Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 142

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

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the trio, was born in 1869, and was educated at Wilbraham, Mass. ; she married Otis Ar- nold, a hotel keeper, who conducted the rail- road restaurant at Pawling for a number of years. They have one daughter, Marjorie. William S., the father, died May 26, 1888.

Charles G. Cutler, the subject proper of this sketch, was born November 2, 1861, and was educated in the schools of the town of Dover, and of Wilbraham, Mass. He is a leading farmer in that town, and active in local affairs, holding public office at different times. He belongs to the Masonic order, Dover Lodge No. 666, and at present is senior warden. He married Miss Nellie Stevens, daughter of Thomas A. Stevens, a prominent farmer of Dover, and they have two children, Howard S., born in 1888, and Irene H., born in 1893.

Calvin Cutler, the son of William and Eliz- abeth (Gifford) Cutler, was born in 1797, and enjoyed the usual educational advantages of a country boy in those days. He engaged in farming in Dover, purchasing an estate which is now owned by his son, Frank. His wife, Keziah Varney, was the daughter of John Var- ney, one of the well-to-do farmers of that neighborhood. They had eight children, of whom the first, John, and the last, Jerome, died in infancy. The others are: Eleazer and Elihu (twins), born in 1825; Priscilla, 1827; Mary, 1828; Sarah, 1830; and Frank M. Eleazer Cutler was married in 1853 to Amaranth Eggleston, of Dover Plains, who was born in 1828. They have three children.

Frank Cutler was born in 1832 at the old farm, and after attending the common schools for some years completed his studies at a boarding school in Connecticut. He learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for more than twenty years; but after the purchase of the present homestead he took charge of it. An active worker in public affairs, he has held several town offices, including that of collector, and he belongs to Dover Plains Lodge No. 666, F. & A. M., in which he was trustee for many years. He married Elizabeth Carey, a daughter of Jeremiah Carey, a prosperous farm- er of Connecticut, and has had three children: (1) George, who was born in 1865, was educated at Dover Plains Academy, and taught in Dover for some time. He has now been employed in the New York post office for ten years. Like his father, he is a Mason, and belongs to the Royal Arcanum. He married Miss Bertha Dutcher, daughter of J. Van Ness Dutcher, a

well-known agriculturist of Dover, and his wife Harriet, and they have one child, Ethel. (2) John was born in 1868, and also taught school for a time, but since 1890 he has been in the U. S. mail service on the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. , from New York to Syracuse. He belongs to Dover Plains Lodge No. 666, F. & A. M. He married Miss Sarah Dutcher, daughter of one of the leading farmers of his native town, John I. Dutcher, and his wife, Ada C. (3) Fred, the youngest son, was born in 1872, and was given the same educational advantages that his brothers had. Since his gradnation he has been engaged in farming with his father. He married Miss Mary Northrup, daughter of Edwin R. and Mary Northrup, who are prom- inent residents of the same township.

Mrs. Frank N. Cutler is a member of an old Connecticut family, and her grandfather, Jeremiah Carey, was a prosperous agriculturist of Fairfield county. He and his wife, Eunice Odell, had eight children: James is the eldest; Elias isan inventor; Robert died at an early age ; Lockwood: Lucretia (Mrs. Robert Chestnut); Artemisia (Mrs. David Waldron); Sarah (Mrs. Orin Benson), and Jeremiah (Mrs. Cutler's fa- ther). Hewas born and reared in Fairfield coun- ty, Conn., engaged in farming there, and married Miss Salina Hunter, daughter of a well-known farmer of the same locality, Joseph Hunter, and his wife, Sylvia. Mrs. Cutler was the second in a family of six children. The eld- est, Julia, married (first) Charles Hinman, and (second) Fred Bergman. She has two sons, Leman Hinman and Frank Bergman. The third daughter, Orvilla, married Henry Ebert, and has five children: Henry, Will, Saline, Charles and Walter. Sarah J. Carey married Stephen R. Scott, and had six children: Alida (Mrs. Oscar Smith); Abraham, who mar- ried Mina Decker; George, who married Abbie Decker; Lillie (Mrs. William Decker); Carrie (Mrs. Robert Holly), and Gertie, who is not married. George Carey married Mary Trainor, and has four children-William, Charles, Min- nie, the wife of Harry Dougherty, and Blanche. Silas S. Carey married Laura Conklin, and has three sons: Frank, who married Laura Mott; Fred, who married Edith Wheeler, and Clay- ton, who is unmarried.

The Brush family, to which the mother of our subject belonged, counts among its mem- bers many who have attained distinction in various walks of life. Amos Brush, the great- grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the

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Revolutionary army. He was born in Fair- field county, Conn., and had his home there all his life. He married Miss Hannah Bearss, and had eight children: Ezra, who married Betsey Bearss; Amos, Mrs. Cutler's father; Amy, the wife of Dr. Isaac Knapp; Hannah (Mrs. Smith); Esther (Mrs. Amos Chapman); Ada, the wife of Mr. Bailey, a Revolutionary soldier; Mary, who died at the age of twenty, and Eli, who married Rilla Davis.

Amos Brush, Jr., was born in New Fairfield, Conn., in 1798, and, after obtaining an educa- tion in the local schools, he engaged in farm- ing. He married Miss Aurilla Barnum, daugh- ter of Ephraim and Sarah (Seeley) Barnum, of Bethel, Conn., and had seven children: (1) Eliza married Daniel Duncan, and has had six children: Austin, Alex, Theo, William, Irene and John, of whom only Theo and William are now living. (2) George never married. (3) Austin married H. Lucetta Rogers, and has three children: Edward, William and Ella. (4) William is mentioned below. (5) Irene was the mother of our subject. (6) Augustus was prominent in public life, and was State school commissioner for six years; member of the Assembly from Dutchess county two terms; agent for the United States Treasury for some time; an employe of the New York Custom House for twelve years, and from 1880 to 1891 was warden of Sing Sing prison. He married Susan Senserbaugh, and had five children: George, Alice, Irene, Augusta and Fred. (7) Harriet married Cornelius Hill, and had three children: Irene, Ernest and George.

(4) Rev. William Brush, D. D., Mrs. Cut- ler's brother, was born in New Fairfield, Conn., February 19, 1827, and died in Englewood, Chicago, Ill., April 29, 1895, having but a few weeks before passed the sixty-eighth milestone in his life's journey. It is to the circumstances, associations and surroundings of his early life that we must look for the elements that pro- duced his strong character. Born and reared as he was among the rocks and hills, the looms and spindles of New England, we find in him the qualities of energy, industry, self-denial and perseverance. Puritan blood flowed in his veins, and loyal patriotism fired his soul. In his student days he sacrified the ordinary pleasures and even conveniences of life that he might furnish his mind with higher and nobler attainments. True to his youthful am- bition, by dint of earnest toil and hard study he returned at the early age of twenty to knock

at the door of Yale College for admission to the sophomore class. In the three remaining years he completed the full classical course with high rank in scholarship. In October, 1 850, following his graduation, he was married to Electa J. Brush, the trusted and beloved companion of his after years. They had three children: Frank, a minister; Darley, a banker, and Hattie, who married Dr. O. E. Murray. Dr. Brush's active work in the ministry began, in 1851, in the New York Conference, of which he was a member, and served successful pas- torates until 1858, when he took a transfer to the Upper Iowa Conference, and was appointed pastor of the M. E. Church at Dyersville. In 1860 he was called to the presidency of Upper Iowa University, at Fayette, Iowa, which po- sition he held for nine successive years. En- tering again upon the active work of the min- istry, he served a four-years' term as presiding elder of the Charles City district. In 1873, finding the rigor of the northern winter too severe for his wife's health, he decided to move south, and became presiding elder of the Austin, Tex., district. From the result of his eight-years' labor in this field the Austin Con- ference was formed. In 1881 he removed north, and filled appointments again as pastor of the churches at Maquoketa and Vinton, Iowa. In 1885 he removed to Dakota, and became one of the founders and first president of Dakota University, which position he oceu- pied for six years, or until his appointment in 1891, by President Harrison, as U. S. Consul to Messina, Italy.

On his return from his foreign mission in 1892, he was elected chancellor of the Univer- sity of the Northwest, at Sioux City, Iowa, where he labored until a few months previous to his death. He assisted in laying the foun- dation of three colleges in the West, and when the history of these institutions are written fifty years hence, such men as Dr. Brush will receive due credit for the sacrifices made in their behalf. The Churches and the cause of education are indebted to him for forty-four long years of eminent and efficient service, eighteen years as college president and twenty- six years in the ministry, during which time his name has been associated with many im- portant issues and undertakings. On several occasions he acted as chaplain of the House of Representatives in Washington, D. C., and officiated in the same capacity at the National Republican Convention in 1892. Five times

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was he elected delegate to the General Con- ference of the M. E. Church, and once re- ceived a large vote for the office of bishop.

J USTUS P. REYNOLDS, a leading and progressive citizen of the town of Amenia, Dutchess county, was there born on what is now known as the J. O. Peters place, Jan- uary 24, 1833, and belongs to a family that was established in this country soon after the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. The first to arrive in the New World was Rob- ert Reynolds, a native of England, who was living in Watertown, Mass., in 1634, and later became a resident of Boston. His son, Na- thaniel Reynolds, was born in that State, and in 1680 emigrated to Bristol, R. I., becoming one of its first settlers. He had previously married Priscilla Brackett, and their son Jos- eph was born in Massachusetts, December 20, 1676, and died January 16, 1759. The latter wedded Phoebe Leonard, and among their children was Joseph Reynolds, who was born in Rhode Island, November 15, 1719, and died September 14, 1789. He married Lydia Greenwood.

Joseph Reynolds was a prominent patriot during the Revolutionary war. Gen. LaFayette stayed at his house during the occupancy of the town of Bristol. Later, when the British took the place, Mr. Reynolds and his servant were taken prisoners and confined in a prison- ship in the harbor. He suffered great priva- tions in that vermin-infested ship, but was finally exchanged for a British officer. Gen. LaFayette visited him on his return to America in 1824. The house in which he was enter- tained was built (according to the history of the town) about the year 1700, and is still standing in a fine state of preservation, and is owned and occupied by one of his descendants. The room in which Gen. LaFayette slept is preserved in its original statc.

George Reynolds, the son of Joseph and Lydia (Greenwood) Reynolds, was the grand- father of our subject. He was born at Bristol, R. I., November 7, 1756, and at that place was united in marriage with Abigail Peck, by whom he had five children: Jonathan P., Lydia, George, Joseph, and Abigail, who mar- ried Philo Reed. In 1794 the grandfather came to the town of Amenia, Dutchess county, locating upon a farm near the village of Amenia, where he engaged in agricultural

pursuits until his death, which occurred in April, 1 808.

George Reynolds, the father of our subject, was also a native of Bristol, R. I., born No- vember 15, 1788, received a district school education, and remained under the parental roof for some years. At Amenia was celebrated his marriage, May 26, 1819, with Miss Abigail Pennoyer, daughter of Jonathan Pennoyer, and to them were born four children, namely: George Greenwood, born February 7, 1821, is an ex-judge of Brooklyn, N. Y .; Caroline, born January 23, 1826, died March 28, 1829; Mary, born May 18, 1830, became the wife of George Kirby, and died October 15, 1874; Justus Pow- ers, subject of this sketch, completes the family. After his marriage the father bought the Peters farm, north of Amenia village, where he lived until 1834, when he purchased the E. J. Pres- ton place, south of Amenia, there dying Jan- uary 31, 1873, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His political support was first given the Whig and, later, the Republican party, and he acceptably served as assessor of his town. He was a straightforward, honor- able man, who had the confidence and esteem of all who knew him.

Justus P. Reynolds spent his boyhood days in the town of Amenia, and acquired his cdu- cation in the district schools and the Amenia Seminary. In 1860 he purchased the Jordan farm, near South Amenia, where he made his home, until removing to his present place near the same village in 1869. He has continued to follow the occupation to which he was reared, with results that are satisfactory; the reward of well-directed labors.

In the town of Amenia, January 31, 1863, Mr. Reynolds led to the marriage altar Miss Nancy Barlow, daughter of Elisha Barlow, and to them were born six children: George, who married Clarabel Williams, daughter of William Williams, and has two children, How- ard B. and Edward D .; Abbie L .; Lucy B., wife of John T. Sackett, of Brooklyn, N. Y., by whom she has one daughter, Justine R. ; Ed- ward G .; Francis B .; and Bertha May, de- ceased. Mr. Reynolds affiliated with Sheko- meko Lodge, when it was at Mabbettsville, Dutchess county. In politics he is independ- ent, voting for the man whom he thinks best qualified to fill the office, regardless of party ties, but favors Democratic principles. He takes a commendable interest in the prosperity and advancement of his native county.

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W ILLIAM B. ROE (deceased) was born at New Hackensack, Dutchess county, October 17, 1819, and was of English ex- traction. His father, William Roe, whose birth occurred June 26, 1790, was married in 1812 to Miss Abby Blatchley, who was born in Connecticut December 27, 1788, and they located upon a farm in New Hackensack, where their four children were born, namely: Joseph B., who died in infancy; William B .; John B., who became a merchant of Mary- land; and Sarah, who married Gilbert Has- brouck, a farmer of Michigan. The family were members of the Episcopal Church.

Upon the farm where his widow now resides, William B. Roe passed his boyhood and youth in much the usual manner of farmer lads, and on November 11, 1846, married Miss Amanda Anderson, who was born in the town of East Fishkill, on the farm known as " Locust Dale, " which was also the birthplace of her father, Peter Anderson. Six children were born to our subject and his wife: Abby B., who died May 19, 1852; Sarah E .; Annie L .; Ella K., who died October 25, 1862; Will- iam A., who died August 21, 1865; and Win- ifred A.

At his childhood home, Mr. Roe continued to live until his earthly career was ended June 2, 1873, when he passed to his reward. In connection with general farming he also dealt extensively in stock of all kinds, buying and selling horses, cattle, etc., and did a profitable business along that line up to the time of his death. His ballot was always cast in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party, and he took a commendable interest in public affairs. With his estimable wife, he held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and faithfully followed its teachings. In all the relations of life he was honorable and upright, never seeking to take advantage of others, and enjoyed the confidence and respect of all with whom he came in contact. He left a comfortable property, including a farm of 225 acres, on which his wife and daughters reside. They are intelligent and highly cul- tured ladies, and have many friends through- out the community.

E DWIN L. BUSHNELL, a prominent citi- zen of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, the inventor of the Bushnell spring bed, and founder of the Bushnell Manufacturing Com-

pany, was born March 8, 1822, in Stanford, Dutchess county.

His family is of English origin, and he traces his lineage to one of three brothers who came from Saybrook, England. at an early date, the Bushnells of New Haven, Conn., and of Ohio, being also their descendants. Alvah Bushnell, our subject's father, was born in Litchfield county, Conn., in 1796, and in 1817 came to Dutchess county, and engaged in mercantile business; but after two years in Stanfordville and two in Bangall, he gave up that occupation to conduct a hotel at Pulver's Corners, remaining there three years. He then bought the property known as the Solon Lapham farm, where he passed the remainder of his days as a successful farmer. He mar- ried Mr. Lapham's daughter, Melinda, and had three children, Julia, Edwin L., and Tamma Josephine. He was an active worker in the Republican party, also in all local movements of importance, and was a regular attendant of the Baptist Church at Bangall. His death occurred November 16, 1865 ; his wife died October 28, 1861.

Edwin L. Bushnell, our subject, attended the district schools of his vicinity in boyhood, and then studied for one winter at Amenia Seminary. At seventeen he was obliged to leave school, but he has always been an ex- tensive reader; and is an unusually well-in- formed man. He remained at home until the age of twenty-three, when he left the farm on account of ill health and entered the Pough- keepsie Iron Co., of which he was one of the three first stockholders on the organization of the company, October 31, 1848. This com- pany owned the first anthracite furnace built east of the Alleghanies, and Mr. Bushnell personally supervised its construction. In 1850 he retired to take the business manage- ment of the American R. R. Chair Co., and in their interest he spent the winter of 1851-52 in Columbus, Ohio, and four months of 1852 in Montreal, Canada. His mother's failing health caused him to sever his relations with this company, and return to Poughkeepsie. In 1852 he undertook the selling of patents, and visited Bangor, Maine, and Portsmouth, N. H., with a patent window-blind hinge. He had been for some time engaged in perfecting the invention, of which he has since made such a distinguished success; but like most in- ventors he was obliged to follow occupations which were less congenial, though more re-

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munerative, than fashioning models. A brief venture in the real-estate business in Boston was followed by a few months in the lumber trade with an uncle in New York City; but in the fall of 1853 this business was closed out, and Mr. Bushnell became connected with the Lord's Prayer Association in the same city. The winter of 1853-54 he spent in Richmond, Va., selling machinery. In the spring of 1855 he married Miss Sarah Jane Sherman, of Cam- bridge, Washington county, N. Y., and settled upon the old homestead farm. Three chil- dren were born of this union: Jennie, now at home; James S., a resident of Seattle, Wash. ; and Edwin M., the treasurer and general man- ager of the Bushnell Manufacturing Co., at Easton, Pennsylvania.

In 1860 Mr. Bushnell went to New Pres- ton, Conn., and engaged in a mercantile busi- ness; he contributed largely to the support of families whose fathers were in the army dur- ing the Rebellion. In the fall of 1865 he sold his business in New Preston, and returned to Poughkeepsie, where in the spring of 1866 he purchased the house in which he still resides. Ile began the manufacture of scythe riffles, and patented a mowing-machine sharpener, which he sold in 1869, when he commenced manu- facturing his own invention, making a spring bed with four eyes in each end of the springs. This has met with great success, and in 1880 he adapted the idea to car seats, berths and backs, and was awarded the only medal on that line of goods at the National Exposition of Railway Appliances at Chicago in 1883. Though various parties infringed his patents and kept him seven and one-half years de- fending his rights in the United States Courts, he secured the patronage of the Wagner & Pullman Palace Car Co. His goods have been largely adopted by all the leading railroads and car-builders throughout the country, with several new patents for improvements, and, on tools and machinery for manufacturing, they take the lead. In 1893 Mr. Bushnell removed his factory from Poughkeepsie to Easton, Penn., where there is a fine plant employing a large number of men. This firm furnished the seats for the new "Defender," also the " Black Daimon Train," the finest train in the world. He built the first skylight in Poughkeepsie, for taking pictures.

Mr. Bushnell is a man of great natural ability and energy, and notwithstanding his years is mentally active, his memory being re-

markable. He has always taken an interest in the success of the Republican party, but has always refused to accept office. He served out his time with the Davy Crockett Hook & Ladder Company. He attends the Second Reformed Church, to which he is a liberal giver.

I SAAC B. GILDERSLEVE (deceased), who was one of the highly respected and hon- ored citizens of the town of East Fishkill, Dutchess county, was born in Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 5, 1823, of Holland descent. His father, Solomon Gildersleve, was a native of the town of Fishkill, Dutchess county, but after his marriage with Margaret Wiltsie lo- cated upon a farm in Cayuga county, where their five children were born: Annis, who married Thomas Ketchum, of the town of East Fishkill, but both died in Indiana; Eliza, who first married James Deleree, and after his death wedded Elias Tompkins, and they lived at Cold Spring, N. Y .; Emma, who became the wife of a Mr. Bronson, and lived at Port Chester, N. Y .; Ann; and Isaac B.

Our subject when a young man came to the town of East Fishkill, where he engaged in teaming, hauling hoop poles to Poughkeep- sie, but about 1842 went to Missouri, and was on the Mississippi until 1865, working his way upward from a deck hand until he was owner of a steamboat, which carried both freight and passengers. In 1865 he began the hotel busi- ness in St. Louis, which he continued for five years, and on the expiration of that time re- turned to Dutchess county, purchasing the farm now owned and occupied by his daugh- ter, RITA A.

Mr. Gildersleve was married in 1865, to Miss Charlotte A. Miller, a native of Berwick, Columbia Co., Penn., and a daughter of Jacob Miller. Five children were born to them, all of whom died in infancy with the exception of Rita A., and the mother departed this life September 24, 1887, while the father's death occurred on the home farm February 25. 1890.

The farm is a most beautiful place, on which Mr. Gildersleve made many improve- ments and erected excellent buildings. It comprises 146 acres of valuable land, on which he carried on general farming, but his daugh- ter, who now has the management, makes a specialty of milk.

In the career of this gentleman we find an

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excellent example for young men just embark- ing in the field of active life, of what may be accomplished by a man beginning poor, but honest, prudent and industrious. He was en- tirely self-made, and left behind him an excel- Jent property, as well as a good name. He was a Democrat in politics, and was one of the prominent and esteemed citizens of the community. His estimable wife held member- ship in the Episcopal Church.

M ONCURE BARTOW was called from earth in the midst of his usefulness, dying on the 19th of April, 1881. He was a leading and honored citizen of the town of East Fish- kill, Dutchess county, where he devoted his energies to the care and cultivation of the farm, and was also connected with the Dutchess County Insurance Company, of Poughkeepsie.

The Bartow family is of French extraction, and was established in Dutchess county at a very early day. Religiously, its members were mostly connected with the Episcopal Church. William A. Bartow, the father of our subject, was a native of the town of East Fishkill, and a farmer by occupation. The mother bore the maiden name of Jane Hasbrouck.

Moncure Bartow was the seventh son in a family of twelve children, and was reared upon the old home farm, where he continued to en- gage in agricultural pursuits until his marriage, in 1867, to Miss Elizabeth D. Brinckerhoff. They began their domestic life upon the farm where she still resides, and there their two children-Jane D. and Moncure-were born. The parents contributed to the support of the Reformed Church, and in politics Mr. Bartow was a decided Democrat, but would never ac- cept public office. His upright, honorable life won him the confidence and esteem of his neighbors, and he was classed among the most respected representative citizens of East Fish- kill town.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 142

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