Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 63

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

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The only account we have been able to se- cure of James is the following by a Confeder- ate soldier now residing in one of the Gulf States. The author of this sketch is an emi- nent Doctor of Divinity, widely known not only throughout the United States, but in other lands also. Speaking of Dr. Simmons as . A Foundation Builder," he says:

"When a small edifice or a temporary structure is to be erected, one man frequently plans, erects, completes, and uses the building. But when the great cathedral at Cologne was finished, the man who had conceived the plan. and laid the foundation, had lain in his grave over five centuries. The glory of the cather dral, however, is a sufficient monument to h's memory. For a large structure, there must

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be breadth of thought and work in the founda- tion. Dr. Simmons is peculiarly gifted in the ability to plan wisely, and lay such broad foundations that future generations may suc- cessfully build thereon.

"This is illustrated in his work in behalf of Christian education. He does not believe in working for one race, or one caste, or one section, but has distributed his labors to differ- ent races and different sections, and made them so broad that the capstone must of ne- cessity be laid long after the founder has ceased to live on the earth.

" Under his wise administration, as Corres- ponding Secretary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, locations were secured for seven Christian schools for the negroes of the South; one each in Washington, Rich- mond, Columbia, Raleigh, Augusta, Nashville and New Orleans. These are well chosen, strategic points, every one of them. Six of these institutions, on the very localities pur- chased by Dr. Simmons, have had marvelous growth. The properties, to-day, are vastly more valuable than when he acquired them. For the thirty acres of the Roger William Uni- versity at Nashville which he purchased for $30,000, the Home Mission Society, as 1 am told, could since have taken $200,000, had they been willing to sell.

" It was deemed advisable to remove the school located at Augusta to Atlanta, and it is doing a magnificent work there, Dr. A. E. Dickinson, editor of the . Religious Herald of Virginia, ' has well said: . Those seven institu- tions of learning for the colored people of the South, which Dr. J. B. Simmons was instru- mental in establishing, will be a better monu- ment to his memory, than seven towering shafts of granite.'

" Seven streams of light and knowledge for over a quarter of a century have been flooding the South with blessings from these young Col- leges. And these streams have been broaden- ing and deepening as the years roll on, and will doubtless continue to bless generations yet un- born. These schools were not founded for a day, a year, or a generation, but for all time. "Here we have the example of a man, who was the grandson of a New York slaveholder, * devoting seven years of the most intense toil,

anxiety, and labor to the Christian education of those who had been slaves, and succeeding in establishing seven institutions of learning, and raising money to secure properties ample for their use in the long years to come. The foundations were well laid, not on the sands of popular enthusiasm or partisan prejudice, but on the firm rock of Christian duty, in loyalty to Jesus Christ.

"Rev. H. M. Tupper, D. D .. president of Shaw University at Raleigh, N. C., used to say that Dr. Simmons had the best concep- tion of any man he knew, as to the sort of schools needed for the education of the Freed- mnen. And it is not too much to add that the seven original Freedmen Colleges, which were fashioned under his molding hand, became in no small degree the models for those that have been added since. At the same time he praises in most emphatic terms the good men who have preceded him, as well as the good men who have followed him in the work.

"When Dr. Simmons retired from his office as Corresponding Secretary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, that organization, in annual meeting assembled, adopted the following minute:

'The present condition of our educational work in the Southern States bears a most impressive testimony to the wisdom, the energy and the consecration exhibited by Rev. James B. Simmons, D.D., in the location and con- duct of the Freedmen's Schools, and in the development of Christian enterprise and liberality in their behalf. He has written his name upon the religious history of an emancipated race. The future will be his monument."

"But Dr. Simmons was too broad a man to confine his work to one race. He saw the need of the colored people, and gave his heart- throbs, tears and prayers, accompanied in every instance by his monied contributions. to help them. Many years before this, however, he had laid his vigorous hand to the work of helping the cause of education among the white race. As early as 1859, nearly a decade before he was called to be Secretary of Home Missions, and when he was not worth as much as fifteen hundred dollars all told-he pledged one thousand dollars of that amount to assist in founding an institution for the higher educa- tion of young ladies in Indianapolis. Ind., where he was then settled as pastor. And he paid every cent of that money. The coming on of the war, and other causes, led to the discontinuance of the school, and this thousand dollars, with other property of the Institute, was afterward turned over to the Divinity

'Silas Roe is here referred to. He was the maternal grandfather of James B. Simmons, and owned hive hundred acres about one mile southwest of where Millerton now stands. When the Act of Emanci- pati in fur the State of New York went into effect, on July 4. 1-27, Silas Roe was the owner of two negro slaves, whose names were Simon West and Samuel Bowen.

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School at Morgan Park, which is now a part of the great Chicago University, and is still doing good in the cause of Christian education there.

"In 1874, when there was a crisis in the financial affairs of Columbian University, lo- cated at the national capital, he threw himself in the breach, at the call of his brethren, and raised, in six months, sixty-four thousand dol- lars, to complete the required conditions for an endowment of three hundred thousand dol- lars ($300,000), thus establishing the perina- nency of that institution for Christian educa- tion in the heart of the nation.

"In 1891 the writer of this, from his official position, chanced to know that Dr. Simmons was not content with what he had done for the cause of Christian education, but was looking around for further opportunity to do good. About this time I received a letter from Rev. G. W. Smith, of Abilene, Texas, asking if I knew of any source from which help could be obtained in founding a much-needed institu- tion of learning in that rapidly-growing section of central Texas. I gave him the address of Dr. Simmons, and correspondence was begun between them. Dr. Simmons and his son vis- ited the field, and the result was that, through the benefactions of himself and family, Sim- mons College, at Abilene, Texas, has begun its career of blessing in the great Southwest. Located in a fertile country, with a field to draw from as large as the entire State of New York, and which is rapidly filling up with a superior population, it is difficult to estimate the future possibilities of Simmons College. As to a name forthis new school, Dr. Simmons chose ' Christlieb College,' which means ' Col- lege of Christ's Love.' ' But his family, and the vote of the College Trustees, overruled him.

"A Northern man, a strong opponent of slavery, and one who had given so much of his time to aid the negroes in education, Dr. Simmons now gave his means to found a col- lege for white people in one of the old Slave States. He has helped ten colleges all told. With him the question was not whether a man is a white man, a negro, an Indian, an Arme- nian, or a Chinaman; not whether he is a Northern man, a Southern man or a Western man, but was he a man, and was help needed, and could it be given? The foundations he has endeavored to lay are as broad as the needs of humanity, without reference to race or con- ditions. Strong in his convictions and out-

spoken in the expression of them when neces- sity requires he is the soul of courtesy to all, and charitable toward the opinion of others. He always leans toward mercy's side.

" The following incident beautifully illus- trates this characteristic. Rev. John S. Ezell, a Baptist minister of South Carolina, was con- fined in the military prison at Albany, New York, having been convicted of complicity with Ku-Kluxism in his native State. South- ern papers were denouncing his incarceration. But Dr. Simmons, instead of stopping to talk, went straight to Albany, visited the imprisoned minister, encouraged him to tell his story, went to Washington and personally laid the matter before Gen. Grant, then President of the United States, and obtained his release. He then took Bro. Ezell to his home, which at that time was in Brooklyn, and treated him with Christian hospitality, and sent him on his way rejoicing. Dr. Simmons did not sympathize in the least with the spirit of Ku- Kluxism, or any other lawlessness, but he de- lighted to assist a Christian gentleman in dis- tress. No wonder that Bro. Ezell has often written him with gratitude, saying: 'I was in prison and you visited me.'

"Rev. J. L. Reynolds, D. D., of South Carolina, referring to Dr. Simmons having secured from President Grant a pardon for Ezell, says: .This was well and nobly done. Such a deed appeals to the South, and will do more toward bringing about the era of good feeling, than all the resolutions that could be written, or harangues that could be spoken. We thank Bro. Simmons.'

" I have spent months in Dr. Simmons' company. We differed widely upon many questions, and discussed them freely without the slightest acrimony or ill feeling. Tena- cious of his own opinions, and firm in his con- victions, he is yet so broad and full of Chris- tian love and courtesy, that he is the finest example I ever knew of the fortiter in re. ct suaviter in modo'-(Vigor in execution, ac- companied by gentleness of manner).

" We may learn three lessons from his life:

"I. A poor boy, thrown upon his own re- sources at fifteen years of age, he has attained great distinction as a man of learning, and wide influence. Let no boy despair of mak- ing a full-grown man because he is poor.

"2. Hehasoften told methat he nevercould have accomplished a tithe of what he has but

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for the educational training which he received. He spent three years in the preparatory school, four years in college, graduating at Brown University, and three years in his theo- logical course, graduating at Newton-ten years in all. Let no man rush into his life- work without thorough preparation. Rather than work with dull tools, make any sacrifice to sharpen them.

"3. Dr. Simmons has a loving place in the hearts of the people of all sections, and of the different races of the country, because he loved them all. Let no man despair of being es- teemed and loved just as broadly as he es- teems and loves others. I am proud to num- ber Dr. James B. Simmons among my warm- est friends, on account of his great learning, his true heart and his broad Christian Charity."

E BBE P. WING, one of the honored and respected citizens of the town of Dover, Dutchess county, is still residing on the old homestead farm, where his birth occurred in 1806, and although he has reached the age of ninety years, he is yet an active, well-pre- served man. On completing his education in the common schools near his home, he turned his attention to farming, and at the age of twenty-four years purchased a farm near Poughkeepsie, which he operated some three years. He then returned to the old home- stead, where he has since remained.

Thomas Wing, his paternal grandfather, was a native of Massachusetts, born near Cape Cod, where he was educated, and when still a boy he learned scythe making in Boston. Coming to Webatuck, town of Dover, Dutch- ess county, he there engaged in that business for himself. Previously to his removal he had married Miss Hannah White, and in Rhode Island one child was born to them, but the births of the nine others occurred in Dover town; they were Thurston, George, Jackson, Benja- min, Rhoda, Mary, Katie, Annie and Deborah. The eldest son, Thurston, was two years of age when brought to Dover town, where he attended the common schools and engaged in farming as a life work. By his marriage with Miss Mary Young he has seven children: Archibald, Elijah, Thurston, Phoebe, Rhoda, Sallie and Mary Ann. George, the second son, was also educated and engaged in farm-

ing in Dover, his native township, wedded Miss Martin, and to them were born eight children: Theodorus. John, Martin, Shed- rick, Thomas and Agrippa (twins), Hiram and Maria.

Jackson Wing, the third son, and the father of our subject, was born on Christmas Day, 1771, received a common-school educa- tion, and from the age of seventeen carried on farming in connection with his father until his marriage, at the age of twenty-eight. He wedded Miss Hannah Preston, daughter of Ebenezer and Phœbe (Odel) Preston, who had six children: John, Abijah, Smith, Ebenezer, Hannah and Mary. Her grandparents were Ebenezer and Hannah (Smith) Preston. After his marriage the father of our subject engaged in agricultural pursuits on his own account, which proved very successful, and also con- ducted a mill which came into his possession through his wife. The large brick house which still belongs to the family was built by him in 1806. Later in life he conducted the tavern at South Dover known as the .. Moose Head," for fifty years. He was a man of re- markable memory and of good business ability. In politics he was a Democrat, and was once elected poor master.

Our subject is the third in order of birth in the family of seven children, of whom John and Daniel died in infancy. Phoebe, born in 1 Sos, became the wife of Egbert Sheldon, by whom she had two children, William and Or- ville. Alfred, born in 1811, wedded Miss Mary Tabor, daughter of Russell Tabor, a farmer of Dover town, and they had one child, Hannah, who died at the age of twenty years. Preston, born in 1813, never married. Obed, born in 1817, married Miss Ann Vincent, of Dover Plains.

Like his father, Mr. Wing, the subject proper of this review, always votes the Demo- cratic ticket, and is one of the prominent and representative citizens of the township. On reaching man's estate he was united in mar- riage with Miss Maria Sheldon, and they be- came the parents of three children: Hannah was born in the town of Dover, in 1831, mar- ried Theodore Preston, by whom she had two children-John, who died in infancy, and Mary, who died at the age of twenty years; Sheldon, a well-known farmer of Dover town; and Ed- gar, born in 1841, died at the age of twenty- four years.

Agrippa Sheldon, the father of Mrs. Wing,

Polibe Fring

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was also a native of Dover town, where on reaching manhood he engaged in cattle drov- ing and as a general farmer. He married Polly Palmer, and to them were born eight children: Egbert, Levina, Hebern, Abbie, Maria, Palmer, Emeline and Ann.

Jackson S. Wing, grandson of the gentle- man whose name introduces this sketch, was born May 23, 1858, reared on the farm, and educated at the common schools, also at Ame- nia seminary. At the age of sixteen he com- menced working in a store at Wings Station, where his present place of business is, and for five years clerked there, during the winters at- tending school. In 1880 he took an interest in the mercantile firm of Chapman & Wing, which continued three years, at the end of which time Mr. Wing sold out his interest, and then clerked a short time in Poughkeepsie; but owing to impaired health he had to aban- don work for a time. On February 15, 1882, he married Miss Mary O. Straight, who was born in the town of Kent, Litchfield Co., Conn., and was educated in Amenia Semi- nary, and in 1893 one daughter, Winifred Straight, was born to them. In 1887 he was appointed mail agent on the run between New York and Chatham, in which capacity he re- mained some eighteen months, in 1890 estab- lishing his present extensive mercantile busi- ness at Wings Station. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but for some years back he has voted the Prohibition ticket; he is at present serving his second term as postmaster at Wings Station, and was town clerk one term. In religious faith he is a member of the M. E. Church. Mr. Wing has traveled throughout the United States considerably, and is a man of good solid information.

Henry Straight, the great-grandfather of Mrs. J. S. Wing, went from Rhode Island to Litchfield county, Conn., locating first in the town of New Milford, and later in the town of Kent, where he followed his occupation of farming: He was three times married, his first union being with Miss Peet, and to them were born four children: Catharine, Polly, Sarah and Hannah. He next wedded Mrs. Terrel, a widow lady who had two daughters, and to them was born a son, Augustus. After the death of the second wife he married Mrs. Martha Hendricks.

Henry Augustus Straight, the grandfather, was born in the town of New Milford, Litch- field Co., Conn., was there educated in the

common schools, and engaged in farming. He was a prominent member of the Friends Church, as was also his wife, taking an active part in their services at the old Branch meet- ing house at South Dover, Dutchess county. He married Miss Abigail Sherwood, of New Milford, Conn., by whom he had four chil- dren.

( I) Marshall Straight, who was born in 1816, in Kent, Litchfield Co., Conn., followed farming, and for his first wife wedded Mary Buckingham, by whom he has four children: Carl, who was killed in the army; Alice, who became the wife of Theodore Wickwire; and Fred and Orin, the former of whom married Emma Beech. After the death of the mother of these children, Marshall Straight married Miss Asenith Wilbur, and after the latter passed away he married her sister, Miss Han- nah Wilbur. His fourth wife bore the maiden name of Sophia Terrel, and after her death he married Miss Josephine Wakeman.

(2) Olive Straight, who was born in Kent, Conn., in 1819, became the wife of William D. Hoag, a farmer of Quaker Hill, Dutchess county, and they had three children: Mary E., who remained single; Ira, who married Sarah Hoag, and Aurelia, who married Ed- mund Post.

(3) Henry Straight was born in Kent, July 4, 1825, was educated in the common schools, and also followed farming. He married Miss Roccelanie Peet, daughter of Riley and Sarah Peet, agriculturists of the town of New Mil- ford, Litchfield Co., Conn. Three daughters were born of this union: Helen S., who re- mained single; Augusta, who married Seymour Woolsey; and Abbie, who married Chester Wittlesey.

(4) John Straight, the father of Mrs. J. S. Wing, was born in the town of Kent, Litch- field county, in October, 1831, and like the rest of the family received a common-school education, and engaged in agricultural pur- suits. By birthright he was a member of the Society of Friends, was a Republican in poli- tics, and held a number of township offices. He married Miss Rachel A. Peet, a daughter of Riley and Sarah Peet, of New Milford, Conn .. and to them were born three children: Flora A., who was born in Kent town, in 1856, and married John R. Judd, a farmer of that township; Mary O., who was born in 1860, and is now the wife of. Jackson S. Wing: and and Walter A., an agriculturist, who was born

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in 1865, in Kent town, and married Miss Min- nie Sheldon, daughter of William and Frances (Ward Sheldon, farming people of South Do- ver, Dutchess county. Walter Straight and his wife have two children: Walter A .. born in IS$6, and Mae B., born in 188S.

On the maternal side. Mrs. Jackson S. Wing traces her ancestry back to three broth- ers who came to this country from England- Samuel, John and William Peet. The first named was her ancestor. Her great-grand- father, who bore the same name, was born and educated in Connecticut, where he engaged in farming, and married Miss Lucy Bostwick, by whom he had six children: Ebenezer, who married a Miss Beacher: Samuel; Luna, who married Anson Sperry: Elijah, who remained single: Ryley: and Carlos, who died when young.

Ryley Peet, the grandfather, was born at New Milford, Conn., in 1787, was there edu- cated, and also followed farming as a lifework. A strong Democrat, he served in the Legisla- ture of his native State for one term. He married Miss Sarah Terrill, daughter of James and Sarah Terrill, agriculturists of New Mil- ford, and to them were born eight children: :1) Luna M., who married Abel Bristol, has two children-Andrew, who married Hannah Camp; and Eleanor P., who first became the wife of Mr. Woodhull, and after his death married Rufus Leavitt. (2) Sarah F. is the wife of Horace Merwin, and had five children -Carlos F., who married Alice Monroe: Gar- wood, who died in the army; Sarah, wife of Daniel Marsh: Orange, who married Mary Beach; and Florence C., wife of Henry Lemon. (3 Lucy A. married Anan Marsh, and has one child-Alice G., who married Walter B. Bost- wick. (4 Roccelanie, as before stated, mar- ried Henry Straight. 5 Samuel R. married Laura Tompkins, and has four children-Ed- gar A., who wedded Hattie Squires: Don C .. who married Urania Buckingham; Adelaide. who never married; and Sarah, who married Charles Tabor. (6) Rachel A. married John Straight, and is the mother of Mrs. J. S. Wing. 7 Mary .A. wedded Benone Camp, and has one daughter-Mary, who became the wife of Franklin Gibson. (8) Lehman H. married Justina Howland, and had four children-Mer- ritt, who married Cadelia Lake; Garwood, who married Maude Bixbee: Hattie, who married Walter Hatch; and Ralph, who wedded Mary Newton.

E NOS J. CHASE (deceased . Among the influential citizens in his day, in the town of Pine Plains, Dutchess county, and one of its most prosperous and successful business men was this gentieman. He was entirely a self- ade man in the truest sense of the word. hay- ing been the architect of his own fortune, and for thirty-three years he was at the head of a large general mercantile store in Pine Plains, which grew from a very humble origin.

Mr. Chase was born at Hibernia, Dutchess county, May 22, 1840, and was of German de- scent. His father. Edward Chase, was a mil- ler by occupation, and at one time was quite prosperous, but later in life lost all. He mar- ried Sarah Ann Carhart, and to them were born three children: Enos J. : Thomas H., of the town of Stanford, Dutchess county: and Sarah, wife of Isaac Butler, who is from Mora- via. The father's death occurred at Bangall. Dutchess county, in July, 1874. Our subject received excellent educational advantages for those early days, having attended the public schools at Bangall. also the Nine Partners school near Hibernia, and became a well-in- formed man. On starting out in life for him- self he commenced as clerk for Elias August, with whom he remained for one year. and in IS63 began business for himself in the store which he occupied some thirty-three years. At first, as his capital was quite limited. he carried a small stock of drugs and groceries; but he kept adding thereto until he became the proprietor of a large general mercantile es- tablishment. For about three years, during the early seventies, he had a partner; but with that exception he carried on business alone for thirty-three years with most gratifying results. He was a man of even temperament and ex- cellent judgment, and these, together with in- domitable energy and laudable ambition. brought him success. As he had concentrated his whole attention upon his business, he had little time to devote to politics, aside from casting his ballot in support of the Democratic party, and he always refused to accept public office. He was reared amid the Society of Friends, and grew up to be a man of high moral standard. For several years he served as treasurer of the Presbyterian Church at Pine Plains.

In 1866, Mr. Chase was united in marriage with Miss Augusta Ham, daughter of Freder- ick T. Ham, and to them were born three children: Frederick H., who is in charge of

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the store; Jennie; and Frank Edward, also in the store. Mr. Chase died February 22, 1 893.

The Ham family was one of the oldest in Pine Plains. Peter F. Ham, the grandfather of Mrs. Chase, was a large land owner in the western part of the township. He married Catherine Trumpour, who died October S, 1848, and his death occurred in 1865. Their only child, Frederick T. Ham, was a farmer in his earlier days, about 1846 removing to Pittsfield, Mass., where he engaged in mer- chandising for two years. Until 1867 he carried on farming, but in that year went to Rhine- beck, Dutchess county, where he was indirect- ly interested in business for a short time. Going south in I871, he located upon a large plantation in Georgia, and was there engaged in cotton raising until his death in 1879. He had married Susannah Fulton, daughter of Ephraim Fulton, and their family consisted of four children: Fulton P., who died in 1874; Sarah A., wife of W. B. Vibbert, of Pine Plains; Augusta, Mrs. Chase; and Newton, who is living upon the plantation in Georgia. The mother's death occurred in ISSI.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 63

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