Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 117

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

USA > New York > Dutchess County > Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York > Part 117

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Amos Weston, grandfather of our subject, was born in Reading, Mass., April 21, 1767, and was married June 1, 1790, to Polly Flint, who was born November 8, 1767. Amos died at Manchester, N. H., April 4, 1843, his wife on December 4. 1858. They had nine chil- dren, whose names with dates of birth and death are as follows: Amos (2), March 18, 1781, died June 1, 1859; Betsey, October 17, 1793, died August 27, 1878; Mary, December 29, 1795, died August 13, 1838; Nathaniel F., September 5. 1798, died December 29, 1799; Sally, October 26, 1800, died May 12, 1881; Harriet, January 23, 1803, died April 2, 1892; Elbridge, July 23, 1805, died March 7, 1863 ; Achsah, August 26, 1807, died March 17, 1849; and Harrison, December 17, 1811, died June 19, 1883. Amos (2) was the father of Hon. James A. Weston, who was elected Governor of New Hampshire in 1871 and 1874. The esteem in which he was held throughout the

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State is attested by his election on the Dem- ocratic ticket, he being the only member of his party chosen to that office in New Hamp- shire in nearly half a century. He was mayor of Manchester, N. H., serving four terms, and when he died, May IS, 1895, was president of the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company, the Manchester National Bank, and was con- nected with several other institutions in that city. Elbridge J. Weston was the father of Sarah, who married Hon. George S. Merrill, of Boston, for many years past the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Massachusetts. He is prominent in Grand Army circles, hav- ing been commander in chief of the National body.

Harrison Weston, our subject's father, was born in Manchester, N. H., and lived there forty-two years, removing thence to Litchfield, N. H., December 19, 1853. He was a farmer during the greater part of his life, but in early years was lock-tender and collector of tolls on the Merrimac river at Crummell's Fall and Moores Fall. In those days transportation was done mainly by waterways, railroads being unknown. He was a man of modest preten- sion, possessed of sterling integrity, and was respected and honored by all who knew him. During a brief stay in Fishkill in his later years he inade many friends, who hold him in affectionate remembrance. In politics he was a Democrat, always taking a lively interest in public affairs, and his townsmen honored him with nearly every office in their gift. He died in Laconia, N. H., and was buried beside his wife, Betsey J. (Richardson), at the old home in Litchfield, in the cemetery which owed its existence mainly to his enterprise and fore- sight, and which had been improved under his sole supervision. Of the five children of this estimable couple all are living. Their names, with dates of birth, are as follows: Mary J., September 3, 1848; Wilbur Harrison, Febru- ary 11, 1851; Warren J., June 28, 1853; Wel- don F., April 14, 1856; and Ellura H., June 12, 1859.

Wilbur H. Weston (popularly known as ** Maj. Weston " ) resides in Newburg, and has been engaged in the railroad industries in Dutchess and Orange counties throughout his business life. In recent years he has given special attention to the construction of electric street railways in Fishkill and Newburg, and is also connected more or less intimately with many other important business ventures of his

city. He is prominent in fraternal and social circles, and has been active in political matters for several years, having many friends through- out the State. William H. Moore, for twenty years general passenger agent and auditor of the N. D. & C. R. R., is a half-brother. At the early age of eighteen years he enlisted as a private in Company K, Ist Massachusetts Heavy Artillery; was made quartermaster's clerk, and served three years; then re-enlisted for other three years, but was discharged Janu- ary 7, 1865, by reason of wounds received in an engagement near Strawberry Plains, Va., August 15, 1864.

Weldon F. Weston received instruction at the public schools of his native place during boyhood, and later attended Pinkerton Acad- emy, at Derry, N. H., finishing his education at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary and Female College, at Tilton, N. H. After a brief experience as a teacher, he, at the age of twenty, came to Newburg, as shipping clerk for the Erie railroad, at the Homer Ramsdell Transportation Company's line of barges. After two years there, he returned to New Hampshire and engaged in mercantile business for three years; but in 1879 he came back to his former position at Newburg, for another season. The next six years he spent at Mat- teawan as station agent for the N. D. & C. R. R., and in ISSS he and his brother, W. H. Weston, purchased the Matteawan & Fishkill Landing Stage Line, and were engaged in the express and trucking business in connection with the stage line, until 1892, when the electric railroad superseded the stage route; he then purchased his brother's interest in the business. He is still extensively interested in transportation business with adjoining towns, and is a director of the Citizens Street railroad and the Fishkill Street railroad. He has a pleasant home at No. 42 High street, Fishkill- on-Hudson. His wife (formerly Miss Anna Jeanette Elkins), to whom he was married September 26, 1878, is a daughter of Charles M. and Elizabeth A. Davis) Elkins, of Wake- field, Massachusetts.

Politically, Mr. Weston is a Republican. In 1891 he was elected president of the village of Matteawan, and was re-elected in 1892 without opposition, being the first incumbent of the office to be chosen without an opposing candidate since the incorporation of the village. At the present time he is president of the Board of Trade of Matteawan and Fishkill-on-

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Hudson; president of the board of health of Fishkill Landing; and president of the Fairview Cemetery Association. He has taken an in- terest in fraternal society work, also, and has been warden of Beacon Lodge, F. &. A. M .; also chancellor of Hudson River Lodge, K. of P., has twice represented the latter society in the Grand Lodge of the State, and has been deputy for this district.

J OHN V. O'FARRELL, who is engaged in the ice business in Wappingers Falls, Dutchess county, although a resident of Hughsonville, was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, March 2, 1845.

The father of our subject, James O'Far- rell, was a native of the same county, and a baker and shopkeeper by occupation. He married Margaret Lamphier, and they reared four children, namely: P. W., who is a gen- eral merchant in Blackville, S. C .; Margaret, who married John Sullivan, of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., who is now deceased; John V .; and Elizabeth, who died unmarried. The fam- ily came to America in 1850, and Mr. O'Far- rell, who was then an officer in the English army, left his family at Wappingers Falls while he went to Canada, to which country he had been ordered. He died in Montreal in 1851. His wife survived him until 1882. They were members of the Catholic Church, and their children were brought up in that faith.

John V. O'Farrell was only five years old when his parents settled at Wappingers Falls, and in the common schools of that village he obtained his education. When old enough he found employment in the Dutchess Print Works, and worked there until 1864, when he enlisted in Company I, 3d New York Cavalry, and served until the close of the Civil war. He was discharged, June 17, 1865, at Suffolk, Va., and returned to his home, where he learned the carpenter's trade, and for the past thirty years has been one of the most success- ful builders at the Falls. In 1880 he formed a partnership with John M. Goring in the fur- niture and undertaking business, which con- nection lasted for four years. He then sold out to E. W. Flynn, and engaged in the ice business, which he has since carried on, also being interested in buying and selling real es- tate. He has been very successful, and is among the prosperous and substantial citizens of Wappingers Falls.

On January 7, 1877, Mr. O'Farrell was married to Miss Mary A. Downey, who was born in Wappingers Falls, and is a daughter of Peter Downey, Sr., a native of Ireland. Of this marriage six children have been born, all of whom are living: Vincent, Leo, Joseph, Raymond, Marie, and Emmett.

Mr. O'Farrell was a Democrat until 1886, since which time he has been in sympathy with the Republican party. He was for two terms assessor of the town of Poughkeepsie, for three years chief of the Wappingers Falls fire de- partment, and for nine years one of the village trustees. He is a member of the Foresters, and also of the G. A. R. Post, in which he has held all the offices and was commander for three terms. He and his family are devoted members of the Catholic Church. Mr. O'Far- rell is a man of progressive ideas, always ready to assist in matters for the public good, and is one of the most loyal and enterprising of the business men of the village. He has many warm friends, and is popular with all who know him.

ative business man of Wappingers Falls, J OHN M. GORING, a leading and represent-

where he has a furniture and undertaking establishment, is a member of the well-known firm of Goring & Flynn. He was born in that village, December 21, 1851, and is a son of J. M. Goring. There he grew to manhood, being educated in the public schools, and learned the trade of a tinsmith and plumber with A. W. Armstrong, by whom he was employed for eleven years. In 1882 he started his present business, being at that time connected with John O'Farrell, under the firm name of O'Far- rell & Goring, which partnership continued for two years, when the senior member withdrew, and Edward W. Flynn became a member of the firm, which then assumed its present style. They have one of the leading establishments of the kind in the town, and the liberal patronage they receive is well deserved.

On November 20, 1876, Mr. Goring was married to Miss Mary C. Downing, of Clinton Point, Dutchess county, a daughter of Edward and Jane Downing, who were both born in the North of Ireland, and were of Scotch lineage. Our subject and his wife have become the par- ents of four children (two pair of twins): How- ard D. and Harold V., born September 23,

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1884; and J. Morris and Mary C., born Janu- ary 6, 1897.

In politics, Mr. Goring is identified with the Republican party, and is at present serving as treasurer of his school district. He is a highly respected and esteemed citizen of the place, and as a merchant bears the reputation of an honest, upright and trustworthy man. His gentlemanly deportment and genial manners are gaining him hosts of friends, and rapidly in- creasing his business. He takes quite an active part in civic societies, belonging to Wappinger Lodge No. 671, F. & A. M., of which he is past master; Poughkeepsie Chapter, R. A. M .; La Fayette Lodge No. 18, I. O. O. F .; and Evening Star Lodge No. 98, K. P.

J AMES M. DE GARMO, proprietor of De- Garmo Institute, Fishkill Landing, Dutch- ess county, was born in the town of Hyde Park, near Crum Elbow, N. Y., December 22, 1838, a son of Peter and Sarah Gilchrist (Mar- shall) De Garmo. The father was born March 4, 1798, also in the town of Hyde Park, the mother on July 24, 1800, in Westchester county, N. Y. Peter De Garmo, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born Septem- ber 2, 1751, in New Jersey, and the paternal grandmother, Mary D. Robinson, on Novem- ber 12, 1763. James I. Marshall, the mater- nal grandfather, was born January 6, 1773, the maternal grandmother, Elizabeth (Gilchrist), on December 2, 1772.

On his father's side James M. De Garmo is a lineal descendant of French Huguenots, while his mother's family were Rhode Island Yankees. During the Huguenot persecution in France, the De Garmos of Normandy fled to Holland, where some of them married Dutch women, and, later, three brothers -Elias, Jacob (or James) and John-with their fami- lies, came to America and settled at Pompton Plains, N. J., and from them the whole De- Garmo clan in America is descended.

Peter De Garmo and his father before him were tanners and farmers, retaining many of the physical and mental characteristics of their French ancestry, for they were mostly men of small stature, of nervons temperament, but cheerful and happy disposition, active and vig- orous in mind and body. James was one of a family of nine children, and was never a very hardy, tough boy, like most of his age. His

primary education was obtained from the old- fashioned district school of the time. But at eleven years of age he was needed on the farm, left school and worked till he was seventeen; then he went three months to the Dutchess County Academy at Poughkeepsie, under the Scotch Prof. William McGeorge. After these three months he returned to the farm, and worked till he was nineteen, when he began, in April, to teach in the academy where he had studied, and at the same time began his studies for college. In two years and a quar- ter, as he was about to enter college, his health failed, and he took charge of a boarding-school at Oswego Meeting House, near what is now Moores Mill, under Quaker auspices. In the following spring he was in such ill-health that he went home to recruit, spending some of the time in the wild Adirondacks, and in Vermont. In November he again took charge of the Os- wego school, teaching till spring, when he went to Poughkeepsie, and, under private instruct- ors, studied French, German, Latin and Greek, continuing till the next February, when he entered a co-partnership with Prof. McGeorge and Mr. Stewart Pelham, to conduct the Old Academy. At that time he was married to Emily L. Drake, of Pleasant Valley, and soon began his life-work at teaching. The co-part- nership, not proving congenial, was dissolved, and in April, 1864, he went to Rhinebeck, N. Y., and took charge of the Rhinebeck Acad- emy, which he soon after purchased, changed to De Garmo Institute, entirely rebuilt and im- proved, and continued to manage it until 1890, when he moved to Fishkill Landing, where he hired Mt. Beacon Academy, and has taught till the present time. His school has been one of the best known in the county or State.

Soon after going to Rhinebeck, Princeton College conferred upon Dr. De Garmo the hon- orary degree of Master of Arts, and later, in 1878, Hamilton College, at Clinton, N. Y., gave him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Both degrees were conferred in recognition of his success in preparing boys for college, and for his scientific studies. In October, 1867, he was initiated, passed and raised a Free and Accepted Mason, and is now past master of Rhinebeck Lodge No. 432; past master of Beacon Lodge No. 283; grand representative of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of the United States of Mexico, near the Grand Lodge of the State of New York; and a thirty-second-degree Mason of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite

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in the Valley of New York, for the Northern Jurisdiction of America.

Dr. De Garmo has never held any political office, but since his eighteenth year has spoken on the Republican side in every Presidential campaign but one. In the famous Greeley campaign he was silent. He has lectured fre- quently and acceptably on scientific topics, was an active member of the Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Science, and later of Vassar Brothers' Institute. He is an after-dinner speaker of some reputation, and writes occa- sional poems, which have been well received. But whatever he may have of enduring reputa- tion will come from his long and faithful work as a teacher. Although a linguist by profes- sion, he has devoted much time to scientific studies, is a fair microscopist and astronomer, and familiar with lepidoptera and with orni- thology and geology, in all which departments he has collected fine cabinets and museums. He has delivered many lectures, especially on science, is a skilled manipulator of apparatus either before a class or a public audience, and is a man, on the whole, of rather versatile talents.

D AVID AND HENRY RUNDALL are prominent and representative citizens of the town of Amenia, Dutchess county, the former residing in the village of Amenia, and the latter on the old family homestead on the road between Amenia and Wassaic. About the middle of the eighteenth century the fam- ily was founded in Dutchess county, and their great-grandfather was buried in the old aban- doned cemetery between Bangall and McIntyre, in the town of Stanford.

David Rundall, the grandfather, was born January 4, 1757, in the town of Horse Neck, Fairfield Co., Conn., but came to the town of Amenia, Dutchess county at the age of four- teen years, in company with his brother, to whom he was bound out as an apprentice to learn the tailor's trade. They moved their entire worldly effects on horseback, and located in that part of the town which was then called Separate. The apprenticeship was ended at about the time of the inauguration of the Rev- olutionary war, in which the grandfather served through two campaigns, one in the North and the other in the South, in the years 1775 and 1776. After obtaining his discharge he re- turned to Amenia, where he followed his trade,

which was then called "whipping the cat," being employed on both sides of the mountains, wherever he could secure work for a few days.

After his marriage the grandfather lived for six years at Rhinebeck, Dutchess county, at the end of which time he returned to Amenia, taking up his residence in the old house near the H. W. Peters homestead, and a few re- maining apple trees standing on the opposite side of the road mark the stop of the orchard which he set out. There he resided until 1795, when he removed to the place now oc- cupied by Henry Rundall, where his death oc- curred January 21, 1848. During his resi- dence on the old Peters farm, the first Meth- odist Church was organized in Amenia, of which he was for several years the only male member.

The grandfather was thrice married. On January 7, 1777. he wedded Catherine Pow- ers, who died May 14. 1799, and they had six children : Betsey, born February 8, 1780, died February 26, 1829; Mary, born January 5, 1783, died August 15, 1831; Jacob M., born May 26, 1785, died October 8, 1833; Abigail, born August 26, 1787, died in December, 1871; William, born October 1, 1794, died October 2, 1795; and Henry, born March 4, 1799, died November 3, 1871. . In March, 1801, he married Elizabeth Cole, who died July 6, 1821, and to them was born a daugh- ter-Catherine, born January 5, 1803, and married Henry Ingraham. His third wife was Alice Allerton.

Henry Rundall, the father of our subjects, during his boyhood attended the "Johnny Cake " school between Amenia and Wassaic, and throughout life operated the old home- stead farm. On December 12, 1821, he was united in marriage with Nancy T. Sutherland. who was born April 18, 1803, a daughter of Roger B. Sutherland, and died January 31, 1869. Six children graced this union, namely : Sarah S., born August 7, 1825, married Dr. Isaac M. Hunting, and died November 29, 1895: Elizabeth M., born August 24. 1827, married George W. Center, of Amenia, N. Y. ; David and Henry are next in order of birth; Mary B., born January 10, 1833, wedded John J. Harrison, and died in November, 1882; and Catherine P., born October 2, 1835, married Henry C. Dauchy, and died November 25, 1895. For his second wife the father chose Susan Hebard, who still survives him, residing at Sharon, Connecticut.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Henry Rundall, Sr., was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, and was the first man in the town of Amenia to abolish the use of liquor upon his farm. In carly life he had belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was an active Democrat in politics previous to 1857, but at that time became an earnest supporter of the Republican party, as in ante- bellum days he was very much opposed to slavery.

The following is a copy of the commissions of the father as captain, major and colonel in the New York State Militia:

The People of the State of New York, To all to whom these presents may come: Know ye, that pursuant to the constitution and laws of our said State, we have ap- pointed and constituted and by these presents do appoint and constitute Henry Rundall, captain in the Twenty- ninth Regiment of Infantry of our said State (with rank from May 13, 1826), to hold said office in the manner specified in and by our said constitution and laws.

In testimony whereof we have caused our seal for military commissions to be hereunto affixed. Witness De Witt Clinton, Esquire, Governor of our said State, general and commander-in-chief of all the militia and admiral of the navy of the same, at our city of Albany. the 22nd day of June, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.

DEWITT CLINTON.

Passed the adjutant-general's office. N. F. BECK, Adjutant-General.

The commission of major reads exactly like that of captain, but dated July 30, 1827. The commission of colonel of the Twenty- ninth Regiment reads like the other two, dated July 23. 1830, and signed by Enos T. Troop, Esquire, Lteutenant-Governor of the State, and by M. H. Webster, Adjutant-General. These papers are still in the possession of David Rundall, of Amenia.

DAVID RUNDALL, whose name intro- duces this review, was born on the old homestead in the town of Amenia, Dutchess county, August 2, 1829, and he also began his education in the . Johnny Cake " school, but the knowledge there acquired was supple- mented by a course in the Amenia Seminary. Until reaching his majority he remained upon the home farm, and then for ten years oper- ated land near the village of Amenia, after which he engaged in farming for twenty-one years on the road to Wassaic. Since 1888, however, he has made his home in the village of Amenia, and is now capably serving as town clerk. He has also been collector for several terms, and his duties are always discharged with credit to himself, and with satisfaction to all concerned. By his ballot he supports the Republican party, and religiously himself and

family are connected with the Presbyterian Church.

At Amenia, September 14, 1852, David Rundall was married to Harriet P. Rey- nolds, a daughter of Jonathan P. Rey- nolds. She died February 5. 1863, leaving one son, William P., who was born in De- cember, 1862, and married Fanny McHugh, by whom he has a daughter, Hattie; he is a resident of the town of Amenia. On Feb- ruary 10, 1864, at Mechanicsville, Saratoga Co., N. Y., David Rundall married Sarah Catherine Barrett, daughter of Henry E. Bar- rett. Harry Barrett Rundall, the only child of the second union, was born November 24. 1864, and after finishing his education in the Amenia Seminary, on March 17, 1881, he en- tered the First National Bank of Amenia as bookkeeper, which position he has since filled to the satisfaction of the bank officials. He is at present serving as justice of the peace, and socially is a member of Amenia Lodge No. 672, F. & A. M.

HENRY RUNDALL, of this review, was born July 6, 1831, on the farm where he still resides, and like his brother was educated at the " Johnny Cake " school and the Amenia Sem- inary. He has always engaged in the cultiva- tion of the home farm, and since 1853 has also dealt in milk. At Poughkeepsie, N. Y., July 6, 1853, he married Lucinda A. Ransom, a na- tive of Highland, Ulster Co., N. Y., and a de- scendant of the Deyo family, early settlers of that county. Seven children were born to them. as follows: (1) Herbert R., pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Hammonton, N. J., first wedded Mary Herrick, of Saratoga coun- ty, N. Y., by whom he had a daughter, Millie R., and after her death married Elizabeth En- dicott; (2) Clarence A. married Julia Roberts, by whom he has a son, Warring Deyo, and they now live at Brewster, Putnam Co., N. Y. : (3) Arthur S. is with the Phoenix Insurance Company, of Chicago, Ill .; (4) Frank D., on February 10, 1897, married Frances Thompson Reed, daughter of Henry V. D. Reed, and lives at Amenia Union, N. Y .; (5) Bell H., born July 11, 1864, died February 24, 1876; (6) Martin K. married Jennie Rutledge, and has two children, Olin Rutledge and Henry T. : (7) Laura J. is the wife of J. Henry Hal- stead, of Rye, Westchester Co., New York.

Henry Rundall is one of the prominent and active members of the Presbyterian Church of Amenia, in which, for thirty years, he has

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served as elder, and will continue to hold the office through life. He is connected with the Amenia Grange, in politics is an ardent Re- publican, and has served as assessor of the town of Amenia. In manner, the Rundall brothers are quiet and unassuming, yet their sterling qualities command the respect and confidence of all, and have secured for them the high regard of a large circle of friends. They are numbered among the valued citizens of the community, who have been devoted to the public welfare, and are assuredly worthy of representation in a volume of this nature.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 117

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