Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 59

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

USA > New York > Dutchess County > Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York > Part 59

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Andrew Haight, the father of our subject, was born in the town of Washington, May 16, 1805. He married Sarah Ann Sherman, a daughter of Jedediah and Catherine (Gage) Sherman, born October 17, 1803, either in Dutchess or Saratoga county. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Haight settled on a farm, and two children were born to them: Nicholas, who died in infancy, and Sherman, our subject. The father died September 10, 1877, and the mother on April 8, 1869. In politics he was a Republican, and, religiously,

both he and his wife were followers of the Quaker faith.

Jedediah Sherman, the maternal grand- father of Sherman Haight, was a prosperous farmer in the town of Washington, born Feb- ruary 26, 1781. His first wife (whose name is not now known) was born June 8, 1780. By her he had five children, of whom the following is the record: (1) Mosher B., a miller at Lit- tle Rest, first married Miss Barton, by whom he had two children-Kate and Isaac-and for his second wife wedded Miss Phæbe Conklin, a sister of Isaac Conklin, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere. (2) Howland R., a dyer. who married Caroline Innis, by whom he had one child-Kate. (3) Jeremiah D., a mer- chant at Mabbettsville and later a farmer, who married Hannah Tabor, and they had children as follows -- Elizabeth, Sarah, Caroline, Philip J., Martha, George, and Kate. (4) Leonard, who first married a Miss Duncan, by whom he had two children-Mary and Matilda; after the death of his wife he again married, and three children were born of this union-Jane, Henrietta, and Charles. (5) The mother of our subject.

Sherman Haight, the subject proper of this sketch, was born in the town of Washington, May 27, 1841. He spent his boyhood on the home farm, and on December 7, 1869, was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Sisson, a native of Washington town, and a danghter of Henry and Eliza (Bryan) Sisson, After their marriage our subject and his wife located on their present large dairy farm, which is one of the finest in Dutchess county. The follow- ing children have graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Haight: Sarah Eliza, Anna Sisson, An- drew Henry, Sherman David, and Samuel Moore, all of whom are living and unmarried. Politically, our subject is a Republican, and he and his wife are prominent in social circles.

Henry Sisson, the father of Mrs. Haight, was born in Washington township, April 10, 1807, a son of Lemuel, Jr., and Sarah (Suther- land) Sisson, the former of whom was a native of Rhode Island, a son of Lemuel, Sr., who in turn was a direct descendant of old Huguenot stock. The other children in the family of Lemuel Sisson, Jr., were: Jacob, Job, William, Anna, Richard, Lydia, Phoebe, Sally, Isaac and Marah Deborah. On reaching manhood, Henry Sisson was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Bryan, who was born March 16, 1810, in the town of Northeast, a daughter of Amos

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and Elizabeth (Flint) Bryan, and to them were born four children, namely: Emily, who married Walter F. Conklin, a merchant and musician; James B., a farmer and auctioneer, who married Miss Helen Titus; Anna, who became the wife of Samuel H. Moore, for many years associated with Adriance Platt & Co., manufacturers of harvesting machinery ; and Sarah E. (Mrs. Haight).

Amos Bryan, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Haight, settled on the Bryan homestead farm, in Northeast town, after his marriage with Elizabeth Flint. They had a family of nine children: David, Isaac, Ward, Ezra, James, Laura, Mary, Sarah E. and Eliza. William Cullen Bryant was related to this family.

C HARLES KIRCHNER, the well-known proprietor of a large meat market at Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, and one of the most extensive real-estate holders of that city, is a native of Germany, born May 31, 1835, in Otterberg, Rhenish Bavaria.

His ancestors were prominent residents of that place for many generations, and William Kirchner, his great-grandfather, was Dominie in the Frst Reformed Church there. Frantz Kirchner, our subject's grandfather, a butcher by trade, had six children: Catherine Good- hart; William and Henry, who came to Phila- delphia at an early date; Jacob, who was an unusually fine specimen of physical manhood, being over six feet in height, and was a mem- ber of Napoleon's famous body-guard of three hundred men in the ill-starred Russian cam- paign, from which he never returned.

Conrad Kirchner, our subjects' father, born in 1800, succeeded to his father's business, and remained at the old home, where he died in 1877. In 1825 he married Elizabeth Godel, who was born in Otterberg in 1800, and died in 1880. They had ten children: Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Nunce, of Newark, N. J .; William, who inherited his father's house and business, and died in 1892; Caroline, who re- mained in Germany and married John Hubing there; Jacob (deceased), formerly a butcher at Otterberg; Charles, our subject; Conrad, who was a butcher in Otterberg for many years, and died in Poughkeepsie in 1892; Wilhelmina, who married (first) Christian Strause, and (second) Baron Von Gutterman, both promi- nent men in Germany: Louis, a butcher in

Poughkeepsie; and Philip and Henry, both in the butcher business at Newark, N. J. The brothers have all been successful in business. The parents came to America in 1869 to visit their sons, and the father, who was a man of 'fine presence and genial nature, made many friends among the leading people of Pough- keepsie. In the summer of 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Kirchner celebrated their golden wedding at their home in Otterberg, Germany, for which occasion eleven members of the Kirchner family in America proceeded to Ger- many to be present at the event; there were eighty members present.

Charles Kirchner, the subject proper of this review, attended the schools of his native town until he was fifteen years old. He made good use of these opportunities, and has since kept well informed on the topics which inter- est all intelligent people. At the age of eight- een he began to assist his father in business; but soon after, in May, 1854, he came to America, being the first of the sons to leave the old country. After a short stay in New- ark, N. J., he went to Poughkeepsie, arriving there on July 5, same year. He secured a po- sition as clerk with Jacob Petillon, remaining six months, when he returned to Newark and clerked in a butcher shop for a year and a half. During this time he learned the trade, also familiarized himself with the English language, and in August, 1856, he engaged in business for himself in Newark, continuing it successfully until October, 1862, when he re- moved to Poughkeepsie and opened his market at No. 156 Main street, which he has now con- ducted for more than thirty-four years. His success in this line has been marked, and he has also made some judicious investments in real estate, which have proven profitable. At one time he owned the Poughkeepsie Driving Park, which he sold to Edwin Thorn, and at present he pays the largest taxes on real estate of anyone in the city. In 1872 he built " Kirchner's Hall " for a State Armory, which is allowed to be one of the best buildings in the city, and in 1891 he converted it into a public hall, for which purpose it is one of the finest in the State. His rare judgment and business skill have been widely recognized in financial circles, and he is often consulted in important enterprises.

In 1867 Mr. Kirchner married Miss Caro- line C. Petillon, daughter of Jacob Petillon, his first employer in this country. They have no

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.

children. Mr. Kirchner has thirty-five nephews and nieces in Germany and America, to whom he is most generous and affectionate, being especially interested in their education. One he has sent to the Bishop School; one to the Bisbee Military School; one to the Theological Seminary, at Rochester, while a niece gradu- ated from Vassar in 1893. He is always ready to risk something to help another, has been bondsman for many city officers and bank officials, and has never lost a dollar. As a lover of horses, he delights in owning and driving a fine team.

Mr. Kirchner has made four visits to the Fatherland, one for four months, in 1861, while he was in business in Newark; one of seven months in 1874, and one in 1880 at the time of his mother's death, when he re-interred his father's remains by her side in a new burial plot, and erected a handsome monument. His last visit was in 1890, when his wife accom- panied him, and they traveled some eight months, visiting many points of interest. He and his wife are leading members of the Re- formed Dutch Church, and in local affairs, he is regarded as a friend of every progressive movement. He is an influential worker in the Republican party, and has been urged to be- come a candidate for the office of mayor, but he has never permitted his name to be used in such connection.

V AN WYCKS. The ancestor of the Van- Wycks in Dutchess county was Cornelius Barents Van Wyck, who, in 1650, came to New Netherlands from the town of Wyck, Holland, and in 1660 married, at Flatbush, Kings Co., N. Y., Ann, daughter of Rev. Johannis Theodorus Polhemus, the first Re- formed Dutch minister in that county.

The Van Wycks, of Holland, are an aris- tocratic family, and continue to use the same coat of arms as those brought here by the American Van Wycks upward of two and one- half centuries ago. From the beginning of the history of Dntchess county the Van- Wycks have been prominent in the professions, and in the public service, as judges, legislators, congressmen, senators, and soldiers of all the wars of our country, including that for Amer- ican independence.

Theodorus Van Wyck, son of Cornelius Barents Van Wyck and Ann Polhemus, was

born in Flatbush in 1667. He married Mar- garet Brinckerhof; took oath of allegiance at New Amsterdam in 1687.

Theodorus Van Wyck, son of Theodorus Van Wyck and Margaret Brinckerhof, was the surveyor and original purchaser of a tract of 900 acres of land in the town of East Fishkill. He was a very prominent man of his time. Together with Col. John Brinckerhof, he was appointed one of the first judges of the Court of Common Pleas, on the 24th of February, 1752, by George Clinton, Captain General Governor, and Chief of the Province of New York, and the territories thereon depending in America, under King George Il. [This old document is now in the Armory Museum at Poughkeepsie. ] He married Elizabeth Creed.

Theodorus Van Wyck, son of Theodorus Van Wyck and Elizabeth Creed, was born in 1730, and died in 1797. He married Altje, daughter of Col. John Brinckerhof and his wife, Janetje Van Voorhees. He was a physi- cian, and the earliest in the county; he was among the first to renounce his allegiance to King George, and because of his outspoken sentiments was compelled by his Tory neigh- bors, in 1775, to leave Fishkill. He removed to New York City, and was elected a delegate to the Second Provincial Congress in that year. The patriots becoming more bold and out- spoken throughout the county, he returned to his farm in the early part of 1776, and was again elected to Congress in that year from Dutchess county. During the Revolution he was an active patriot. His family have from time to time held many offices of trust. The sons of Dr. Theodorus Van Wyck and Altje Brinckerhof, his wife, were Abraham Van- Wyck, John Brinckerhof Van Wyck, and William Van Wyck.

Abraham Van Wyck held the commission of major-general in the war of 1812; he was a large landowner in Fishkill. William Van- Wyck was elected to Congress from Dutchess in the early part of the century. John Brinck- erhof Van Wyck married (first) Gertrude Brinckerhof, and (second) Susan Schenck; his sons by his second wife' were: Alfred, John, William and Edmund. He was a large land- owner in Fishkill, and was a general in the State militia. He was elected to the Assem- bly of this State in 1812 and 1816; was a successful breeder of Merino sheep, and made a fortune in wool and land. Old documents in possession of the family show that he held

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several civil appointments from Governors John Jay and Dewitt Clinton.

Alfred Van Wyck, eldest son of John B. Van Wyck and Susan Schenck, was a farmer in the town of Fishkill, occupying the old homestead. In 1860 he moved to Illinois, buying a tract of land that afterward be- came a part of the town of Clifton. He died in 1894, aged ninety-two years. He married Miss Charlotte Viets, by whom he had one son, John B., and two daughters, Mary and Charlotte.

John Van Wyck, second son, had an in- clination toward a mercantile life; he became a partner in a large dry-goods house in New York City, and remained there for some years. He afterward retired from business, and, return- ing to Dutchess county, purchased a handsome place at New Hamburg, where he died in 1878. He married Miss Sarah Mesier;their family were ten in number: four daughters-Kate, Cor- nelia, Sarah and Mary; and six sons-Mesier, Abraham, Henry, Edmund, John and Will- iam.

William Van Wyck, third son, studied law and was admitted to the bar. He died from an accident in 1854. He married Miss Augusta Forman; they had no family.

Edmund Van Wyck, fourth son, was born January 31, 1818; he was a farmer, and always lived in Dutchess county. After attending private schools in Poughkeepsie and New York City he traveled to some extent through the West. He married, January 9, 1845, Miss Josephine Barnes, a daughter of the late David Barnes, and the following children were born to them: William (died in 1870 unmarried), David Barnes, Stephen, Paul Schenck, Joseph, and Alex. W. Mr. Van Wyck lived upon a farm in the town of Poughkeepsie. In 1852 he moved to the town of Lagrange, where he resided until his death, September 10, 1888. Mrs. Van Wyck died in 1861.

DAVID BARNES, second son, a physician of Lagrange, was born in that town April 24, 1852. His early education was received at the little " Red School House " near Manches- ter Bridge, and later he attended the Cary Institute, a Quaker school in Poughkeepsie. Upon leaving school he entered the drug store of Van Valkenburg & Brown, where he re- mained several years. He was also with Hop- kins & Arnold, Chas. S. Bowne, and Webb & Sherwood. He next went to Kansas, remain- ing there nine years; studied medicine in the

Omaha Medical College, and then went to the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, from which he was graduated in 1889. He is a member of Stissing Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Poughkeepsie Chapter No. 172, R. A. M .; also of the Dutchess County Medical Society.

Stephen, third son, was born June 28, 1854; his education was obtained at Pelham Institute and at Manchester. He lived at home until 1881, when he removed to Kansas to enter the sheep business with his brothers, David and Paul. He gave this up after a few years to enter upon the study of law, and was admitted to the Bar in the State of Kansas. In 1886 he was elected Probate Judge, and re- elected in 1888. On December 25, 1890, he married Miss Helen Dicken, and they have three children: Edmund, William and Harlan.

Paul Schenck, fourth son, was born May 19, 1856. He was educated at the district school and Pelham Institute. In 1880 he went to Kansas, where he began sheep breed- ing. He returned to Dutchess county in 1886, and here remained until 1895, when he entered into business in the city of Buffalo.

Joseph, fifth son, was born October 8, 1858; was educated at the same institution as was Paul; and has always resided upon the old homestead in Lagrange. On January 1, 1880, he married Miss Charlotte Bartlett, and they have the following children: Jennie L., Jo- sephine, Edmund, and Paul Schenck. Mr. Van Wyck is a Republican, and in 1896 he was elected supervisor of the town of Lagrange for two years; he has always followed the occu- pation of farming.

Alex. W., sixth son, was born March 5, 1861; was educated with his brothers, and in 1881 went to Nebraska, where he remained a year. He then went to Washington Territory (now State), settling at New Whatcom, and was elected city treasurer. On July 21, 1888, he married Miss Annie Kalloch, daughter of the late Hon. I. S. Kalloch, mayor of San Francisco, Cal. In 1896 he was elected county auditor after one of the hottest political battles in the record of the county. He is a Repub- lican. He and his wife have two children: Phillip and Catherine.

Other well-known members of the family, descendants in the same line, and residents of Dutchess county, are: S. Miller Van Wyck, lawyer, residing at Fishkill-on-Hudson; B. W. Van Wyck, of Poughkeepsie; Abraham Van- Wyck and James Van Wyck, of East Fishkill.

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An examination of the family coat of arms shows that an ancestor was in the Crusades, which commenced about the year 1096 under Pope Urban II.

I SAAC HAIGHT, JR. (deceased). For sev- eral generations the family name of the subject of this sketch has been a familiar one in this locality. The first of the family in di- rect line to emigrate to America was Simon Haight, who arrived in the New World in 1628. Originally the Haights lived in Wales. Simon Haight was the father of Nicholas (1) Haight, who in turn had a son Samuel. Samuel Haight resided on Long Island, and there his son Nicholas (2), the great-great- grandfather of our subject, was born.

Nicholas (2) became the father of Jacob Haight, who was born on Long Island in 1705. Jacob, the great-grandfather of our subject, was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Hicks, and to them the following children were born: Elizabeth, born in 1734; John, 1736; Stephen, 1738; Nicholas, 1740; Jacob (2) 1742; Pa- tience, 1744; Sarah, 1746; Samuel, 1748; and Phœbe, 1750.

Jacob (2) was married to Miss Phoebe Haviland, who was born in 1745, and they reared the following children: Charity, born in 1769; Patience, born in 1771; James, de- ceased in infancy; Sarah, born in 1775; John, the father of our subject, born in 1777; Eliza- beth, born in 1779; Jacob, born in 1782, and Isaac, born in 1784.

John Haight was born in Hart's Village, where he married Miss Elsie Thorne and set- tled on a farm on which a part of Millbrook now stands. Four children were born to him and his wife, namely: William, who was a farmer on the old homestead; Isaac, our sub- ject; Jacob, who died in 1845; and Anna, who married Jacob H. Allen, a farmer at Skaneat- eles, Onondaga Co .. N. Y. The father was a farmer; in religious faith he and his wife were Quakers. He died April 26, 1836.

Isaac Haight, the subject proper of this sketch, was born June 26. 1807, in what was then called Hart's Village, town of Washing- ton. After passing his youth on his father's farm, he clerked in a store in Poughkeepsie, and also at Hart's Village.

In 1835 he was united in marriage to Miss Hannah L. Wintringham, who was born in New York City in 1812, a daughter of Thomas

and Ruth (Lawton) Wintringham. After their marriage our subject and his wife located on a farm on the present site of Millbrook. Four children were born to them: William Ed., who died in the Civil war; Sidney W., who died in 1882; Frances; and Emily R. Mr. Haight was a Democrat, and held the office of supervisor of his town; he was a substantial and progressive citizen, a leader among men, and is well remembered as a kind and gener- ous citizen. His death occurred November 15, 1864; his wife survived until February 15, 1893.

Thomas Wintringham, the father of Mrs. Haight, was born in Holmpton, Yorkshire, England, in 1775. He came to America and located in New York City, where he was a vintner. He married Miss Ruth Lawton, and they became the parents of the following chil- dren: David L .; Hannah W., wife of our subject; Sidney, deceased in infancy; Sidney (2); Jeremiah; and Ruth. Of these, David was a retired citizen of Jersey City; Sidney lived in Brooklyn, retired; Jeremiah was also a retired citizen of Brooklyn; Ruth married Henry Clement, a merchant of Flushing, L. I. Mrs. Wintringham came from Rhode Island, where her family were Quakers.

C HARLES A. STORM (deceased) was a man of the strictest integrity, whose hon- orable, upright life won the commendation of all. His birth took place in the town of East Fishkill, September 16, 1846, and he belonged to a family which had for many years been prominently identified with the history of Dutchess county. His grandfather was Col. John G. Storm, a native of Dutchess county, and the son of Charles G. Storm.

Charles G. Storm, the father of our sub- ject, was also born in Dutchess county, and here devoted his entire life to agricultural pur- suits. He wedded Mary Adriance, a daughter of Isaac Adriance, and after their marriage they located upon a farm in the town of East Fishkill, where they reared their family of five children: Susan M., the widow of William P. Storm, who was a merchant of New York City, but in later life engaged in farming; John, a resident of White Plains, N. Y., who married Henrietta Albro, a native of New York City; Margaret, who died unmarried; George, who married Emma Haight, a native of White Plains; and Charles A., of this re-

Isaac Haight In

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view. The father always turned his attention to farming, was an unfaltering Republican in politics, and with his family held to the belief of the Reformed Dutch Church.

Like most farmer boys, our subject passed his childhood, in assisting his father in the work of the home farm, and in attending the district school; later he was a student in the Bisbee school at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. After finishing his education he returned to the farm, and January 24, 1872, was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth B. Storin, a daughter of John V. Storm, and a sister of Abram J. Storm, Joseph H. Storm and W. J. Storm. They began housekeeping upon his father's place, which he operated for five years, and the fol- lowing two years were spent upon her father's farm. In 1879, he purchased the farm on which Mrs. Storm now resides, and where Mr. Storm's death occurred June 22, 1892. His attention was devoted exclusively to his farm- ing interests, and his political support was ever given the Republican party, which had in him a most earnest advocate. No man in the town of East Fishkill gained and retained more friends, or was held in higher esteem by his fellow citizens than Charles A. Storm.

C HARLES DOUGHTY (deceased) was one of the representative and honored citizens of the town of Beekman, where his birth oc- curred, April 1, 1841. He was a descendant of Rev. Francis Doughty, who about the year 1633 emigrated from England and located at Taunton, Mass., which places him among the earliest of the Puritan fathers following in the footsteps of the "Mayflower " pioneers. The Doughty family in England is of ancient ori- gin, dating back before the Norman conquest. The name was originally spelled Doghtig, and the family motto was " Palma non sine pul- vere."

Joseph Doughty, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Long Island, and was the first of the family to come to Dutch- ess county, locating upon the farm in the town of Beekman, between Greenhaven and Pough- quag, now occupied by John Brill. Upon that place he erected a log house, and spent the remainder of his life. He was united in marriage with Miss Psyche Wiltsie, who was born September 16, 1736, and they became the parents of twelve children, whose naines with dates of birth are as follows: Mary, March 21

23, 1754; John, June 8, 1757; Thomas, April 27, 1759; Jane, July 4. 1761; Joseph, Octo- ber 14, 1763; Psyche, March 6, 1766; Martin, March 14, 1768; William, November 5, 1770; Jacob, October 20, 1772; Elizabeth, October 18, 1774; Cornwell, October 28, 1776; and Ne- hemiah, October 14, 1780.

William Doughty, the grandfather of our subject, was born in the town of Beekman, and there carried on farining throughout his life. He married Mrs. Sarah (Van Wyck) Vanderburg, and in their family were six chil- dren: Phebe, born August 18, 1805; John J., April 12, 1807; Psyche, July 9, 1809; Will- iam, June 7, 1811; Sarah, June 22, 1813; and George T., October 26, 1815. The father of these died in 1854, at the age of eighty-four years; the mother died in 1865, at the age of ninety-four years.

William Doughty, Jr., the father of our subject, spent his entire life in the town of Beekman, and after reaching years of maturity devoted his time and attention to agricultural pursuits. He was united in marriage with Jane F. Brock, also a native of the town of Beek- man, and to them three sons were born: Charles, subject of this review; Walter, who was born in 1844, and is now secretary and treasurer of a company at the Union Stock Yards at Chicago, Ill .; and Edgar, who died in 1865. The mother's death occurred in De- cember, 1874, that of the father on June 1, 1893. In religious belief he was a member of the Society of Friends.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 59

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