Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 113

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

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John B. Duncan was born and reared in Duchess county, and in his early life learned the machinist's trade, which he followed for some years. After his marriage he located in Pleasant Valley, where for many years he en- gaged in general merchandising, for a short time as a part of the firm of Duncan & Has- tings, and then as sole proprietor of his well- conducted store. His last years were spent in retirement from business cares. He gave his political support to the Republican party; for several years served as postmaster of Pleasant Valley, and was also town clerk for a number of terms, and he also acceptably served as president of the board of village trustees. Mrs. Duncan, who bore the maiden name of Jane E. Cronkrite, was a daughter of John Cronkrite, a farmer of Lagrange town, de- scended from Holland ancestry. The family

of Mr. and Mrs. Duncan included five children, namely: Addison G., a resident of Streator, Ill .; Charles H. and Marsden F., prominent merchants of Pleasant Valley; Grace; and Jennie, wife of I. D. Le Roy, M. D., of Pleas- ant Valley; two children died in infancy. The father died May 30, ISSo; the mother is still living.

Charles H. Duncan spent his boyhood days under the parental roof, and began his educa- tion in the district schools, which, later, he continued in Pelham Institute, Poughkeepsie. Returning to Pleasant Valley in 1875, he soon after entered upon his business career by securing a clerkship with Heath & Co., of Poughkeepsie, in whose service he remained some four years. He then entered the employ of Solomon Strauss, a dry-goods merchant, with whom he remained five years, and then began business on his own account, in Pleas- ant Valley, in partnership with his brother, Marsden F. Under the firm style of Duncan Brothers they carry on business, and have a large trade, which their honorable dealing and courteous treatment of their customers justly entitles them.

Charles H. Duncan was married June 12, 1889, to L. Ida Pray, who was born in La- grange town, Dutchess county, a daughter of George Pray, who followed farming in that lo- cality. The family has long been identified with the history of this community. An inter- esting family of five children-Ethel Pray, Martha Lavinia, Hazel May, Virginia Ida, and John Howard-grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Duncan. The parents are esteemed members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is trustee and treasurer. His political support connects him with the Republican party, and socially he affiliates with the Masonic fraternity.

A LFRED HAVILAND MOORE. In

1812 a mill was erected in the town of Lagrange, Dutchess county, around which the thriving village of Moores Mill has since grown up, its development and prosperity be- ing largely due to the energy and business sa- gacity of the subject of this sketch, and other members of his family.

His grandfather, Stephen Moore, a native of Plattsburg, N. Y., owned and operated the mill in his day. He married Ruth Clark, and reared a family, among whom was Alfred

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Moore, our subject's father, who was born at Verbank, Dutchess county. He was educated in the district schools of that town and of Moores Mill. On attaining manhood he en- gaged in farming in the western part of the town of Lagrange, but after ten years he re- moved to Moores Mill, where he conducted a farm and ran the old mill. He was a high- minded, progressive man, a Quaker in faith, and a devoted friend to Liberty, his house having been a station on the "Underground railroad," by which so many slaves made their way to freedom. Although he never sought political honors, he was an earnest supporter of the Republican party. Deeply conscious of the necessity for broad and thorough educa- tion for the masses, if our form of government is to endure, he never failed to champion the cause of education, as a worker in the Society of Friends, attending meetings regularly from boyhood, and often preaching to the congre- gation. He probably officiated at more funer- als than any other minister of his day in Dutchess county. His wife, Charlotte Havi- land. was a daughter of Isaac Haviland, a well-known resident of Quaker Hill, and both lived to a ripe old age, Mr. Moore departing this life in his seventy-eighth year, and his wife at the age of eighty-nine. They had seven children: (1) Lydia, the wife of Daniel Willets, of Jericho, L. I .; (2) Ruth ( Mrs. P. A. Skidmore ); (3) Susan, who resides at Moores Mill; (4) Albert H., our subject; and three, Charlotte, Andrew and Annie, who are now deceased.

Alfred H. Moore, our subject, was born at the village of Moores Mill November 27, 1843, and his early education was acquired in the district schools there and in a boarding school in Unionvale, N. Y. He has thoroughly iden- tified himself with the interests of his native place, and in addition to the work of conduct- ing the mill and farm, he started the first store in the village, opened the first telegraph office, and the first post office, serving as postmaster for several years. After some time, he disposed of the store, and now gives his attention to the ancestral occupation, and since 1876 has been the sole manager of the mill. He has been extensively engaged in breeding fine Holstein cattle on his farm.

In politics he is a Republican, and he is ac- tive in the Friends Meetings. He is a man of excellent ability and upright character, and is held in high esteem. His courtesy is unfail-

ing, and in conversation he gives pleasure not less by the wisdom of his remarks than by their form, the soft "thee," "thou," and "thy " lending their grace to his well-turned sentences. He was married at Jericho, L. I., to Phoebe Willets, daughter of Jacob Willets, and they have three children: Herman Wheeler, Jacob Willets, and Daniel W.

Miss Susan Moore, our subject's sister, is the proprietor of the "Floral Home" at Moores Mill, a delightful summer boarding place. She is a model hostess, untiring in her efforts for the comfort of her guests, of whom there are usually about seventy-five throughout the season. The house takes its name from the abundance of beautiful roses and other flowers which bloom there, making the place a charming retreat.

E LMORE FERRIS, a well-known dealer in lumber, feed and coal at Pawling, Dutchess county, is one of the most enterpris- ing and successful business men of that locali- ty. He was born October 19, 1837, in Mid- dlefield, Otsego Co., N. Y., and was educated in the district schools there, his attendance after the age of twelve years being limited to the winter terms. At fifteen he left school and began working by the month for farmers, and at eighteen he came to Pawling town, Dutchess county, where his ancestors have had their homes for several generations. In 1859 he began to learn the carpenter's trade with Mr. McIntyre, and followed this for nine years; but in 1867 he purchased a one-half in- terest in J. C. Merritt's lumber, feed and coal business. Two years later he bought Mr. Merritt's share, and has since continued the business alone, building up a large and profit- able trade. Energetic and self-reliant in bus- iness, he is also interested in local affairs, and is regarded as one of the leaders in the com- munity. He has always been a stanch Re- publican, and although he has never been an office seeker, he is at present trustee of the village. He married Miss Mary Jane Holmes, daughter of James Holmes, and has four chil- dren: Carrie M., Harriet E., James H., and Claude, all at home.

The Ferris family is one of the oldest and most prominent in this section. The genea- logical record dates back to John Ferris, a na- tive of Leicestershire, England, who emigrated with his family to Fairfield. Conn., and after-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ward, about 1654, removed to New York State, dying in 1715. He is said to have been one of five brothers who came to this country with their families, one of whom, Jeffrey, set- tled first in Massachusetts in 1635, and then in Fairfield, Conn., in 1660. Another brother, Benjamin, settled in Salem, Mass., in 1640.

Samuel Ferris, a son of John, was born in Reading, England, and was among the first settlers of Groton, Mass., whence he removed to Charlestown, Mass. His only son, Zach- ariah Ferris, married Sarah Reed, of Stratford, Conn., and had eight children, of whom there is the following record: (1) Deborah, born June 17, 1700; (2) Joseph, born September 27, 1703, married a Hannah Noble; (3) David, born March 10, 1707, in Stratford, died in Wilmington, Del., December 5, 1779; (4) Ben- jamin, born in 1708; (5) Sarah Ann, born No- vember 10, 1710, married a Mr. Noble; (6) Hannah, born August 6, 1712, married (first ) Gains Talbot, and (second) Dobson Wheeler ; (7) John, born February 7, 1714, married Abigail Tyron, of New Fairfield, Conn .; (S) Zachariah, Jr., born September 30, 1714, was a Quaker preacher of Wilmington, Del. ; and Daniel comes next in order of birth. Zach- ariah Ferris, Sr., was in Charlestown in 1675, and afterward settled at Stratford, Conn., and then about the year 1710 removed to New Mil- ford, Conn. From him are descended per- sons of that name in different parts of the United States. Five of the children-David. Benjamin, Hannah, John and Zachariah, Jr. -together with the mother, joined the Society of Friends. David was educated for a Presby- terian minister, but afterward became a cele- brated preacher among the Friends. He went to Philadelphia in 1733, and was there mar- ried to Miss Mary Massey, and often attended the Oblong meetings, visiting his brother Benja - min. He traveled about with William Rus- sell and Paul Osborne, preaching, being a minister among the Friends for twenty-four years. The Oblong meeting house was on land owned half by a Russell and half by a Ferris.

Benjamin Ferris was a Quaker preacher, and was among the very first settlers of the Oblong (now Quaker Hill), Dutchess county, between the years 1734 and 1736. The name "Oblong" is derived from the shape of that portion of equivalent land that was set off from Connecticut about 1730. He was very prominent in the meetings there through-

out life. In his old age, his son Zebulan's store (now occupied by William Clark) was robbed by the cowboys during the Revolution, and he was so far non-resident in his ideas, that he desired those present to "seize the rascals." Benjamin Ferris married Elizabeth Beecher, and had the following children: (1) Zebulon, born in New Milford, Conn., March 19, 1729, married Ruth -; (2) Reed, our subject's great-grandfather, born August 15, 1730, in New Milford, married Anne Tripp; (3) Susannah, born in New Milford, in 1732, mar- ried Elijah Doty; (4) Phæbe, born in 1734, in New Milford; (5) Lillius, born in 1736, in Ob- long, married Jonathan Akin; (6) Benjamin, born September 25, 1738, in Oblong, married Mary Howland; (7) Gilbert, born in 1740, in Oblong; and (S) Edmund, born in 1748, in Oblong.

Reed Ferris, tradition and history informs us, freely offered his fine mansion (known as the "old Kirby House "> to Gen. Washing- ton for his use as headquarters, at Pawling, N. Y. In James H. Smith's history of Dutch- ess county we find the following: " The old . Kirby House' was built by Reed Ferris in 1771, and at the time Washington was in Pawling was a new house. Mr. Ferris was a substantial farmer, and his house, like his means, was large. Mrs. Akin, mother of the late Judge Albro Akin, and another lady used to tell of its occupancy. One day two aides- de-camp rode up and informed Mr. Ferris that Gen. Washington would like to make his home there for a while. Mr. Ferris consented, and to notify all intruders that this was the house of the commander-in-chief, they fastened a paper to the front door, reading: · Headquar- ters of Gen. Washington.' The Ferris house has been torn down, and all that remains is the front door step with . R. F.'and ' 177 1' cut in it." The farm is now owned by Archibald Dodge. Reed Ferris and Anne Tripp had the following children: Edmund, born March 30, 1752; Benjamin, July 29, 1754; Lydia, July 5. 1756, married a Mr. Wanzer; Molly, April 20, 1759, married John Akin; James, July 2, 1761; Warren, February 19. 1764; Pitt, July 4, 1766; Morris, October 16, 1768; Anne, January 5, 1771, married a Mr. Havi- land; and Seneca, February 15, 1773.

Edmund Ferris, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was married four times, and had nineteen children. On October 30, 1771, he married his first wife, Mary Akin, who was born No-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

vember 1. ITBy, and bad poe son-Jobs Akin Ferris. bon October of. 17-2. at Pawling. N. Y. The second wife. Hannah Taber, became the mother of two children: Thomas Taber. October 5. 1776. and Hamnab. bora Novem- ber 22. 1;77. The third wife of Edmund Ferris was Martha Birch. born in 1:60. whom be married in 1; 81 : she died January 22. 1,94. Their children were: Willett F .. who was born May 19. Ifsc. and died April 12. 1653: Betsey, born November 14. 173 ;: Amy. born January 17. 178 ;: Ira. born October 23. 1768: Sophia. bora May :;. 1;9: and Oliver. borz December 5. 1793. For his inorth wife. be married Sally Birdsall, who was born in 1 ;;;. and to them were born ten children. whose names and dates ci birth are as follows: Azs. February 25. 1726: Philelus. November :. Ig ;: Minerva. March :6. 1;99: Horace, Feb- scary 9. ISCI: Ransom. February 22. 18DE: Matilda. December 30. 1804: Garrett. May 28. 1606: Sally. April 26. 1809: Alfred. Sep- rember ag. 1810: and Massilla September 25. :5:2. The third and forth wives :! Edmezi Ferris are the ancestors of nearly all of the name inPawing. The grandfather of car subject was a farmer. and succeeded to a part of the estate of his father. He lived ca Quake: Hill der- ing a portion of his life. and later on the Daniel Dodge farm. He was quite a large land holder at one time, and was prominent in his locality. He served in the war of iste. and was known as Maic: Ferris.

Horace Ferris, our subiect's father. was a farmer who went to Otsego county. N. Y .. abox: 1830. purchased a farm and spent the remainder of his life there. He bad caly a small estate. bo: was a man of posh and em- ergy. He was a Whig. although he never took an active part in politics, and he attended the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in 1573. and his wife. Emeline Bentley, a daughter of Thomas Bentley. of the town of Beekman. passed away in ISgi. She was the third in a family of Eve children. the others being: El- mer: Loman: Harriet who married Philo Fer- ris. and lived in Chenango cocoty. N Y. : and Clarinda who married Mr. Garrett. and lived and died in Pawiing . The Bentleys were also ci English origin To Horace Ferris and his aide were born children as follows: Clarissa. who married Erst Cyrus Groves, and second Adam Dve: Matilda. wife bi Joba Corbin Walter H., who married Caroline Terwilliger- Ellen. wife of Jobs Pratt Mary, who marmed

first) Albert Cole. and second Emery Ja- quins: Phrebe. wife of Farren Prat :: Edmond. who married Amanda San: Elizabeth, who died in girlbood: Elmore, whose name opens this sketch: Alfred, who married Amanda Chase. and was a soldier in the Civil war. Levisa. wife of Isaac Techout: Richard. who died icom wounds received in the army: Leroy (who also served in the Union army married M. j. D :- len: and twins who died young. Most of the family live in Otsego county.

R ICHARD A. SCHOUTEN. proprietor of mea: marke: at Staatsborg. Dutchess conaty. is a man of strong and intelligent con- victions and ci good business tact. He is a native cf Dutchess county. born November 32. 1838. in the town of East Fishkill, then known as Fishkill. and is descended from J. Schouten. a Holland emigrant, who came to Dutchess county and located in the town of Fishkill, where bis son. John S. Schouten. was bomn. The latter was the grandfather of our subiect, who lived upon one farm during bis entire life and was very successful in bis agri- cultural pursuits. He welded Phoebe Perty. who was born in Fishkill. in ipr -. and to them was born a son. Stockholm. the father of cor subiect. In Hyde Park. Dutchess coma- ty. the grandfather died. March 22. 1561. and his wife. in ISSE.

Stockholm Schouten was born December 20. ISos, on the old home farm in the comp of Fishkül. which be conducted raul the spring of 1580. when he removed to a farm in Hyde Park town. about a mile north of East Pas's then called Union Corners . procuring 260 acres of land cow swaed by De Wit That farm be operated for about seven years. when be traded for a smaller place. He spent bis last days. however. with his son. a prominent lawyer of Poughkeepsie. He was an intelligent. well-read man. having received good educational advantages. an= being possessed of much natural talent. He

took gaite a prominent part in local political afairs in both Fishkill and Hyde Park town. always voting with the Democratic party. and served for many years as overseer of the pocz in the former comn. In later he he was an earnest member of the Methodis: Episcopal Chersb. Going in that faith March is. 08-5. at the age of seventy-two years.

Stockholm Schouten mammei Miss Ans

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.

Maria Underhill, who was born December 16, 1810, and died April 7, 1883; she was the daughter of Absalom Underhill. Children as follows were born to this union: Ann Eliza, born August 19, 1830, became the wife of William S. Ladin, and died in August, 1849. the year she was married. John S., born Oc- tober 8, 1832, is a farmer of the town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess county; he served in the Civil war, enlisting as private, and was promoted to sergeant. Richard A. is next in order of birth. William Kipp, born January 27, 1839, became a promising young lawyer of Poughkeepsie, but was called from this life February 18, 1870, at the age of thirty-one years, one month and four days. Charles An- drew, born November 23, 1843, was a soldier during the Civil war, and was promoted to ser- geant; most of his life has been spent in the dry-goods business in New York City, but he is now assistant superintendent in a post-grad- uate hospital, 21st street and 2d avenue, New York. Phoebe Helen, born October 2, 1847, died in 1866, the year of her marriage. Julia, born March 14, 1850, married to William Nel- son, and had two children-Guy Lockwood and Grace Deere; Julia died about the year 1885. Stockholm, born March 27, 1853, was a printer of Poughkeepsie, where he died Oc- tober 6, 1879.

The education of our subject was such as the common schools of Fishkill and Hyde Park towns afforded, and he is well posted on the cur- rent events of the day. For one year after attaining his majority he still remained upon the home farm, and then began the butcher- ing business on a small scale, for a few months running a wagon. The following year he bought a small place east of Hyde Park, where he resided for about four years, but in 1863 succeeded to the business of M. E. Lattin, in Staatsburg, starting a small market on the west side of the track. For nine months he conducted a shop at Red Hook, Dutchess county, and for about a year one at Newburg, N. Y., but in 1872 he purchased his present building of William B. Densmore, and has since successfully carried on a market there, handling the best meats and controlling the trade of the town. He is careful and method- ical in his business dealings, and his success is the just reward of his own diligence, enter- prise and good management.

In 1857 Mr. Schouten was united in mar- riage with Laura J. Velie, daughter of Henry

Velie, and they have become the parents of the following children: Charles Henry, who was born August 3, 1858, and is now in the shop with his father; Alice L., who was born January 5, 1863, and is the wife of C. W. H. Arnold; Francis M., who. died May 3, 1879, at the age of thirteen years; Richard U., born January 15, 1875, and died in 1894, at the age of nineteen years; Laura Velie, who was born February 10, 1870, and is at home; Sterling Bird, born May 17, 1879; and Emma Deere, born May 23, 1882. Politically, Mr. Schouten votes the straight Democratic ticket, and has served his fellow-citizens as school trustee and collector of his town. He is a devoted mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Staatsburg, in which he has officiated as trus- tee, and superintendent of the Sunday-school.

0 RLANDO JAMES COWL, a retired mer- chant tailor of Pawling, Dutchess county, has been for many years a leading resident of that town, and he and his estimable wife, who recently passed from earth, have been helpful factors in the important social, philanthropical and religious movements which have contrib- uted to the development and progress of the community.

Mr. Cowl is a native of New York City, born November 14, 1825. His family is of English origin, and the home of the American branch may be said to be at Cowl's Corners, east of Patterson, in Putnam Co., N. Y., where many of the name now live. Capt. William Cowl, our subject's grandfather, was a promi- nent citizen of that locality, and was greatly respected for his sound judgment and upright and temperate life. Possessing great energy, he engaged successfully in various business en- terprises, being a merchant, a shoemaker, and the owner of a large tannery, and he also took an active share in local politics as a supporter of the Whig party. His title was a well-earned distinction gained in the war of 1812. He died in 1860, and his wife, Elizabeth Gorham, in 18 -. They had seven children: Eliza; Harry: Orrin; James; one who went to the West; Mrs. Flora Anderson; and Anna (also inarried ).

James Cowl, our subject's father, was born in 1799, and about 1826 engaged in the gro- cery business at Pawling, at what was then known as Goosetown, on the spot now occu- pied by the residence of James Ferris. He

Orlando D. Coul

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

afterward moved to New York, and followed the same business at the corner of Church and Franklin streets, but at the age of thirty-five he was compelled to abandon mercantile pur- suits on account of ill health, and from that time he was engaged in the real-estate busi- ness. The family has always been distin- guished for excellent business judgment, and his career would serve to confirm that reputa- tion, his energy and foresight enabling him to accumulate a fortune. He did not care for public honors, and refused to become a candidate for office when urged; but he was interested in political questions of national im- portance, and was at first a Whig, later, as a strong opponent of slavery, becoming a Re- publican. He was a cheerful giver to any worthy cause, and a steadfast adherent of the Presbyterian Church for many years before his death, which occurred April 15, 1892. His first wife, our subject's mother, was Miss Phoebe Martin, a daughter of John Martin, a well-known resident of Quaker Hill. She died a few years after their marriage, and his sec- ond wife, Mary (Ludlum), was a victim of the cholera epidemic of 1848. He then married Mrs. Stanton, by whom he had one son. In no place did the strong character of James Cowl show to a better advantage than in his home life. The best of fathers, he gave his children good advantages, and started them well in life. Of the three children of his first family, Harriet, the wife of Alexander Allen, was the youngest. Martin H., who died at the age of forty-five years, was a carriage- maker by trade, and was noted for his fine natural abilities. George Cowl, the son of the third marriage, is a successful drug broker in New York City.

The subject of our sketch received a good academic education in New York during his boyhood, completing his studies in the school conducted by Profs. King and Feaks, on Broad- way, near Bleecker street. At eighteen years of age he began to learn the tailor's trade in that city, and when he was twenty-two years old he opened a shop of his own while living with his brother-in-law, Mr. Allen. In 1865 he started a merchant-tailoring establishment at Pawling, near the depot, which became the principal house in that line in the town. He was obliged to give this up in 1871 on account of failing health, and in the following year he built his present residence, and has since given his attention to the care of his extensive gar-

dens. As a business man he has been very successful, displaying force of character com- bined with clear and sound judgment. In poli- tics he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and he is a strong upholder of the temperance cause.

In 1866, Mr. Cowl married Miss Phoebe A. Beardsley, daughter of Bennett Beardsley, a prominent citizen of Poughkeepsie. She pos- sessed rare qualities of mind and heart, and her death, which occurred July 19, 1894, was deeply mourned. The memory of her efforts as a devoted and self-sacrificing worker for the good of others will always be cherished in that community. She and her husband were both active members of the Methodist Church, and Mr. Cowl has held the office of steward for many years.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 113

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