse- quently he went to New York City, and en- tered upon his business career as a salesman for the firm of Lord & Taylor. He was mar- ried September 4, 1867, to Caroline E. Ganse, who was born at Wappingers Falls, a daugh- ter of Henry Ganse, a farmer who was of Hol- land lineage. After his marriage, Mr. Van- De Water located upon a farm in the town of Pleasant Valley, where he lived until 1881, and then embarked in the milling business at Salt Point, which he continued for five years. On the expiration of that period he purchased his present farm of 122 acres, and is now en- gaged in the cultivation of his land. He has placed many improvements upon his farm, and his progressive methods and well-directed ef- forts class him among the leading agriculturists of the county.

Mr. Van De Water gives his political sup- port to the Republican party, and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. They are parents of five children: Rosilla M., wife of Harry A. Russell, a farmer of the town of Pleasant Valley; Cora A., wife of William H. Allen, a farmer, and the presi- dent of the Salt Point Creamery Co .; George H., who was killed by the kick of a horse, in North Dakota, in 1891; and Casper G. and Ethel M., at home.

M RS. MARY J. WOODIN. The Woodin family, which has been identified with the town of Pawling, Dutchess county, from early times, traces its origin to three brothers, Amos, John and Daniel Woodin, who came from England during the Revolutionary war as soldiers in the service of the British gov- ernment. When the struggle for freedom was ended they settled here-Amos locating in the town of Pawling, Dutchess county; John on Huckleberry Mountain; and Daniel in Ansonia, Connecticut.

Amos Woodin married Lucretia Miller, and had six children: Solomon; Joel; Daniel2 (who married Mary Pierce); Henry (who re- mained single ;; Hyal (who married Betsy Turner), and Esther (who married John Brownell . Solomon Woodin was born in the town of Pawling, in 1780, and his education was obtained there in the schools of that time. He married Miss Annie Prosser, daughter of Dr. Prosser's sister. Thirteen children were born to them, of whom all married but one,

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their names, together with those of their re- spective partners in matrimony, being as fol- lows: Ransom-Charlotte Brairtain; Esther- Jarvis T. Sweet; Sallie-Duncan Mead: Ira- Caroline Woodin; Chauncey, who never mar- ried; Milton-Malonie Lawrence: Federal- Maria Brazee: Benjamin-Esther Brownell; Amos-Naomi Griffin; Egbert-Mary Miller; Henry L .- Laura Armstrong: Ruth-John Willard; and Lucretia-Peter Brazee.

Henry L. Woodin was born in the town of Pawling, in 1816, and on finishing his course in the schools there he became a collier, which occupation he followed some forty years; he is now engaged in farming. He and his wife have had four children: Ransom married Ma- rinda Beers: Amelia is the wife of George Squires; Solomon married Alice Wilcox; and Coleman married first) Elizabeth Sprague, and second) Ida Ett.

DANIEL T. WOODIN, the son of Daniel Woodin", was born in the town of Pawling. in 1812, and was reared at the old farm, at- tending school in the neighborhood. He learned the cooper's trade. and followed it for some years, and later engaging in farming. Having an active mind with a legal bent, he also prac- ticed law for some time. His wife, Mrs. Mary J. Clump) Woodin, is a lady of unusual men- tal force and ability, and the descendant of one of the old families of the town of Poughkeepsie. They have had four children: ( I) Isabelle was born and educated in the town of Pawling. and is now the wife of Prof. Edward T. Pierce. principal of the State Normal School at Los Angeles, Cal .; they have had three children- Ethel Elbora; Harold, who died in infancy; and Hilda Bell, who died when two years old. (2) Daniel W. Woodin, Jr., was born in the town of Pawling, and, since he completed his studies in the schools there, has been engaged in farming. (3) Arvine was born at the old homestead, in 1855, and like the others ob- tained her education in the local schools. 4, Gertrude B. died at an early age.

Mrs. Woodin's maternal grandfather, Sam- uel Lucky, was born and reared in Poughkeep- sie, and in manhood became a successful farmer. By his first wife, Miss Rebecca Wil- sey, he had six children: Samuel, Thomas, James, Robert, John, and Jane, Mrs. Woodin's mother, who was a native of the town of Poughkeepsie, and was reared at the old home there. She married Cornelius Clump, and had eight children, of whom Mrs. Woodin is

the youngest. Rebecca married James Mar- tin; Gertrude married (nrst Charles Hoffman, and second James Benson; John L. married Celia A. Tompkins; Sam married Eliza Phil- lips; Peter died in infancy: Almira is the wife of Walter Shader; and Joanna married George De La Vergne.

F RANK B. LOWN was born at the village of Red Hook, Dutchess Co., N. Y., on the first day of January, 1849. He is the son of David and Jane M. Lown, and with his par- ents removed to the city of Poughkeepsie in 1857, where he has since resided.

Mr. Lown was educated in the public schools of the city of Poughkeepsie, and in 1871 entered the law office of Nelson & Baker as a law student. After being admitted to the bar. he became a clerk in the office of Thomp- son & Weeks, then the oldest firm of practi- tioners in the county. In 1878, the firm of Thompson, Weeks & Lown was formed, and upon the death of James H. Weeks in 1887, and of John Thompson in 1891, Mr. Lown be- came the sole survivor. He is still engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Poughkeepsie.

L EWIS B. BARTON, proprietor of the " Amenia House," at Amenia, Dutchess county, comes of a well-known and honora- ble family that has long been connected with the professional and business interests of the county. Dr. Lewis Barton, his great-grand- father, was one of the early residents and suc- cessful practitioners of the town of Stanford, where he served as assessor in 1793, that being the first town meeting held in the town of Stan- ford in the house of Ephraim Paine. The farm owned by him in that township is still in the possession of the family. He died in 1813, at the age of eighty-nine years.

Dr. Leonard Barton, the grandfather, was born there in 1769, and he also devoted his life to the practice of medicine in the town of Stanford, where he owned a large farm, and was a prominent and influential citizen, hold- ing several important offices. As early as 1797 he served as town clerk, and was supervisor of his township in 1818, 1819, 1820, 1829 and 1830. His political support was given the De- mocracy, and socially he affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. He was twice married,

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his first wife being Miss Thompson, and to them was born a son, John. After her death he wedded Rachel Gale, and they had ten children: George; James; Eliachim; Edward P., of New Milford, Conn .; Josiah L .; Julia, who married Morgan Hunting; Rachel, who married Stephen Sackett; Nancy, who mar- ried John Davis; Nelson, who died in 1852; and Sarah, who married Anthony Hoffman. All are now deceased with the exception of Edward P .; Dr. Leonard Barton deceased in IS41, at the age of seventy-two years.

Josiah L. Barton, the father of our sub- ject, was born August 1, 1816, in the town of Stanford, and acquired an excellent education at the Nine Partners Boarding School, in Wash- ington township, Dutchess county, after which he began the study of medicine, but later gave it up. In 1844 he married Miss Annor Eliza Briggs, who was born in the town of Clinton, Dutchess county, March 29, 1822, a daughter of Enoch Briggs. They became the parents of three children, of whom our sub- ject is the eldest; (2) Arzelia is the wife of Bryant Strever, of Ancram, N. Y., by whom she has one son, Henry; (3) Julius L., of Mil- lerton, Dutchess county, married Annie Pul- ver, and they had two children, Ethel (de- ceased) and Harry. After his marriage the father removed to Ancram Lead Mines, Co- lumbia Co., N. Y., where he engaged in farm- ing from 1844 until 1849, and then removed to the village of Ancram Lead Mines. There he conducted a hotel until the spring of 1854, when he came to Pulvers Corners in the town of Pine Plains, Dutchess county, and carried on the same business for a year. In the spring of 1855 he removed to Dover Plains, where he ran the "Stone Church Hotel " for the same length of time. Going to Ancram he lived there until 1863, when he returned to Ancram Lead Mines, where his death occurred in 1866, and as he was a member of Warren Lodge, F. & A. M., he was buried with Ma- sonic honors. He was also connected with the I. O. O. F. at Pine Plains. He died Feb- ruary 20, 1866, at the age of forty-nine years, six months and twenty days, and at the time he was serving as collector at Ancram.

Lewis Briggs Barton, whose name intro- duces this sketch, was born in the town of Ancram, Columbia Co., N. Y., August 5, 1846, and during his early years accompanied his parents on their various removals, attending school at Ancram Lead Mines, Pulvers Cor- 38

ners and Dover Plains. On leaving the par- ental roof he went to Lithgow, in the town of Washington, where he carried on farining un- til 1871. On November 15 of that year he was there married to Miss Mary Anna Tomp- kins, daughter of Enoch Tompkins. He then engaged at Lithgow in the butchering business with Cyrus Hammond for two years, after which he followed the same line of trade at Wassaic, N. Y. From 1873 until 1876 he conducted the "Wassaic House." In the spring of ISSo he removed to Amenia, where he has since had charge of the "Amenia House," which was opened for guests in 1852. It is conveniently arranged and well furnished, and in all its appointments, under its present excellent management, a first-class hotel, and is well patronized. Mr. Barton holds mem- bership with the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association, also the New York State Hotel Association, and since 1868 has been connect- ed with the Masonic order, joining Sheko- meko Lodge No. 458, F. & A. M., at Mab- bettsville, now located at Washington Hollow, Dutchess county. He makes a genial, popu- lar host, and as a private citizen stands de- servedly high in the estimation of his fellow- men.

C ORNELIUS WINNE GRIFFEN, the well-known member of the firm of Griffen Brothers, proprietors of the Union Mills at Leedsville, Dutchess county, was born in New York City, March 11, 1856. He belongs to an old and prominent family of Dutchess county, his grandfather, Bartholomew Griffen, who was a blacksmith by trade, having been a resident of Unionvale. He married Sarah Filkins, by whom he had eight children, namely: Bartholomew (deceased); George; Cornelius (deceased); Alonzo; Mary: Caroline (deceased); Jane Ann; and Timothy S., the father of our subject.

The birth of the last named occurred in the town of Unionvale, Dutchess county, July 19, ISII, and until thirteen years of age he there spent his boyhood. He then entered the old Red Mill, near Pawling, where he learned the milling business, which he subsequently fol- lowed at Verbank, Dutchess county. At that place he wedded Mary LeRoy, daughter of John LeRoy, and to them were born three children: Charles E., of Wassaic. Dutchess county; Catherine M., of New York City; and

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Frances, of Colorado. About 1837 Timothy S. Griffen removed to South Amenia, where he conducted a mill for about three years. after which he returned to Verbank for a short time, and in 1842 moved to Leedsville, here running a mill on shares for nine years. In 1851 he went to New York City, where he was engaged in the grocery and meat-market busi- ness until March, 1857, when he removed to Salisbury, Conn., there operating the Long Pond mills until 1861, in the spring of which year he returned to South Amenia. He then conducted the Weebotuck mills until the spring of 1877, when he again brought his family to Leedsville, where his death occurred June 10, 1885. He was strictly a self-made man, honest and industrious, and in politics a supporter of the Republican party, while so- cially he belonged to the I. O. O. F. at Sharon, Conn., and religiously was a member of the Episcopal Church at Amenia Union.

For his second wife, Timothy S. Griffen married Miss Helen Beach, by whom he had two children: John and Helen. At Schodack, State of New York, he was subsequently united in marriage with Lydia Ann Winne, and they became the parents of eight children: William A. (deceased); George A., of Leedsville; Frank P., of Chicago, Ill .; Cornelius Winne, of this sketch; Mary A., wife of Charles E. Still, of Wassaic, Dutchess county; Alonzo D. (de- ceased); Peter A., of Leedsville; and Ida S.

In 1877 our subject began the milling busi- ness at Leedsville, and two years later took his brother. George A., as a partner. In March, 1886, they purchased the mill property which they still own, and in the fall of 1887 admitted their younger brother, Peter A., as a member of the firm, which then assumed the firm style of Griffen Brothers. They are man- ufacturers of and dealers in flour, feed, grain, etc., and also buy and sell hams, shoulders, pork, lard and butter. In connection with their other business they in 1893 established a grocery store, which they have since success- fully conducted. They are wide-awake, ener- getic business men, and success has come to them as a just reward for their labor.

At Amenia, December 23, 1886, Cornelius W. Griffen was married to Miss Georgiana Palmer, daughter of Hiram Palmer, and four children have blessed their union: Clarence P., Harry Stephen, Elsie Alide and Joel C. The cause of education has ever found in Mr. Griffen an earnest advocate and supporter; for

four successive terms he has been the efficient trustee of his school district, and is now (1897) serving his fifth terin. His life is a living il- lustration of what ability, energy and force of character can accomplish, and while promot- ing his own interests he has materially ad- vanced the welfare of the community.

D ANIEL VAN DE BOGART, a prominent resident of Red Hook, Dutchess county, and one of the leading contractors and builders of that region, is a descendant of one of our most distinguished pioneer families.

The great-great-grandfather of our subject was Myndert Van De Bogart, who in 1702, with his brother, Jacobus, emigrated from Amsterdam, Holland, and settled on the site of Poughkeepsie. They acquired a large tract of land and built one of the first eleven houses in that city. Jacobus Van De Bogart was one of the first sheriffs of Dutchess county, in 1726. The two brothers, Jacobus and Myndert, gave the land and contributed liberally to the first church in the village, which was to be a Re- formed Dutch meeting-house. In 1715 Jaco- bus Van De Bogart leased land to the county for a court house and jail, and in 1734 it was made a county seat. Myndert was in 1744 married to Gretchert Kipp, daughter of Jacob and Engellge Pells. Myndert Van De Bogart, Jr., was married in 1765 to Miss Hanna Velie. Peter, son of Myndert Van De Bogart, was married in 1807 to Mary Maria Wilcox.

James Van De Bogart, our subject's father, was a lifelong resident of Poughkeepsie, re- ceiving his education there, and afterward fol- lowing the trade of mason. He married Miss Mary Ann Windover, of the same city, and had seven children: James K., who died in in- fancy, Ellen, Lydia Ann, Daniel, Eugene. James and Harriet.

Daniel Van De Bogart was born De- cember 25, 1849, and, after availing himself of the excellent educational advantages offered in the schools of Poughkeepsie, he learned the mason's trade with William Sague, a promi- nent mason of that city. For a few years he worked as a journeyman and then went into business for himself at Verbank, and met with such success that he looked about for a wider field for operations. In 18;3 he moved to Red Hook, and since that time he has erected many of the finest structures in that and other towns. Among the most notable are the two

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elegant residences at Summit, N. J., built for Miss Donaldson and Mrs. Bronson; St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Red Hook; the Methodist Church at Red Hook, erected in 1893; the beautiful mansion of Johnston Livingston on the banks of the Hudson at Tivoli; several charitable institutions built by Gen. John Watts De Peyster; the De Peyster Memorial Church at Tivoli, erected in 1892; the St. Paul's Training School; the Hospital for Con- sumptives at Verbank, in 1894-95; and the annex to the Leak & Watts Orphan House at Yonkers, N. Y., 1896. These and other sub- stantial and artistic buildings will stand for ages to come as a monument to his skill and ability.

On September 3, 1873, Mr. Van De Bo- gart was married to Miss Estella Pulver, a daughter of Louis Pulver, a prosperous farmer of Red Hook. Of this union eight chil- dren were born: Allard A. March 1, 1875: Mary, April 28, 1877; Edna, October 30, 1879; Daniel, March 19, 1882; Ernest, July 17, 1884; Lucinda, May 9, 1887: Ralph. November 7, 1889; and Maynard J., April 17, 1892. In all local movements our subject takes an influential part on the side of progress, and he has found time to fill credit- ably several official positions, having been col- lector of the town of Red Hook, and one of the trustees of the village, when it was incor- porated in 1894. In 1893 he received the nomination for supervisor of the town of Red Hook. He has been a member of the I. O. O. F., for many years but is not at present active in the order.

G EORGE C. SMITH, superintendent of one of the most important departments in the extensive works of the New York Rub- ber Company, and a prominent resident of Fishkill-on-Hudson, was born January 8, 1840, at Shrub Oak, Westchester Co., N. Y., of English descent.

Leonard Smith, his father, son of Jacob Smith, and a well-to-do farmer of Westchester county, was born in 1806, and married Mary A. Carpenter, who was born April 13, 1814, a daughter of Walter and Nancy (Somerbell) Carpenter. Ten children were born of this union, of whom eight lived to adult age: George C., Ferdinand, Leonard, Lewis, Theo- dore, William, Lauretta, and Mary I. (who married Charles E. Martin, a grocer of Fish-

kill-on-Hudson). The father of these died January 21, 1868; the mother on March 16, 1 869.

George C. Smith attended the district schools at Shrub Oak in early boyhood, and then pursued a wider course of study in the public schools of Peekskill, and the well-known academy of the same town. When he at- tained the age of seventeen he left home to make his own way in the world, and, going to Brooklyn, he secured employment in a gro- cery and feed store, owned by George & Alfred Wallace. With them he remained two years, and then came to Fishkill Landing, where he was employed by William Teller & Co. until 1861. in which year he entered the service of the New York Rubber Company. He began as a day hand, but so efficient and capable did he prove that he was promoted, from time to time, until he was appointed to the responsi- ble position of superintendent of the hollow- goods department, which employs 130 men, boys and girls, the entire plant containing in all about 250 eniployes. This honorable rec- ord of continuous service speaks more elo- quently of his essential trustworthiness than could any words, and Mr. Smith, who is a stockholder of the company, is, as may well be imagined, a valued worker in other business enterprises, being a stockholder and director in the Holland Hotel Company, and for twenty years past a trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank, of Fishkill-on-Hudson. He takes a prominent part in local politics, also being an ardent supporter of the Republican party. In 1875 he was elected trustee of the village, and has since held that office almost continuously. In 1895 he was elected president of the vil- lage: in March, 1896, was again chosen to that office, and also in 1897. For a number of years he was a member of the 21st Regi- ment New York State Militia, which was called out during the Civil war, and served thirty days at Baltimore. Socially he is affiliated with Beacon Lodge No. 283, F. & A. M.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 109

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1354

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1354