Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 12

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

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Dr. Van Gieson has added to his cares as a pastor much literary work, chiefly on theo- logical lines, and the value of his effort has been recognized without as well as within the Church. In 1872 he received the degree of D). D., from Rutgers College, and in 18;3 he was president of the Synod. Among his books are a history of the Poughkeepsie Church. published in 1892, an address on the " Type of Doctrine of the Reformed Church, " pub- lished in 1876, as one of the Centennial publi- cations, and a history of the Ratification of the Constitution of the United States by the State of New York, published in 1895 H has urged effectively the erection of a monu- ment in Poughkeepsie, to commemorate that important historical event, and this will un- doubtedly be done by the Daughters of the Revolution, who have taken the project in hand.

On July 9, 1857, Dr. Van Gieson was married in Brooklyn, N. Y., to his first wife, Miss Anna Skillman, daughter of John Skill- man, a well-known resident of the "City of Churches, " and a descendant of the first white child born on Long Island. Of the three children of this union one died in infancy. The others are: Mrs. D. Crosby Foster, of Poughkeepsie; and Mrs. Cecil W. H. Jones, of Bermuda. The mother died February 22, 1865, and December 11, 1878, the Doctor formed a second union, with Miss Maria Swift, who is still living. Hale and hearty in ap- pearance, Dr. Van Gieson bears his years lightly, his tall form being full of the vigor

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

which comes from outdoor exercise, while his kindly, pleasant face has a youthful look in contrast with his snow-white hair. As a citizen he has always taken keen interest in public affairs. Early in life he was a pronounced opponent of slavery, and he has been a mem- ber of the Republican party since its organiza- tion. In all matters that pertain to the prog- ress of the city where he has made his home, his influence is a recognized power for good.

G EORGE W. INGRAHAM, an attorney at law of Amenia, Dutchess county, is de- scended from Timothy and Sarah (Cowell) Ingraham, who were residents of Boston, and later lived at Bristol, R. 1. John Ingraham, their fourth son, was born December 8, 1701, and was married December 12, 1723, to Miss Mary Fry. Jeremiah Ingraham, their fourth child, was born December 8, 1731, married Re- becca Monroe, a cousin of President James Mon- roe, and died at an advanced age in the faith of the Episcopal Church. Thomas Ingraham, the third son of Jeremiah, was born Novem- ber 8, 1773, and in 1792 wedded Margaret Wardwell. They were the parents of our subject. George Ingraham, an uncle, was the first of the family to locate in Dutchess coun- ty, coming from Bristol, R. I., to Amenia in 1785.

In 1795 the parents of our subject be- came residents of Dutchess county, arriving in Amenia on the 3d of July, that year, with their two children. They had made the jour- ney from Bristol by water to Poughkeepsie, then overland to Amenia. Here the father engaged in farming until his death, and was also a stockholder in the woolen-mill at Leeds- ville, Dutchess county, during the war of 1812. He was a Federalist in politics, and a con- spicuous character in the Methodist Episcopal Church. For years he held the office of com- missioner of highways, and was also overseer of the poor. He died May 12, 1841, and his faithful wife was called to her final rest April 30, 1855. In their family were eleven chil- dren: Mary, Samuel, Nathaniel, Allen, Han- nah, Thomas Swan, Abigail, Josiah, John, George W. and Sally Ann, all of whom are now deceased with the exception of our sub- ject, and his brother John, of Poughkeepsie.

George Whitfield Ingraham was born No- vember 25, 1811, in the town of Amenia, where his boyhood days were passed. His literary

education was received in the district schools and by one winter's attendance at a select school. At the age of seventeen years he be- gan reading law under the direction of Robert Wilkinson, of Poughkeepsie, but did not apply for a diploma until the close of the Civil war. For twenty years he served as justice of the peace, five terms in succession, and his wise rulings ever showed thought and deliberation. His practice has been mostly confined to real- estate law, and he has also engaged in survey- ing and engineering, helping to lay out the New York & Harlem railroad. He has ever taken a commendable interest in the cause of education, and has been inspector and com- missioner of schools.

On October 22, 1834, at Sharon, Conn., Mr. Ingraham was united in marriage with Miss Electa Hunt, a daughter of Rev. Aaron Hunt, and they became the parents of four children, as follows: Sarah J., who married Samuel R. Free, of Willimantic, Conn. ; Aaron Hunt, who during the dark days of the Rebellion enlisted in the 48th N. Y. S. V., was killed while lead- ing a charge at Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864, and his body was there interred; Phebe H. is the next in order of birth; and George Irving (deceased), who had married Fannie B. Payne, and had one daughter, Margery Starr. Mr. Ingraham has been called upon to mourn the loss of his excellent wife, who died October 10, 1889. Our subject cast his first vote in support of the Whig party, and since its disso- Intion has been an ardent Republican; in re- ligious faith he is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which for the long period of forty years he has served as clerk, and for many years was trustee, steward and class leader. He is the originator of the law in the State of New York which gives a mar- ried woman the right to hold real and personal property independent of her husband, which took him eight years to get passed; but he never gave up until his object was accomplished.

At the age of twenty-five years he conceived the idea that the changes of the weather, in- cluding sunshine and clouds, winds and storms, could be reduced to a science, and at once be- gan to evolve a theory. After close study for many years he decided that his theory was correct, and then made known his conclusions to some of his friends and neighbors. One of those men is now living in the City of New York. This company ridiculed his position. Nothing daunted, he put his ideas with his observations

(2)

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in a letter and sent the same to Washington, D). C., in charge of the then member of Congress from his district. That formed the nucleus of the present Government weather bureau.

Mr. Ingraham has always made his home upon his farm in the town of Amenia, and is widely and favorably known throughout the community, being held in the highest regard by all with whom he has come in contact.

C HARLES W. H. ARNOLD. Among the leading lights of the legal fraternity of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, is Charles W. 11. Arnold, who was born in New York City May 5, 1860. Though born in the city his boyhood was passed on the farms in the towns of Hyde Park and Milan, in Dutchess county, and here in the district schools he received his common-school education. To an active mind the law furnished many attractions, as it is a study never completed, but whose scope is ever widening and changing. Our subject, when just out of the school room, followed various pursuits, but, when twenty, determined to enter the legal profession, and, accordingly, entered the office of J. S. Van Cleef, as a stu- dent, and in December. 1883, was admitted to the bar. He has made a specialty of cor- poration law, and holds the office of attorney for the Poughkeepsie National Bank (in which lie is also one of the directors); is attorney for the Fallkill Knitting Company, of which he is also treasurer and general manager, and attor- ney for the New Paltz and Wallkill Valley R. R. In 1894 he was a member of the Con- stitutional Convention.

On October 11, 1892, Mr. Arnold was mar- ried to Miss Alice Schouten, daughter of Rich- ard A. Schouten, and two interesting children liave come to brighten their home, namely: Richard Henry and Alice Margaret. Socially Mr. Arnold is a member of Triune Lodge, Masonic order, Knights of Pythias, and also of the Dutchess Club of Poughkeepsie, and he is at present president of the Staatsburgh Fire Company. Religiously he is an active worker in St. Margaret's Episcopal Church at Staats- burgh, in which he is vestryman, and is serving as clerk of the vestry.

Henry Arnold, father of our subject, was a native of Saxony, Germany, and came to this country at the age of fourteen. In Schoharie county, N. Y., he was married to Margaret Hemstreet, and the following children were

born to them: Elda, who married Q. F. Shaf- ford, of the town of Red Hook, Dutchess county; Charles W. H., our subject; Florence, who married Frederick Wheaton, of Yonkers, N. Y. ; George and Henry. The father of this family was river superintendent of the National Ice Company.

W ALTER D. O. K. STRONG, M. D. Despite the salubrious air and other advantages of this favored region, its inhab- itants have occasional need for the care of a physician. Among the ablest of the practi- tioners who minister to the many ills that flesh is heir to, even under the best conditions, is Dr. Strong, of Fishkill Landing, Dutchess county, whose history is well worthy of a permanent record among those of the leading workers in professional and other lines.

Dr. Strong was born August 10, 1823, at Owasco, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and is remotely of English descent, his ancestors having crossed the Atlantic at a very early date. His great- grandfather, Asher Strong, had his home in youth in eastern New York, but later settled at Cooperstown, Otsego county. Isaac Strong, the grandfather of our subject, moved to Owasco, Cayuga county, about the year 1800, and engaged in farming and the hotel business. He married Miss Elizabeth Waterman, of Cooperstown, and had two daughters and one son : Walter, the youngest of the trio; Nancy, the eldest, married Thaddeus Thompson, a wool dresser and the owner of a mill; Eliza- beth married E. Clark, a cabinet maker.

Walter Strong, the father of our subject. was born at Cooperstown, but when one year old was taken by his parents to Cayuga county, where he grew to manhood, and naturally be- came familiar with the details of hotel manage- ment. For a time he followed the business; but, choosing the independence of agricultural life, he located later upon a large farm. In 1833 he traded this for one of 400 acres in Crawford county, Penn., where he spent about fifteen years, and then made an exchange for a hotel and a farm of 100 acres at Jefferson, Ohio. He died in 1862, and his wife, Sarah (De Voe), passed away in 1878. She was of French descent, and was born in the south- eastern part of New York, the daughter of Hon. Elijah De Voe, who was elected to the Legis- lature in 1819, and again in 1825. Walter and Sarah Strong had eight children: Elijalı,

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the eldest, is a prominent resident of Plymouth, Ohio, and has been mayor of the town, and has also served for years as justice of the peace; Malvina, deceased, was the wife of S. C. Stratton, of Linesville, Penn .. a tanner and currier; W. D. O. K. is our subject; Sarah E. married Horatio Shattuck, who was a soldier in the Civil war, and is now deceased; Edwin T. is a farmer at Jefferson, Ohio; Isaac M., who died in 1888, was first a merchant and later a banker at Bancroft, Mich. ; Cornelia M., an artist of note and the painter of the " Elec- trical Commission" (which was purchased for $7,000, and is now in the Capitol at Washing- ton, D. C.), married Samuel Fassett, a pho- tographer, and resides in Washington; Nancy J. married John A. Harvey, of Ashtabula, Ohio.

Dr. Strong's boyhood was spent at his na- tive place, where he received his elementary education from his grandfather, who was a teacher. At nineteen he began a business career as a clerk in a store, but after three years he engaged in teaching, and gave all his spare time to the study of medicine. Desiring further literary education, he attended school at Kingsville, Ohio, taking an academic course, and later studied at Auburn, N. Y. He then taught for a few months, and in 1846 he en- tered the office of Dr. Benjamin De Voe, an uncle, to prepare for entrance to the medical department of Buffalo University, from which he was graduated April 19, 1849. For one year he practiced with his uncle, and then, in 1850, located at Sennett, Cayuga Co., N. Y., being accompanied to this place by his bride, Miss Maria Rosa, daughter of Jacob Rosa, formerly of Hurley, Ulster Co., N. Y. Five years were spent at Sennett in successful prac- tice, Dr. Strong serving also as superintendent of the local schools for two terms. In 1856 he returned to his old home at Owasco, and during the winters of 1856 and '57 he attended a course of lectures upon homeopathy in Phila- delphia. Resuming his practice at home, he continued until 1870, when he moved to Mil- ford, Del., and followed his profession for ten years. Since 1880 he has been established at Fishkill Landing, where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice, his abilities, developed by wide experience, gaining the confidence of the community to a marked degree.

The Doctor is a firm adherent of the Re- publican party, and is interested, as every in- telligent citizen should be, in the various pro- gressive movements of the time. His only

son now living. Edwin E., holds a responsible position in the First National Bank of Fishkill Landing, with which he has been connected for thirteen years. An elder son, Jacob R .. began practice as a physician in the same town. but his death in 1892 cut short a most prom- ising career.

R OOSEVELT. The first of the name to come to this country was Claas Maiten- son Van Roosevelt, who emigrated from Hol- land to New York in 1647.

The various members of the family held prominent positions in New York, and Isaac Roosevelt was one of the first senators from that city; one of the framers of the first consti- tution of the State of New York, when the Constitutional Convention sat at Poughkeep- sie; one of the founders and president of the New York Hospital; the bank of New York. and various charitable institutions.

James Roosevelt, son of Isaac Roosevelt, settled at Mount Hope, a country place near Poughkeepsie, and his descendants have had homes in the neighborhood of Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park ever since.

The present JAMES ROOSEVELT of Pough- keepsie and Hyde Park, Dutchess county, was born at New York City, and has interested him- self in railways, etc; was one of the Govein- ment Commissioners for the World's Fair held at Chicago in 1893; is vice president of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co .; and holds various positions of trust.

H ENRY PEARCE, M. D., a leading phy- sician and surgeon of Pawling, Dutchess county, is one of the best known practitioners of that locality. As a surgeon he has won an enviable reputation, and his practice extends over a wide radius, including the northern por- tion of Putnam county. His family is on . of the oldest in the town of Pawling, his great- grandfather, Col. William Pearce, of Revolu- tionary fame, having come from Rhode Island during the Colonial period. He must have been acquainted with Gen. Washington, as the latter had his headquarters for some time at the foot of Quaker Hill. Col. Pearce was a farmer by occupation, and owned a tract of land west of the village of Pawling, now occupied by Charles Hoag. This has been in the posses- sion of the family for more than a hundred

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

years. By his first wife Col. Pearce had four children: Henry, Benoni, Roxana and Mary. Roxana married Mr. Howland, and went to Canada, and became the mother of Sir Will- iam Howland. Mary also married. Col. Pearce had two sons, William and John, by a second marriage.

Henry Pearce, our subject's grandfather, was also a farmer, and lived about three miles north of Pawling. He married Rebecca Bird- sell, and reared a family of five children, of whom our subject's father, Benoni Pearce, was the eldest. (2) Nathaniel spent his life at the old homestead, and his excellent natural abilities made him a leader in the community, where for many years he held the office of He married Julia Ferris, but had assessor. no children. (3 Roxana married Henry Stark, and lived in Penn Yan, N. Y. (4) Amy mar- ried Jaleel Billings Stark, a leading merchant of Pawling. (5) Rebecca married Daniel Shove, and lived at Wellsburg, New York.

Benoni Pearce was born in 1808, and fol- lowed farming at Pawling until 1851, when he moved to a farm of 200 acres at Penn Yan, where he spent the remainder of his days, his death occurring there in 1895. Although he was never an office holder, he took a keen in- terest in political questions, being a Whig in early life and afterward a Republican. He was a devout Methodist, and for many years was an official in the Church. His first wife was Mary Ann Stark, a daughter of Benoni Stark, and after her death, in 1853, he mar- ried her sister, Rachel. By his first marriage he had seven children, of whom the Doctor is the eldest. The others were Lillius H., wife of A. J. Brown, of Yates county, N. Y. ; Jeremiah S., sheriff of Dutchess county; James S., who lives in Pawling, N. Y .; Charles W., who lives in New York City; Ed- win M. (deceased); and Elizabeth M., who married John Gelder, a farmer and grape grower of Yates county.

Dr. Pearce was born in Pawling, March 1, 1833, and received his academic education there and in the schools of Yates county. In 1853 he entered the Medical Department of the University of Michigan, and was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1857. He began his professional career at Ulysses, Potter Co., Penn., but after two years there he came to Pawling to practice. In 1862 he entered the army as assistant surgeon of the 150th N. Y. V. 1., with C. M. Campbell. During the

march to Lookout Mountain his horse fell, and the Doctor was so injured that his left leg had to be amputated above the knee; although he was obliged to resign his former position in the regiment, he remained in the department until the close of the war. He spent three years practicing at Carmel, Putnam county, but finally settled at Pawling, where he has now been successfully engaged in practice for nearly thirty years, his business covering a larger territory than that of any other phy- sician in that locality. He is also the senior partner in the firm of Dr. H. Pearce & Co ... the leading druggists of Pawling.

The Doctor has been three times married. Ilis first wife was Sarah Hall, of Pawling. His second wife, Augusta M. (Stark), daughter of J. W. Stark, died in 1878, leaving one son, George Stark Pearce, now a successful phy- sician at Dover Plains; a daughter, Bessie, died at the age of four years. In 1888 Dr. Pearce married his third wife. Julia (Travis), of Carmel, Putnam county. The Doctor isan ardent Republican, and, like all of his family, is very patriotic and public-spirited. He is a member of C. W. Campbell Post, G. A. R., and also of the medical societies of Putnam and Dutchess counties.

H TON. JOHN H. KETCHAM. Dutchess county has possessed and possesses many prominent citizens ; but in all their number can be found no one more truly representative. more widely or actively awake to the interests of the community at large, than the subject of this article.

A native of the county, Mr. Ketcham was born December 21, 1832, in Dover, and is a representative of one of the oldest families in eastern New York, being the second son and child of John M. and Eliza A. Ketcham, of Dover. His education was received in part at Suffield, Conn., in part at Worcester, Mass., where he was graduated in 1851. At the con - clusion of his studies, and on his return to his native town, he, in partnership with his older brother, William S., commenced farming, and the conducting of an extensive marble busi- ness, which they successfully continued several years. During this period his fellow citizens, justly recognizing his ability, which was devel- oped in an active business life, soon called upon him to represent his township on the board of supervisors, and he served two terms,

SA, Ketcham

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

after which he was then sent to the Assembly for two terms, from which he passed into the State Senate-his entire career in each of these responsibilities proving him to be a man worthy to represent his constituents.

In 1861, at the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Ketcham was appointed, by Gov. Morgan, a member of the war commit- tee for Dutchess and Columbia counties, and later was commissioned to raise a regiment, which he did with characteristic zeal and energy, rapidly filling out his quota with picked men of Dutchess county, representing for the most part the best and most intelligent families. His regiment, the 150th N. Y. V. I., proceeded first to Baltimore, afterward participating in the battle of Gettysburg, where it suffered severely. After recruiting his regiment, and filling up its sadly depleted ranks, Col. Ketcham moved his command southwest, joining Sher- man, and was with him in the memorable " March to the Sea." While on duty on Ar- gyle Island, near the mouth of the Savannah river, our subject received a wound, from the effects of which he has never fully recovered. At Atlanta, for meritorius conduct, he was pro- moted to the rank of brigadier-general by bre- vet, afterward to brigadier-general, and subse- quently to major-general by brevet. While with his command in Georgia, he was nomi- nated for member of Congress from his Dis- trict, and was elected by a large majority. He has since served eleven terms in that office, on each occasion being nominated by acclamation, and receiving the support of the people of his District, irrespective of party, his majorities being unprecedented in that county. At the termination of his twelfth term he was tendered a unanimous renomination, but owing to im- paired health he respectfully declined further service.

The great secret of Gen. Ketcham's popu- larity has always been his untiring and unre- mitting efforts to promote the interests of his constituents, irrespective of party. During the interval of three years when he was not in Congress, the General was appointed, by Presi- dent Grant, a commissioner of the District of Columbia, ex-Gov. Dennison, of Ohio, and Hon. H. T. Blow, of Missouri (since deceased), being his associates, in which incumbency he served with his usual energy and fidelity for a period of nearly three years. About the time of his retirement from the office of District Commissioner, in 1877, he received letters 5

from a large number of the leading citizens of the District expressing regret at his resigna- tion, and testifying to the ability, industry and thoughtful consideration manifested by him in the faithful discharge of his onerous duties.

On February 4, 1858, Gen. John H. Ketcham was united in marriage with Miss Augusta A. Belden, daughter of William H. and Sarah Belden, of Amenia, Dutchess county, who were among the earliest and representa- tive families of the county. Four children were born of this marriage, of whom, two sons, Henry and Charles, and one daughter, Ethel, are living.

Gen. Ketcham is a man of warm impulses, always ready to help a friend or do a kind act for a fellow being, and is known and recog- nized as the poor man's friend. His native State honors him, and with good reason, for he is one of her best products-a manly, noble man in all the relations of life, one who in his remarkable public career has maintained him- self with dignity, propriety and honor.

C OL. JAMES VANDER BURGH. Among those who left the shores of the Old World for those of the New, and settled very early in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie, was a family of Vander Burghs, directly from Holland, and it is to James Vander Burgh, one of the descend- ants of these early settlers, that this sketch more especially refers. Not only was he des- tined to be named among the noted men of Dutchess county, but he proved to be one of the country's most sturdy patriots and defend- ers. Born in Poughkeepsie, September 4, 1729, we know little or nothing about him un- til his marriage to Margaret Noxon, in Sep- tember, 1853, and at this time they lived near the little hamlet of Poughquag. Seven chil- dren were born to them, and we read in Van- der Burgh's diary, thirteen years later, these words: "1776, August ye 9 day my wife de- parted this life. Between the our of 3 and 4 in the morning. Beaing the 8 day from ye time of her beaing taken sick." The follow- ing year he married Helena Clark, and of this union eleven children were born, among whom were Federal Vander Burgh, a noted homeo- pathic physician, who died in Rhinebeck in 1868; Gabriel Ludlow (named after one of the first vestrymen of Trinity Church, New York), who married Margaret Akin, of Quaker Hill;

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 12

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