Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 5

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

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1852, died in 1890. (8) Sara Maria, March 25, 1832, took a prominent part in reform movements, and was a member of the State Board of Charities. She died March 22, 1894. (9) Benjamin P., May 14, 1837, was a lawyer and a prominent politician. He was a super- visor of Amenia in 1861, district attorney of Poughkeepsie in 1858, member of the Consti- tutional Convention, State senator in 1875, county judge from 1877 to 1883, delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1884, governor of Montana in the year 1884, and member of the Code Commission. He was married in 1860 to Esther Thorne, who was born July 3, 1840, daughter of Stephen Thorne, of Poughkeepsie. Four children were born to them: Estelle, June 5. 1861 (died January 9, 1863); Nina, August 26, 1863, was married April 8, 1885, to Albert E. Tower, and has one son - Albert, born November, 1887; Kate, October 12, 1866; and Stephen, June 14, 1869, is now the city attorney of Hel- ena, Mont. He was admitted to the bar Decem- ber 3, 1890, appointed United States Commis- sioner in March, 1892, and elected Assembly- man in 1892.

Isaac Smith Carpenter, the subject proper of this sketch, received his early education in the public schools of Stanford, the Amenia Seminary, Pittsfield Gymnasium, Warren In- stitute, in Connecticut, and College Hill, Poughkeepsie. He has always lived at the old homestead in Stanford. His distinguished abilities and high character have enabled him to sustain well the position in the community which was his by family inheritance, and he is foremost among the supporters of any worthy public movement. He was supervisor of the town of Stanford four terms, and was elected to the Assembly from the First district in 1879, and again in 1880, serving each term as a member of the Ways and Means committee.

M ON. JOHN BOWDISH DUTCHER, one of the ablest and most distinguished sons of Dutchess county, is noted for his ability as a financier and as an organizer and manager of large corporate interests, as well as for his effective work in political lines. The simplest summary of the various positions of trust and honor which he holds, or has held, would cover widely different phases of political, social and business life.

Mathew Dutcher, grandfather of our sub- ject, came from Holland, and settled in what is now the town of Dover. Dutchess county, where he probably passed the remainder of his life as a farmer. He died at a comparatively early age, but his wife, Sarah Dutcher, sur- vived him many years, dying in her ninety- first year. They had five children: Harry, who located in Ontario county, N. Y .; David, our subject's father; Phoebe, the wife of Will- iam Kronkright; Clarissa, who married Eph- raim Kronkright; and Pattie, the wife of Fer- ris Carey. David Dutcher was born in the town of Dover in 1796, and lived all his life near South Dover. He was a man of strong character and great energy, wielding great in- fluence in local affairs, and making a success of his business as an agriculturist and dealer in live stock. In the latter branch he had an ex- tensive trade, supplying the local and New York City markets. He commenced life poor, but at his death, which occurred June 9, 1853, he owned about six hundred acres of land. He married Amy Bowdish, daughter of Asa Bow- dish, and a descendant of an old Quaker fam- ily, which had settled at an early period near New Bedford, Mass. She was born in 1799, and died June 5, 1875. Eight children were born of this union: Albro, who was quarter- master in the 21st Missouri Regiment during the Civil war, and died in the service; Asa, a resident of Sharon, Conn. ; John B., our sub- ject; Jane Ann, who married Frederick Cole- man. of Warren, Conn .; Julia, the wife of Baldwin Stevens; DeWitt C., who enlisted in the army and was drowned while serving on the staff of Gen. Viele; and Charles (deceased), who was a paymaster in the navy during the Civil war, and later resided at White Plains.

Our subject was born in the town of Dover, February 13, 1830, was reared as a farmer boy, and obtained his education chiefly in the common schools. He has always been en- gaged in agriculture, at first in his native town, and later in the adjoining town of Pawling. In 1860 he married Miss Christina Dodge, daughter of the late Daniel Dodge, of Pawling, and in April, 1861, he located upon his pres- ent homestead in that town. He owns 1, 600 acres of fine grazing land in Dutchess county, stocked with thoroughbred horses and 250 cows. His agricultural interests are now man- aged by his son, J. Gerow Dutcher (the only offspring of his marriage), who was united in wedlock in April, 1894, with Miss Helen Titus

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Willetts, daughter of Edward Willetts, of Roslyn, Long Island.

Possessing sound judgment, Hon. J. B. Dutcher has gained and kept the confidence of the people at large in an unusual degree. He was made supervisor of the town of Dover in 1857. and justice of the peace in the following year. A Whig in early years, he became a Republican on the organization of that party, and is still an ardent advocate of its principles. An injury prevented him from going to the front during the Civil war, but he was active and zealous in recruiting and equipping troops. He was a member of the State Assembly in 1861 and 1862, and of the State Senate in 1864 and 1865. In the Assembly he was chairman of the committee on Internal Affairs and a member of the committee on Railroads; in the Senate was a member of the committee on Cities, and chairman of the committee on Internal Affairs. For several years he was a member of the State Republican Committee. In 1864 he was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated Lincoln, and in 1880 he was sent in the same capacity to the convention that placed Garfield at the head of the National ticket. He keeps closely in touch with all the questions of the day, and is strongly in favor of the curtailment of the liquor traffic as far as possible.

In 1864 Mr. Dutcher became a director of the New York & Harlem railroad, and in 1865 he took charge of the department of live-stock transportation on the New York Central & Har- lem railroads, and has ever since held this re- sponsible position, to which has been added the West Shore railroad and the Rome & Watertown railroad. He is also prominently identified with other lines, being a director of the Spuyton Duyval railroad, the Poughkeepsie & Eastern railroad, and the New York & Put- namn railroad. His other business interests are legion. He is president of the Union Stock Yards & Market Co., of New York City, and was one of its incorporators; president of the National Bank at Pawling, succeeding Albert J. Akin; director of the American Safe Deposit Company; director of the Fifth Avenue Bank; and one of the original stockholders in its in- corporation in 1875; director of the Mizzentop Hotel Company at Quaker Hill, and formerly its president; member of the Chamber of Com- merce and the Produce Exchange; and for many years before its sale was president of the St. Louis National Stock Yards, of which he

was one of the founders. Not the least of his

labors have been his successful efforts for the improvement of the village of Pawling, where he has built a fine block containing a hotel and number of stores. He is now the president of the village, and to his efforts the village is largely indebted for one of the best water-sup- ply systems in the State; and he is president of the board of water commissioners. In his agricultural matters he is regarded as a leader ; he was president of the New York State Agri- cultural Society for two years, and has been president of the Holstein Friesian Association of America. Socially he is no less prominent; he is one of the oldest members of the Union League Club, and a member of the St. Nicho- las Society of New York City.

J AMES HENRY WEEKS. Among the in- fluential and leading citizens of Poughkeep-

sie, none was held in higher esteem, or was more worthy a place in the records of her his- tory than the subject of this sketch, who is held in kindly remembrance by all who knew him. In all the relations of life-as a lawyer, a law- maker, a citizen, and a tender and devoted hus- band and father-he fulfilled his duties with faithfulness and discretion, and left to his chil- dren the best of all legacies, "a good name."

The Weeks family was of old English ori- gin, the paternal grandfather of our subject having emigrated to America in an early day. Thomas Weeks, our subject's father, was born in Connecticut, where he followed farming. He married Elizabeth Bogardus, a daughter of James Cornelius Bogardus, and they came to Dutchess county, settling on a farm and rear- ing a family of children, as follows: Elizabeth, who died in 1892, unmarried; Emily, who mar- ried Isaac S. Vary, at one time teller of the Farmers' & Manufacturers' Bank, Poughkeep- sie; Ann, married to John DePew, of Dutchess county: Eloise, who became the wife of Charles Barrett, a farmer of Putnam county, N. Y .: and James Henry.

James H. Weeks, the subject proper of this sketch, was born December 21, 1822, in N. Hackensack, N. Y. He attended the district school of his locality in early boyhood, continu- ing his education at the Dutchess County Acad- emy, subsequently reading law with Alexander Forbes. He was admitted to the bar at Pough- keepsie, May 16, 1845, and shortly afterward formed a partnership with Hon. John Thomp-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

son, which continued for nearly thirty years, until the time of the death of Mr. Weeks. This firm was then the oldest law firm in the State. In 1878 Frank B. Lown was taken into partnership, the firm name at Mr. Weeks' decease being Thompson, Weeks & Lown.

Mr. Weeks was married June 28, 1866, to Harriet S. Babcock, a native of Salem, Mass .. and a daughter of Rev. Rufus Babcock. Her father was born in Colebrook, Conn., and was pastor of a Baptist Church in Salem, Mass., and of one in Poughkeepsie; was also president of Colby University, at Waterville, Maine. He married Olivia Smith, a native of Barring- ton, R. I., born of English descent, and three children were the result of this union: Caro- line, who married Horatio G. Jones, a lawyer of Philadelphia; Emily, the wife of George H. Swift, a lawyer of Poughkeepsie, but residing in Amenia; and Harriet (Mrs. Weeks).

Mr. Weeks died November 28, 1887, in Poughkeepsie, which had always been his home. He was closely identified with the interests of the city, and took an active part in all public enterprises. In his early years he was a Dem- ocrat in his political views, afterward, however, becoming associated with the Republican party, he was a leading spirit in its councils. He held several town offices, and in the winter of 1853-54 was a member of the Assembly at Albany, N. Y., during which incumbency he was chairman of the judiciary committee, and won the esteem of his constituency for his careful and untiring devotion to their interests. As a lawyer he was well known for his keen insight into human nature, his correct judgment on intricate questions, and his thorough knowl- ledge of law in all its bearings. Personally he was a man of genial manners, generous and charitable in his disposition, and greatly beloved in his home. He was an able financier, and left some valuable property in Dutchess county and also in Rhode Island. He was a liberal supporter of the Presbyterian Church, to which his family belong. Mrs. Weeks and her daugh- ters-Caroline Babcock and Elizabeth Mauran -are widely known and highly esteemed in the community, and are women of culture and refinement.

H ON. JOHN A. HANNA, of Dover Plains, Dutchess county, member of the New York State Assembly from the First District, is one of the most distinguished citizens, and

has made his way to the front in business and political life notwithstanding the fact that he is still young in years. He was born in Will- iamsbridge, near New York City, on October 8, 1859, and received a good education, at- tending first the schools of his native place, and later a private seminary at Dover. After his graduation he engaged in mercantile busi- ness, and in 1875 he established a general store in Dover Plains, which at once became a prominent factor in the commercial life of the town. His father-in-law, H. W. Preston, is associated with him under the firm name of J. A. Hanna & Co.

Mr. Hanna possesses the admirable traits of character which mark the leader in public affairs, and has been prominent in the councils of the Republican party from his first entrance into politics, being elected to various town offices at different times-including that of supervisor in 1890, for one year, and in 1893, for two years. May 20, 1889, he was ap- pointed postmaster of Dover Plains, under President Harrison, and held that position un- til a short time ago, and in 1895 he was elected to the State Legislature, where he has served his constituency ably and faithfully. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum at Wassaic, N. Y., and is a leading member of the Baptist Church at Dover Plains, taking great interest in the prosperity and growth of that body. His wife, formerly Miss Ada Preston, is a de- scendant of one of the oldest families. They have one daughter-Julia E. Hanna.

The Hanna family originated in Mayha- land, County Londonderry, Ireland, and Mr. Hanna has made a visit to the old home of his ancestors while taking an extended Europ- ean tour. Samuel Hanna, his grandfather, was born in Mayhaland, County Londonderry, Ireland, and was there reared and educated. He followed the occupation of a farmer and also engaged in the operation of a flax and grist mill at that place. He married Matilda Furgeson, and to their union were born thir- teen children, namely: Jane, who married James Sergent; Thomas, who married Mar- garet Hutchinson: James and John, who died in infancy: Isabella, who married James Hutchinson; Nancy, who married William Hanna; John, who remained single; Robert, who married Matilda Dixon; Eliza, who died in girlhood; Peggy, who died in infancy; David, our subject's father; Sarah, who mar- ried a Mr. Livingston; and Alex.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.

David Hanna, our subject's father, during his boyhood attended the schools of his native land, and assisted his father in the work of the mills. On March 15, 1852, he married Miss Eliza Hutchinson, a daughter of Samuel and Arabella Greer) Hutchinson, who lived on a farm in County Londonderry. Her father was one of the seven children born to Robert and Nancy (Patterson) Hutchinson, who were also agriculturists of the same locality, the others being: John, William, James, Bettie, Alex and Thomas. Shortly after his marriage David Hanna and his wife sailed from the Emerald Isle for the New World, and made their first location at Paterson, N. J., where they re- mained for some time. On leaving that city they went to New York, and for forty-three years Mr. Hanna was in the employ of the Har- lem road, being fireman for seven years and five months, and was then given a position as watchman, which he held until his resignation a short time ago, owing to his age. His long continued service well indicates his faithful discharge of duty, and the implicit confidence placed in him by his employers. He had a family of seven children, namely: Arabella; Samuel, a conductor on the Harlem railroad, married Minnie McGlasson, and they have one child-Herbert J .; Matilda is now deceased; John is our subject: David, a conductor on the Harlem railroad, married Mary Hutchinson; Dorley is deceased; and Lizza A.

The ancestors of Mrs. John A. Hanna were early settlers in Rhode Island, where her great- great-grandfather, Ebenezer Preston, was born and educated. He was the first of the family to come to Dutchess county, and he became a successful farmer in the town of Dover. His wife was a Miss White, and they had five chil- dren: Bijah married Betsey Ross; Smith mar- ried Phæbe Eazener; John married Amy Wing; Ebenezer remained in single blessedness; and Hannah married Jackson Wing. John Pres- ton, Mrs. Hanna's great-grandfather, was born in Dover Plains, and after attending the com- mon schools for some years engaged in farm- ing. He purchased a tract of land on the old post road near Dover Plains, upon which stood a house that was one of the historic land-marks of the locality, having been used for many years as a tavern. The days of the stage coach not yet being ended, he maintained it in that capacity for some years. He married Miss Amy Wing, daughter of Thomas Wing, a well-known farmer of Dover, and they had

eight children, whose names with those of their husbands and wives are as follows: Myron mar- ried Sarah Ward; Shandinett married Sal- lie A. Sheldon; Harvey married Emeline Ta- ber; Uriah, no record; George married Mary Germond; John married Sallie Thomas; Han- nah married Oscar Taber; and Phœbe married David Vincent. The two younger daughters were twins.

Myron Preston, Mrs. Hanna's grandfather, was born in 1804, and after a course in the common schools in the town of Dover engaged in farming there. He was greatly interested in local politics, and held a number of offices. His wife was Miss Sarah Wood, daughter of Paltira and Anna Wood, who owned a fine farm near Dover Plains. Of the two children of this union the younger, Anna, married Abram Denton. The elder, Henry W. Pres- ton, Mrs. Hanna's father, was born in 1830, and was educated in the schools of Dover Plains and at the Amenia Seminary. After graduat- ing from the latter institution he engaged in farming for a time, but later became connected with a mercantile firm in Dover Plains as a clerk. In 1875 he formed the present part- nership with his son-in-law, which has proved mutually advantageous. He married Miss Julia M. Pierce, the daughter of a prosperous saddle and harness maker of Salisbury, Conn .. and Mrs. Hanna is their only child.

H ON. ALFRED BONNEY. As one of the youngest and ablest members of the State Assembly of 1882, the subject of this re- view rendered good service to his constituency of the First District of Dutchess County, and proved himself a worthy descendant of an an- cestry which has numbered more than one man of ability and note.

The Bonney family is of Anglo-Norman stock, and the head of the American line came from Dover, England, about 1604. For sev- eral generations the home of the family was in Massachusetts; but the numerous descendants have since become widely dispersed. Peter Bonney, our subject's grandfather, was born May 18, 1773, at Charlestown, N. H., and April 7, 1800, was married to Eleanor Savage, who was born November 16, 1781. Shortly after his marriage he settled at Littleton, N. H., and engaged in business as a tanner, and dealer in wild lands. He was a man of much influence, and in 1810 represented Grafton

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

county, N. H., in the State Legislature. His death occurred December 15, 1836, his wife surviving him many years, dying at Jamaica Plains, Mass., October 7, 1873. They had eight children, all of whom (except the young- est) are now deceased, their names with dates of birth, &c., being as follows: Emily, May 30, 1801; Benjamin West, February 2, 1803; Elvira, March 14, 1805, married and settled near Boston; Almeria, September 9, 1807, also married and lived in New Hampshire; Frank- lin R., December 6, 1810; Elizabeth M., Oc- tober 12, 1815, married and resided in San Francisco, Cal. : Alfred P., August 29, 1820, was married, and left a widow and four chil- dren, who now reside in Waterford, Caledonia Co., Vt., about fourteen miles from St. Johns- bury; and Ellen, April 2, 1825, widow of the late Rev. Oliver S. St. John, a Congregational minister.

Judge Benjamin West Bonney, our sub- ject's father, received an elementary education in the common schools at Littleton, N. H., and then taught school in order to obtain funds for further study. Later he entered Dartmouth College, from which he graduated valedictorian of his class in 1824, and subse- quently settled in New York City, where he began the study of law. In 1827 he was ap- pointed commissioner of deeds; February 29, 1828, was admitted to practice as attorney in the Court of Common Pleas; on October 29, 1830, received his license as counsellor, and on the following day was licensed as counsellor at law in the Court of Common Pleas. On May 31, 1831, he became a licensed counsellor in all the courts of the State. He practiced his profession continuously in New York City until his death, except while serving as justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; and was widely influential in public af- fairs, religious, educational and political. He was an ardent supporter of the Republican party, from its formation. He was president of the New England Society in the City of New York; chairman of the Board of Audits; and one of the earliest members of the Union League Club; a director in the Washington Life Insurance Co .; general counsel of the Merchants Bank, and counsel for many years of Madame Jumel.

On April 28, 1848, he was married by Rev. Mancius S. Hutton, D. D., to Adriana Rapalje, daughter of Sylvanus Rapalje, who was born July 3, 1795, and died November 12, 1883; he

was a prominent man of his day, in various lines of effort; he was twice married, first on June 11, 1823, to Susan Roe Van Voorhis, who was born April 14. 1805, and died Janu- ary 26, 1832. To their union were born three children: Adelaide, August 7, 1824; Jeromus, February 25, 1826; and Adriana, our subject's mother, November 11, 1827. On November 16, 1833, he married, for his second wife, Rachel Ann Van Voorhis, a native of Fishkill, Dutchess county, and a sister of his first wife. She died March 23, 1877. They had three children, viz .: William, born August 20, 1834; Susan Augusta, widow of the late Rev. Lester M. Dorman (Yale '54), January 21, 1839; and Stewart, September 6, 1843.

Our subject's parents inade their home in New York City, where the father died August 18, 1868, and the mother on August 15, 1891. They reared a family of seven children, to all of whom were given unusually good educa- tional advantages. Their names, with dates of birth, etc., are here given: Eleanor, March 2, 1849, married Edward F. Brown, a lawyer of New York City; Adriana R., March 30, 1850, is the widow of Dr. Weber-Liel, late of Bonn, Germany, where she now resides; and Benja- min W., April 2, 1852, is a farmer at Fishkill Plains; Susan R., May 20, 1854, married Major of Cavalry Carl Emil Schultz-Schulzenstein, of Berlin, Germany, and died in Charlotten- burg, Germany, September 26, 1895; Alfred, our subject; Jeromus R., May 6, 1859, who has never married, is a civil engineer; Elvira B., July 5. 1863, married Anton L. Bamber- ger, who died in London, England.

Hon. Alfred Bonney was born February 17, 1857, at No. 18 West 14th street, New York City, where his education was begun in its schools, and in 1869 he, in company with his mother, brothers and sisters, went to Ger- many to study. He spent one year at Dussel- dorf-on-the-Rhine, and two years at Berlin, and then returned to the United States. He attended the Brooklyn Polytechnic and Col- legiate Institute for a time, and later entered Cornell University, where he remained three years, making a special study of agriculture. In 1878 he settled in the town of East Fish- kill, Dutchess county, purchasing his present estate of 151 acres, then known as the "old Rapalje farm," but now re-christened the "Green Meadow farm." Here his thorough scientific training for his calling has been put to a successful test in the raising of general

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.

crops, and he is regarded as one of the lead- ing farmers of that section. His activities are not confined to agricultural work, however, and he has been prominent in the Republican party, being chosen, as has been said, to rep- resent the Assembly District in the Legislature at Albany.

On April 30, 1889, Mr. Bonney married Miss Sarah A. Luyster, daughter of the late Peter Luyster, and they have one son, Alfred, Jr., born April 20, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Bon- ney are members of the Reformed Church at Hopewell, in which he has held office as dea- con. He is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, Cornell Branch, and is a life mem- ber of the New England Society.

B ISBEE FAMILY, THE, of which Joseph B. Bisbee, of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, is a worthy and respected representa- tive, is of English origin, and the progenitor of the American line came to this country in 1734. the name appearing in the early records as " Besbedge." He settled at Plymouth, Mass., but his descendants located at various points, being named among the first settlers at Mans- field, Pembroke and Scituate, Mass. Gideon Bisbee located at Chesterfield, Hampshire Co., Mass., and was the father of two sons, Jotham and Gideon. Jotham had ten children: Jon- athan, Asenatlı, Elisha, Lucy, Rebecca, Lydia, Rachel, Jotham, Job and Ashael.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 5

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