Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 134

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

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After his marriage with Lydia Day Fuller, Abraham Beecher located upon a farm in his native State, where he reared his family of nine children, of whom Leman was the eldest. He was followed by Abraham and Truman, both agriculturists of Illinois; Chauncey, a farmer of Northampton, N. Y., where his death occurred; Jesse, a farmer of Kansas; Lydia, wife of John Sprague, who carries on a farm in Northampton, N. Y .; Desire, wife of James Robinson, a farmerof Northampton ; Laura, wife of Dr. Marvin, of Northampton, who served as a surgeon during the Civil war; and Elizabeth, wife of Godfrey Shew, a farmer of Jefferson

county, N. Y. The parents of this family were Presbyterians in religious belief, and the father all his life followed agricultural pursuits.

The childhood and youth of Leman Bee- cher were passed under the parental roof, and on reaching man's estate he married Katherine Shew, who was born in Northampton, N. Y., May 4, 1794, and was a daughter of Jacob and Hannah Shew, the former a farmer, born April 15, 1763, of Holland extraction. After their marriage the parents removed to a farm near Northampton, where three of their chil- dren were born, but the family circle was in- creased by the birth of six others after their removal to a farm in Kent, Conn. They were as follows: Catherine, born September 26, 1820, first became the wife of Jesse Fuller, a farmer, of Kent, Conn., later wedded S. Slade, a farmer and real-estate and insurance agent, and now makes her home in Albany, N. Y .; Hiram T. is next in order of birth; James F., born August 30, 1824, is a farmer of North- ampton, Fulton Co., N. Y .; Leman, born De- cember 23, 1826, was a merchant, and died August 24, 1863; Hannah E., born April 5, 1829, is the wife of David B. Giddings, a farmer of Connecticut; Lydia D., born March 9, 1832, married John G. Fenn, an agricult- urist of the town of Washington, Litchfield Co., Conn .; Abraham P., born January 16, 1834, is a photographer, of Wilmington, Del .: Emily D., born July 23, 1836, is the wife of Henry J. Ufford, a saddle maker of Newark, N. J. ; and Jacob S., born February 13, 1839, is also a photographer, of Wilmington, Del. The parents were both members of the Con- gregational Church, and in Kent, Conn., the father followed farming and merchandising. His political affiliations were with the Whig party. His death occurred in the town of Washington, Dutchess county, October 17, 1 848; his wife died August 14, 1879.

Hiram T. Beecher was reared to rural life on the farm in Kent, Conn., and after attend- ing the academies in that place and at Sharon, Conn., entered a law office where he studied for some time. For three years he was then employed as clerk in a general store in Kent, and the following year was engaged in farm- ing in the town of Northeast, Dutchess county. In 1846, in connection with a brother, he operated a farm in the town of Washington, Dutchess county, which he continued to culti- vate until April, 1867, when he purchased his present farm of ninety-three acres.

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On December 20, 1848, Mr. Beecher was married to Miss Mary White, who was born in the town of Washington, Dutchess county, December 25, 1822, and is a sister of Mrs. Hannah Briggs and of Mrs. Catherine Kinney. Mr. and Mrs. Beecher are widely and favorably known throughout the county, and their circle of friends is only limited by their circle of ac- quaintances. For many years he has preached nearly every Sunday at various places in the county, and was the first to hold Sunday serv. ice at the county alms house, where he preached for about eleven years. He has officiated at many funerals and Church gatherings of all kinds, and his influence for good is widely felt.

Abraham Beecher, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Connecticut. He married Desire Tolls, and they had a family of nine children, two of whom are yet living, and Abraham, the grandfather of Hiram T., was one of the oldest in the family.

A ZARIAH CORNWELL is the proprietor of a good farm located pleasantly in the town of Beekman, Dutchess county, and to its cultivation and improvement of which he has devoted his time for a period of over forty-four years, and now has one of the most highly productive places in the locality. He pur- chased his land of the Vandeburgs, and since it came into his possession has labored unceas- ingly to make it the valuable farm which we to-day find it.

The early home of Mr. Cornwell was also in the town of Beekman, his birth having there occurred May 19, 1815, and he is a son of Thomas Cornwell, who was there born in 1778, and died in 1856. James Cornwell, the grandfather, was born on Long Island, but was brought to the town of Beekman by his father when only two years old. The latter, who bore the name of Richard Cornwell, obtained his farm from Henry Beek- man, the deed for which is still in the posses- sion of our subject, and is dated 1728. He became one of the pioneer settlers of this re- gion, and cleared his land of all those obstruc- tions usually encountered by the pioneer farmer. Upon that farm almost the entire life of James Cornwell was passed. He married Rachel Dennis, a native of the town of Beek- man, and they became the parents of five chil- dren: Richard, Thomas, James, Letitia and Phebe.

Thomas Cornwell was reared on this farm, attending the district schools of the neighbor- hood, and on reaching years of maturity re- ceived a portion of the old home farm, where his death occurred. He married Miss Annie Crandall, daughter of Azariah Crandall, and by their marriage seven children were born, namely: Amanda, who died in the winter of 1896, at the age of eighty-five years; Harvey, deceased; Azariah, of this review; Rachel, de- ceased; Sarah, of Chicago; Olive, wife of Elnathan Miller; and Richard, deceased. The mother of these children, who has also passed away, was an earnest Christian woman, a member of the Baptist Church.

The education of our subject was acquired in the Gardner Hollow district school, and he remained under the parental roof until his marriage, which was celebrated in the town of Beekman on May 22, 1844, Miss Delia N. Peters, adopted daughter of James Peters, be- coming his wife. The first vote of Mr. Corn- well was in support of the Whig party, and he is now identified with the Republican party, whose principles he most firmly advocates. In religious belief he is a Baptist, with which Church he has been connected for many years, and he is one of the most reliable and consci- entious men of the community. For sixteen years he served as commissioner of highways, filling that office to the satisfaction of all con- cerned, and the bridges which he constructed after the freshet of 1857 are still standing and in general use.

J OHN HENRY FINK. Among the enter- prising and wide-awake citizens of Ame- nia, Dutchess county, whose place of birth was the far-away German Fatherland, and who are rapidly progressing toward that financial condition so much coveted by all, is the subject of this personal history. He was born in Bavaria on the Rhine, November 25, 1843, and is a son of John H. Fink, a stone mason by trade, who died when John Henry was between two and three years old.

In his native land our subject received his education, and learned the shoemaker's trade at Edenkoeben, the place of his birth, com- pleting his three-years' apprenticeship at the age of seventeen years. He then traveled for a few years in France, Prussia. and other parts of the German Empire, and in 1866 sailed for America. He first located in Ham-

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ilton street, Brooklyn, N. Y., remaining there and in the vicinity for two years, and since 1868 has been a resident of Amenia. For five years he worked at his trade where the bicy- cle repair shop now stands, and then re- moved to a building where he conducted busi- ness until 1880, at which time he came to his present store. He is now the owner of the buildings running from his corner store down past and including the old Methodist Episco- pal Church, with the exception of one. He manufactures and carries a full line of boots and shoes, and also handles cigars, tobacco, toys, etc.

Mr. Fink is a self-made man, having ac- quired all his property through his own enter- prise, perseverance and untiring labor, sec- onded by a strong determination to succeed. He is a man of genuine worth, enjoying the respect and confidence of his neighbors, and since casting his first vote, after his arrival in Amenia, he has used his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Re- publican party.

In the fall of 1869, at Amenia, Mr. Fink wedded Mary Leubsdorph, who died August 22, 1870. In that village he was again mar- ried, his second union being with Katherine Pfahl, and they have two sons :- J. Henry and George, who compose the firm of Fink Broth- ers, now engaged in the butcher business. On January 28, 1895, they bought out the busi- ness formerly conducted by Joseph Field. The elder son is now connected with Amenia Lodge No. 672, F. & A. M.

J OSEPH D. COLEMAN, a prominent agri- culturist and produce dealer of Stanford- ville, Dutchess county, was born July 14. 1820, in the town of Stanford. His family have long been firm adherents of the Quaker faith, and in early times suffered the persecu- tions common to its followers. His great- grandfather Coleman came from England, and settled on Nantucket Island early in the eighteenth century. His grandfather, Jethro Coleman, was born there, but came to Dutch- ess county previous to the Revolutionary war, and settled on a farm about two miles south- east of Stanfordville. He was twice married; his first wife died leaving a daughter of the same name, since deceased. His second wife was Deborah Russell, by whom he had four

children: Benjamin, Joseph R., Annie and Lydia.

Benjamin Coleman, our subject's father. spent his life in the same locality, attending the district schools in his youth, and succeed- ing to the old homestead in later years. He married Sara Dean, daughter of Jonathan Dean, a well-known resident of Pleasant Val- ley. Six children were born of this union: William, Mary, Joseph D., Edward, George, and Robert, of whom the only survivors are our subject, and George, now a resident of Kansas.

Joseph D. Coleman received his early edu- cation in the district schools near his home and in the Nine Partners Boarding School in the town of Washington. He was married in 1847, to Miss Anna Carpenter, also a descend- ant of a highly-esteemed Quaker family. Her grandfather. Samuel Carpenter, was born in Dutchess county, April 22, 1763, and spent the greater part of his life farming in the town of Stanford, where he died November 5, 1844. He married Susanna Carpenter, with whom he spent fifty years and nine months (lacking two days) of happy wedded life. They had eight children, whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Israel, June 2, 1783 ; Anne, September 24, 1788; Samuel, October 4, 1790; George, March 6. 1792; Isaac, December 16, 1794: Elias, November 27, 1796; Amy, Janu- ary 17, 1799, and Daniel S., October 13, 1800. The last named, Mrs. Coleman's fa- ther, was born and educated in Westchester county, and in early manhood came to the town of Stanford, and engaged in agriculture, first at the home farm, but later at the present home of our subject, where he died October 24, 1873. He married Phoebe Hull, daughter of Henry Hull, a well-known resident of that lo- cality. She was born November 24, 1803, and died May 21, 1856. Four children were born of this marriage: Henry Hull, May 16, 1825; Sarah, June 22, 1827, who died in child- hood; Anna (Mrs. Coleman), January 3, 1829, and Caroline, born August 10, 1836, died June 7, 1843.

Mr. Coleman took his bride to the old homestead on his marriage in 1847, but ten years later he sold the place and moved to the farın at Stanfordville, where he built his pres- ent residence. His wife died November 24, 1890, leaving one daughter, Cora E., who married Isaac S. Traviss, and has two chil- dren-Florence and J. Coleman Traviss. Our

J. J. Coleman

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

subject's integrity, enterprise, and fine discre- tion in business matters give him a high stand- ing in the community. For many years he has dealt extensively in hay and straw, in ad- dition to his management of his estate. He is, like his forefathers, a Hicksite Quaker. Since the organization of the Prohibition party he has voted their ticket, being at first one of two voters in the township. He has never sought or held public office.

A LBERT AND FRANKLIN CLINE. Among the enterprising and prosperous farmers of the township of Amenia, Dutch- ess county, who thoroughly understand the vocation which they follow, and are there- fore enabled to carry on their chosen occupa- tion with profit to themselves, are the brothers whose names introduce this sketch. They are now actively engaged in agricultural pursuits and the milk business in the township which has always been their home, and where they are both widely and favorably known.

The founder of the family in this country was Peter Klein, a native of Germany, who left the Fatherland about 1752 or 1753, and on reaching the shores of the New World first located at Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., N. Y., but in 1760 removed to the farm now known as the E. E. Cline place, in the town of Amenia, between South Amenia and Amenia Union. He was a "redemptioner," serving his time for his passage to this country.

He left one son, John Cline, who was born at Rhinebeck in 1756, and died in the town of Amenia in 1845. There he acquired his educa- tion and on the home farm where he was reared he spent his entire life, engaged in farming. He married Lucy Phillips, and they became the parents of nine children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Betsey, September 25, 1784; Peter, February 20, 1787; Allen, December 9, 1788; Philo, November 6, 1791; Asenath, October 26, 1793; Clarissa, January 12, 1796; Ebenezer H., April 1, 1798; Polly, April 26, 1801; and Julia B., March 30, 1803. Of this family, Asenath lived to an advanced age, dying April 1, 1891.

Philo Cline, the fourth in order of birth, is the father of our subjects. Upon the old home farm in the town of Amenia he was reared, attending the district schools of the neighborhood, and completing his education

in a select school at Sharon, Conn. Owing to an accident which injured his foot in his younger days, he was unable to do active farm work, and about 1824 erected the store build- ing at South Amenia now occupied by M. F. Winchester, where he engaged in the mercan- tile business until 1838, when he sold out. In 1840 he purchased the farm which is still occupied by his son Franklin, and there lived up to the time of his death, which occurred December 26, 1864. In his daily life and action he was ever genial and affable, winning many friends and the respect of all. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Repub- lican, and efficiently served as supervisor of his town. In the town of Amenia in February, 1827, he married Miss Harriet Swift, daugh- ter of Moses Swift, who died April 9, 1838, at the age of seventy-three years. Mrs. Cline was born September 24, 1796, and departed this life April 11, 1861. The only children born of this union were our subjects.

Albert Cline was born on the home farm in the town of Amenia, Dutchess county, March 3, 1828, and after finishing his education in the district schools and the Amenia Seminary, for one year was employed as clerk in the store of Judah Swift, at South Amenia. After his marriage, in connection with his brother, they engaged in milling until the spring of 1866, at which time he bought his present farm and residence, where he has since turned his atten- tion to farming and the milk business.

On September 15, 1852, in Amenia, Albert Cline was united in marriage with Eliza S. Reed, who was the adopted daughter of Philo Reed, and died January 18, 1872, at the age of forty-one years. Four children graced this union, namely: (1) Hattie A., born June 13, 1854, is the wife of Franklin Baylis, of Syra- cuse, N. Y., and they had six children-Albert C., Walter F., Eliza G., Clara R., Helen S., and Freddie, who died in infancy. (2) Philo R., born December 7, 1855, married Grace Collins, by whom he has one son - Albert C., born September 12, 1892, and they make their home at Millerton, N. Y. (3) Charles A., born November 22, 1857, married Fay Sher- man, daughter of S. W. Sherman, by whom he has a son - Charles S., born December 22, 1891, and they also live at Millerton. (4) Maria E., born September 1, 1860, is the wife of Walter A. Sherman, and they have five children - Agnes, Walter, Helen, May and Howland. Mr. Cline was again married at

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Amenia, October 30, 1873, his second union being with S. Rebecca Willson, daughter of Samuel T. and Emeline (Sornborger) Willson. A native of Dutchess county, her father was born at Smithfield, October 3, 1803, and died December 3, 1889.

The first vote of Albert Cline was cast in support of the Whig party, but since the organ- ization of the party he has been a stalwart Republican, and in 1885 and 1886 served as supervisor of the town of Amenia. Socially, he is connected with Amenia Lodge, No. 672, F. & A. M. His estimable wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church at South Amenia.

Franklin Cline was born July 17, 1831, and also spent his boyhood days in the town of Amenia. His primary education was obtained in the district schools, and in 1848 was a stu- dent in the Nine Partners Boarding School. He has always turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits, and, beside his general farm work, is also successfully engaged in the milk business. In the town of Stanford, Dutchess county, on October 1, 1856, he married Lydia A. Sackett, daughter of John Thompson Sack- ett, and they became the parents of two chil- dren: Guernsey Sackett, born April 30, 1858; and Maria L., who was born December 16, 1861, and is now the wife of Frank M. Buck, an attorney at law of Mount Vernon, N. Y., by whom she has two children-Franklin Cline and Helen H. Like the other members of the family, Mr. Cline has been a lifelong Repub- lican, and he has ably served as assessor of his town.

As representative farmers of the town of Amenia, the entire lives of the Cline brothers have been of unusual activity and industry, and they well deserve the high regard in which they are held by their fellow citizens.

R OBERT MORRIS THOMAS, a leading and influential farmer of the town of Pine Plains, Dutchess county, was born Octo- ber 23, 1848, just across the creek from where he now resides, on the old Thomas homestead, and is a worthy representative of prominent Colonial families. On that farm his father, Hiram Thomas, was born in 1804. When but an infant, the grandfather, Edward Thomas, was brought to Pine Plains by his mother, and he became one of the successful farmers and leading men of the community. He married Anna Landon, a daughter of Jonathan and

Isabella (Graham) Landon, and to them were born seven children: Arabella (who married Simeon Culver), Walter, Samuel, John, Rich- ard, Hiram and Mary.

The founder of the Landon family in America was Nathan Landon, who was born in Herefordshire, England, near Wales, and sometime prior to November 20, 1668, lo- cated at Southold, Suffolk Co., N. Y., where he died March 9, 1718, and his wife, Mary, in 1701. They had three sons: Nathan, James and Samuel. The last named became quite prominent, serving as justice of the peace from 1764 until 1775, was judge of common pleas for his county, and wielded a strong influence in courts and conventions. He was born May 20, 1699, married May 26, 1721, Bethia Tuthill, by whom he had six sons and four daughters; he died January 21, 1782, probably at Guilford, Conn., where many Long Islanders had taken refuge during the Revolu- tion. His wife, Bethia' Tuthill (Henry,3 John,2 Henry1), belonged to the Tuthill family of Sandringham, county of Norfolk, England (she was a descendant of Wm. Kinge, of Salem, Mass., of William Wells, Gent., and of Bar- nabas Horton, of Southold). Their youngest son was Jonathan, born at Southold October 30, 1743; he died at Northeast, Dutchess county, in IS15. He was a stanch patriot during the Revolutionary war, dividing his time between civil and military service. He was a member of the Provincial Convention of New York in 1775-76-77; member of the Council of Safety, 1777-78; State Senator, 1777-1779; major of Dutchess County Militia in 1775, and lieutenant-colonel in 1778 under his brother-in-law, Col. Morris Graham. He was, likely, Dutchess county clerk for some years. [" Southold Town Records;" " New York Civil List;" " Archives of the State of New York;" Revolution: "Journal of the Provincial Convention," and "J. H. Smith's Dutchess Co. His."]

The Graham family trace their ancestry back to James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, who was born in 1612, and died in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1650. His son, John Graham, was the father of James Graham, who came to the New World about 1700, was Attorney General of the Province of New York, and died January 21, 1701. His children were Augustine, May, Sarah, Margaret, John and Isabella, the latter of whom married Hon. Lewis Morris, the first Provincial Governor of

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New Jersey, and they had a daughter, Ara- bella. The next in direct line is Augus- tine Graham, and his son, James, married his cousin, Arabella Morris, by whom he had the following children: James, Augustine, Lewis, Charles, Morris, John, Arabella and Isabella. James was killed by a fall; John, the youngest brother, served as a scout under Gen. Washington in Westchester county. The others were all active in the service of their native land: Augustine was a lieutenant; Charles was a captain and a member of the So- ciety of the Cincinnati; Lewis and Morris were both colonels and both members of the Pro- vincial Convention-Lewis from Westchester county, Morris from Dutchess. { Year Book of the " Society of the Cincinnati;" " Dutchess County History;" " Bolton's Westchester His- tory;" " Journal of the New York Provincial Convention."]

The second son, Augustine, was the father of James Graham, who married Elizabeth Thompson, a daughter of Judge Jesse Thomp- son, and their daughter, Julia, married George Coventry. Isabella, the daughter of James and Arabella (Morris) Graham, married Jona- than Landon, their marriage license being issued December 11, 1771, and to them were born five children: (1) Richard, born in 1772. (2) Arabella, born in 1773, married, about 1789, Amos+ Ketchum (Joseph,3 Na- thaniel,2 Joseph 1), by whom she had sev- en children; she died in 1803, in Saratoga county. (3) Mary, born July 3, 1775, married John Church, and died May 30, 1850. (4) Anna, born in 1771, was the wife of Edward Thomas, the grandfather of the subject of our sketch; she died in 1838, aged sixty-seven years. (5) Rebecca, born March 15, 1783, died November 19, 1844. [" Partial Record of the Landons of Southold," in N. Y. Gen. and Biog. Record, Jan., 1897.]

The grandfather of Mrs. Isabella Landon, Augustine Graham, was surveyor general, and held a major's commission under the Crown in 1700 in Westchester county, and a colonel's commission in Richmond county in 1715 [See "Bolton's Westchester Co. Hist."; "Colonial MSS. of the State of New York". ] He was a patentee in the Great Nine Partners Patent of 1697, and also a patentee in the Little Nine Partners of 1706. His death occurred Octo- ber 18, 1719. Morris Graham built the first house in the village of Pine Plains, now owned by Isaiah Dibble, and Jonathan Landon built

the house on the hill in the rear of the home of our subject. The farm owned by Augustine Graham has always been transmitted by will, as it has never passed out of the family.

Hiram Thomas, the father of our subject, was united in marriage with Catherine Coven- try, of Deerfield, Oneida Co., N. Y., a daugh- ter of Dr. Alexander Coventry, and they be- came the parents of five children: Julia, wife of Dr. Lewis D. Hodgekins, of Ellsworth, Maine; Jane, wife of John Veile, of Ancram, N. Y .; Charles, of Pine Plains; Robert M., whose name introduces this sketch; and Alice L. The father followed farming, but was principally engaged in iron manufacturing, be- ing part owner of the Ancram Iron Works, and was also interested in the milling business. He died in 1880, at the age of seventy-six years.

The entire life of Robert M. Thomas has been passed in rural pursuits in the town of Pine Plains, and from the neat and thrifty ap- pearance of his place the passerby knows the owner and manager to be a man of enterprise and progressive ideas. In politics he is a strong advocate of the principles promulgated by the Prohibition party, but formerly was a Republican, and has served his fellow citizens as assessor. He is actively identified with all plans for the social and moral elevation of the community, and has the respect and confidence of all who know him.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 134

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