Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 64

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

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J ONATHAN M. GARRATT (or Jonathan Miller Garrett) is a native of Albany county, N. Y., born at Westerlo, January 21, 1821, and is a son of Levi Garratt, whose birth oc- curred in the town of New Baltimore, Greene Co., N. Y. His great-grandfather was a farmer of Saratoga county, N. Y., and by his mar- riage with a Miss Potter, of Bristol, R. 1., had a family of sixteen children-ten sons and six daughters. Two of the sons located in Prince Edward county, Canada, two in Maryland and Virginia, two in Saratoga county, N. Y., two in Greene county, N. Y., and one in Maine, while one died in youth. The sisters married and settled in Greene, Albany and Columbia counties.

Simeon Garratt, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Saratoga county, where he was reared, and married Lois Curtis, but later became a resident of Greene county, there following farming until his death, which occurred when he was ninety-four years old. His family included six children, as follows: Levi (the father of our subject), Potter, Pet- ter, Samuel and Elim, all agriculturists, and Zada, who married Daniel Gregory, a black- smith.

Levi Garratt married Lydia Miller, also a native of Greene county, daughter of Jona- than and Lydia ( McCabe) Miller. Her father was born in Putnam county, N. Y., of English descent, where he learned the tanner's trade; but after his marriage he drove with a double team from his native county to Greene county, becoming one of its pioneer settlers, and in the midst of the wilderness took up 600 acres of land, where he ever afterward made his home, dying at the age of seventy-five, his wife when ninety-six years old. He was the father of eight children: Mathew, a farmer of Saratoga county ; Jonathan, Jesse and Sherod, agricultur- ists of Greene county (the last mentioned mar- ried a Miss Garratt, and had two children); Hannah, wife of Ephraim Garratt, a farmer of Albany county; Sarah, who married a Mr. Greene, of Greene county; Lydia, the mother of our subject, and Rhoda, wife of Rev. Levi Hathaway, a minister of the Christian Church, and a man of great power and energy.

Shortly after their marriage the parents of our subject removed to Albany county, N. Y., where they located on a farm. Eleven chil- dren were born to them: Elmina, the eldest, married Ab. Seaman, a farmer of Albany county; the twin of Elmina died in infancy; Roxey Ann married Thomas C. Seaman, a stone dealer; Edward W. married Miss Bedell, and was a farmer of Greene county; Jonathan M. is the next child; Simeon C. married Miss Fish, and is a farmer of Ulster county, N. Y. ; Rhoda wedded George Lee Shear, a farmer of Albany county; Caroline became the wife of Albert Bedell, also a farmer of Greene county; Lydia M. married Smith Powell, a farmer of Greene county ; Alzada married Albert Holen- beck, a carpenter and builder of Coxsackie, Greene Co., N. Y .; and one child died in in- fancy. The parents were conscientious, ear- nest Christians, and in politics the father was a Democrat. His death occurred in 1885, when he was aged about ninety-eight years; the mother died October 2, 1866, aged seventy- five years.

On the home farm in Albany county Mr. Garratt, the subject proper of this review, passed his early life, and he followed teaching in the winter seasons for ten years, his summer months being devoted to agriculture. During the following seven years he was engaged in the cultivation of a farm of 200 acres; but in the spring of 1867 he came to Poughkeepsie, and formed a partnership with Thomas C.

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Seaman, his brother-in-law, in the stone busi- ness, which connection lasted about fifteen years.

On September 3, 1873, Mr. Garratt mar- ried Mrs. Lydia G. Doty (nee Smith), of Poughkeepsie, a widow lady, and is a native of Dutchess county. Mr. Garratt is identified with the Democratic party, and, though past his three-score years and ten (seventy-six), is still well-preserved, both mentally and physic- ally. He is an intelligent, well-informed man, possessed of sound common sense, and has the respect and confidence of all who know him. Mr. Garratt, after losing his wife, who died February 22, 1896, bought a farm in the town of Lloyd, Ulster Co., N. Y., to assist his brother and sister (Simeon and Lydia) in their financial difficulty, with whom he is making his home, post office address: Highland, Ulster Co., N. Y. The family name was originally Garratt, but is now usually spelled Garrett.

S HELDON WING, a prominent and pro- gressive agriculturist and stock dealer of Dutchess county, and the only living son of Ebbe P. Wing, of the town of Dover, was born December 10, 1833, in Manchester, a village of the town of Lagrange, Dutchess county.

Mr. Wing received a liberal education at the district schools of the neighborhood of his boyhood home, subsequently taking two terms at a Quaker boarding school. After he was fourteen years of age he worked on a farm during the summer, and when he was twenty- one he commenced for his own account on his present farm, which at that time comprised 270 acres, and so continued eight years. In 1855 he paid a four-months' visit to Ohio and Iowa, and in February, 1861, he gave up farm- ing, and proceeding once more to the latter State embarked in the stock business, buying cattle and hogs and shipping same to Chicago and New York. This line of trade he prose- cuted with great success some four years, or until 1865, when, owing to the sickness of his brother Edgar, he returned to the town of Dover, and was induced by his father to re- main, although he was strongly inclined to go back to Iowa. He has since conducted the old homestead, which now comprises about 600 acres of prime land, whereon he keeps 110 cows, shipping the milk to New York, be- sides engaging in general farming, and he has also done a considerable amount of commis-

sion business in that city-buying and ship- ping all kinds of produce; and during the thirty years has paid several more business visits to the West. Of the many well-to-do-farmers of Dutchess county, he is among the most pros- perous and influential, active and enterprising, and highly respected for his straightforward dealings and uniform integrity. In politics he is a Democrat, and has been urged many times by his friends to stand for office, but on ac- count of his business interests has invariably declined; he was nominated for sheriff in the fall of 1894, refusing to run, however, and he has served as supervisor of the town of Dover two terms. Socially, he is a member of the F. & A. M., No. 666, Dover Plains.

On October 21, 1856, Mr. Wing was mar- ried to Miss Jane L. Chapman, who was born in 1837 at Dover Plains, Dutchess county, the only daughter of Reuben W. and Murilla (Ward) Chapman, by which union there were two chil- dren: Jackson S. (mention of whom is made in the sketch of Ebbe P. Wing), and Anna F. (who resides at home).

Reuben W. Chapman, father of Mrs. Wing, and a farmer and carpenter by occupation, was born in the town of Dover, Dutchess county, December 28, 1798, a son of William and Ra- chel Chapman. On September 28, 1826, Reuben W. married Murilla Ward, and they had four children-three sons and one daugh- ter: (1) Higham W., a merchant, born January 9, 1829, married Cordelia Sheldon January 9. 1851, and died January 16, 1882; he had three children-George T., William T., and Allie, who married William Arnold. (2) George W., born May 9, 1833, married Sabina Haff, February 7, 1866, of which union there are two daughters living-Ella L. and Adelaide; the father died July 15, 1885. and the mother is also deceased. (3) Mrs. Wing comes next. (4) Homer W., born November 23, 1843, married Phoebe Brown on October 13, 1869, and they have two children -- Cora (now Mrs. Richard Brill) and Edna (at home). Reuben W. Chapman died July 27, 1859; his wife, Murilla, born July 4. 1807, died December 30, 1873.

G EORGE STORM (deceased). As an ex- tensive land owner and successful agricult- urist, the subject of this memoir held a prom- inent place among the business men of the town of East Fishkill, Dutchess county. But

Sheldon Ming

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in the estimate of his character, his ability in financial affairs counts far less than the quali- ties which as an upright and public-spirited citizen identified him with the high interests of the community.

The Storm family is widely dispersed, yet the different branches can all trace connection. Mr. Storm's parents, Charles and Mary (Adri- ance) Storm, were both natives of the town of East Fishkill, and his mother was born in the house which is now occupied by the family. They had children as follows: Susan, the widow of William P. Storm, formerly a tea inerchant in New York City: John, a farmer in East Fishkill, Dutchess county; George, our subject; Charles (deceased), formerly a farmer in East Fishkill.

George Storm was born August 11, 1839, at the present homestead, and passed his entire life there. On September 23, 1868, he mar- ried, for his first wife, Miss Emma Haight, of Westchester county, who bore him four chil- dren: Mary (1), Henrietta, Maria H., and Mary (2); of whom, Maria H., now at home, is the only survivor, the others dying in early youth. The mother passed away March 11, 1880, and on October 10, 1883, Mr. Storm married her sister, Carrie Haight, a native of Westchester county. She is the daughter of the late Epenetus Haight, a well-known farmer, and granddaughter of Daniel Haight. Her mother, whose maiden name was Maria Hunt, was a daughter of William Hunt, and a de- scendant of an old English family. No chil- dren were born of the second marriage.

Mr. Storm owned about 430 acres of land, from which he raised a variety of crops. The home is a beautiful one, and the estate very valuable. Politically, he was a Republican, and, while he was not a politician, he took great inter- est in all public questions. He was actively help- ful in religious and philanthropic movements, and he and his wife were leading members of the Reformed Church. His death oc- curred November 4, 1893, and in his taking away a loss was felt throughout a wide circle of friends, to whom his quiet but steadfast Christian character had endeared him.

W ILLIAM J. MERWIN (deceased) was descended from an old Connecticut family. His grandfather, Capt. John Merwin, was born and reared in that State, and became a prominent agriculturist at New Milford (now

Bridgewater). His first wife, Mercy, was born in 1706, and died November 7, 1776. On December 31, 1777, he married Mrs. Ruth Welsh, a widow, who was a member of the well-known Gaylord family, of Gaylord's Bridge. She died March 16, 1816. Capt. Merwin had seven children by his first mar- riage, and six by his second.

Daniel Merwin, our subject's father, was born March 28, 1788, at the old home at Bridgewater, and was educated in the local schools. He followed agricultural pursuits there throughout his active business life. On November 22, 1815, he married Miss Amy Peck, who was born in 1799, the daughter of Andrew Peck, of Newton, Conn., and they had eight children, as follows: (1) Ruth, born April 7, 1817, was married four times. (2) John H., born September 7, 1821, married (first) Miss Julia Buckley, and (second) Mrs. Elizabeth Starr, but had no children. (3) Sarah, born June 3, 1823, married (first) Oli- ver Smith, and had children-Fred, Ella, Josephine, Almon (who married Delia Rug- gles), Cornelius, William and Ida; she married (second) Clover Sanford, a man of wealth and prominence, of Bridgeport, Conn., a manu- facturer of hats. (4) Daniel G., born Novem- ber 28, 1825, married Miss Susan Atwood, and they had three daughters-Emina, Alma and Nellie. (5) George A., born May 20, 1828, married Miss Charlotte Tompkins, and had three children-Homer, Florence and Frank. (6) Frederick S., born October 2, 1830, mar- ried Miss Lucy J. Carter, and is proprietor of a hardware establishment in Pawiing. (7) William J., our subject, comes next in order of birth, and will be more fully spoken of presently. (8) Harriet O., born November 12, 1834, married Charles S. Trowbridge, a paper-box manufacturer of South Norwalk, Conn .; they have three children-George, Flora and Nellie.

William J. Merwin was born in Bridge- water, Conn., November 3, 1833, and attend- ed the schools of his native town until he was about sixteen years old. He possessed good literary taste, and was always fond of substan- tial reading, history being his favorite study. Soon after leaving school he went to Savannah, Ga., and engaged in mercantile business for for some years, later removing to Barcelona, Spain, for his health, where he spent one year. After his return to Connecticut, he again went to Savannah, as clerk in a large dry-goods

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house; but the outbreak of the Civil war caused him to come north again, his sympathies being with the Union cause. In 1860 he located at Pawling, purchasing an interest in the firm of J. W. Stark & Co., dealers in dry goods and groceries, Mr. Merwin and Mr. Wilde being the junior members. Later, Mr. Holmes bought Mr. Wilde's interest, and on the dis- posal of the Stark interest some time afterward, the firm became Merwin & Holmes. This was one of the largest establishments of the kind in that part of the county, and its success was due in a large measure to Mr. Merwin's efforts. His genial nature, even temper and gentle- manly manner, made for him many friends, and he held a gift for dealing with the public which served him well on many occasions. He was much interested in thesuccess of Republic- an principles, and took an active part in local politics. Previous to 1884 he held the office of postmaster at Pawling for a number of years, and was supervisor of the town also, for several terms. As treasurer of the Pawling Savings Bank from its organization, in 1871, until his death, 1892, he was the responsible official of the institution, and it was largely through his instrumentality that it gained its present high reputation. In early years he was an Episco- palian, but there being no Church of that de- nomination in Pawling, he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in later life. So- cially he was affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity. A self-made man, his experiences have served to broaden his natural sympathy for the unfortunate, and by his counsel and as- sistance helped many a deserving person to prosperity. Mr. Merwin married Miss Eliza- beth Mitchell Campbell Van De Burgh, daugh- ter of Hexton Van De Burgh, and had one son, William J., who is now a student in Wesleyan University.

HEXTON VAN DE BURGH, born in 1815, was a merchant in Pawling and Beekman, later a farmer, and was always interested in public affairs. He was a son of Gen. George V'an De Burgh, who was an officer in the war of 1812, and was one of the prominent men of the county. He was a brother of Dr. Van De Burgh, of Rhinebeck, a noted homeopathic physician. Hexton Van De Burgh married Catharine R. Campbell, daughter of Archibald and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Campbell, and grand- daughter of Archibald Campbell, the first of that family to come to America. He came over here as an officer in the English army,

and was killed at the skirmish of White Plains on the night before the battle. He lived here as an officer, and was granted a large tract of land in Putnam and Dutchess counties, N. Y. Col. Archibald Campbell married Jane Mon- roe, and had three children: Archibald; Dun- can, born in 1767, who was a surgeon in the English army in the West Indies; and Mary, who was born in 1776, and never married. Archibald Campbell was born in the year 1769, near the depot in what is now the town of Pawling, and as a son of an officer in the En- glish army he was taken to England to be educated; but after a few years, becoming tired of that country, he returned to America with a cargo of merchandise. About 1791 he en- gaged in mercantile business at what is now Pawling, and was thus employed for some years. He then bought the home on which Irving Hurd, his grandson, now lives, and kept adding to his landed possessions until he had about one thousand acres. He was a man of strong character, great executive ability and fine mental gifts, and was much consulted as an arbitrator. He was one of the foremost men of the M. E. Church. As a Jacksonian Democrat, he was somewhat prominent in lo- cal politics, and, taken all in all, he was a unique character. He married Elizabeth Mitchell, daughter of Thomas Mitchell, and had children as follows: Archibald, born in 1793: Jane married Rev. Cyrus Foss, and had three sons who were ministers, one being Bishop Foss, of Philadelphia: Eliza married Daniel Calhoun, a merchant; Mary married Benjamin Hurd; Stacia married Cushion Green; Duncan C. was the father of Henry Campbell; Sarah married Samuel Merrick; Harriet mar- ried (first) Dr. Fowler, and (second) Rev. John Pierpont, of Boston, the well-known poet and preacher, and grandfather of J. Pierpont Mor- gan; Thomas C., a lawyer in New York, mar- ried Cordelia Noxon, of Beckman. Archibald Campbell died in 1847. his widow on January 27, 1858.

OHN H. VAN KLEECK, one of the lead- ing insurance men of Poughkeepsie, Dutch- ess county, was there born December 27, 1837, and is a son of George M. and Eliza (Wilson) Van Kleeck, the former also a native of Poughkeepsie, and the latter of England. The Van Kleeck family was founded in this country by Holland emigrants who located in

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the Empire State, and in Poughkeepsie John M. Van Kleeck, the grandfather of our subject, was born and reared. As a life work he fol- lowed freighting on the Hudson. In his fam- ily were the following children: Robert M., who was a farmer iu the town of Fishkill, Dutchess county; George M., the father of our subject; Edgar M., a dry-goods merchant of Poughkeepsie, who early went to California, but returned to that city, where he died; and Hester F., who died unmarried.

The entire life of the father was spent in Poughkeepsie, where for many years he en- gaged in the dry-goods business. Our subject is the eldest in his family of four children, the others being: Robert (now deceased), who was teller in the Savings Bank of Poughkeepsie; Richard, who is now a resident of California; and Hester M., the wife of Jacob V. Overock- er, who carried on farming near Poughkeepsie. The parents were both communicants of the Episcopal Church, and in politics the father was first a Whig and later a Republican. He departed this life in 1884, his wife in 1892, respected and esteemed by all who knew them.

The boyhood days of John H. Van Kleeck were spent in Poughkeepsie, where he attended private schools, and after finishing his educa- tion he entered his father's dry-goods store as a clerk. He there remained from the age of fifteen until forty-five, being for some time a partner; but in 1879 they disposed of their stock, and entered into the fire-insurance busi- ness under the name of George M. Van Kleeck & Son, which they carried on until the death of Geo. M. Van Kleeck, since which our sub- ject has continued it. Their first office was on Market street, whence they removed to the Savings Bank building, and later to the present place on Garden street.

In politics, Mr. Van Kleeck is a Republican, supporting the men and measures of that party, and religiously is connected with the Episcopal Church. He leads a moral, honest and upright life, and as a result has won the respect and esteem of the community in which he lives.

H ON. JAMES ADDIS SEWARD (de- ceased). Few among the able sons of Dutchess county have displayed the versatile talents and business acumen which character- ized the subject of this memoir. In politics and finance he was a leader, and his influence in social, religious and educational affairs was

no less pronounced. His family was among the oldest of New England, the head of this branch having come from England in 1638. His grandfather, William Seward, was born in Guilford, Conn., but settled in Dutchess county, town of Fishkill (now Wappinger), where his son, Philander, our subject's father, was born. Philander Seward was a prominent farmer and mill owner at New Hackensack, where he died in 1853. He married Susan Montfort, by whom he had six children: Will- iam H. was drowned in Texas in early man- hood; P. George, an enterprising young busi- ness man, who conducted grist and saw mills in his native town, died at an early age: Mau- rice Dwight will be fully spoken of presently; Caroline A. died at fourteen; James A. is our subject; Ogden T. was a banker at Elgin, 1ll., and died at the age of thirty-four.

Maurice Dwight Seward was born October 10, 1830, at New Hackensack, N. Y., where, in June, 1854, he married Mary Marvin, and in September of that year he moved to Elgin, 111., where he engaged in the agricultural-im- plement business. His health failing, he, in 1857, removed to Rosemond, Ill., where he lived on a fruit farm until the latter part of 1865. In the spring of 1866 he removed to Normal, that State, where he engaged (first ) in a general merchandise business, and (after- ward) in a loan and real-estate business. In 1871 he was one of the originators and organ- izers of the company known as the Blooming- ton Stove Co., Bloomington, Ill., in which business he remained until his death, October 27, 1876. In his position as superintendent of sales of the company, and also as inventor of a number of stoves and furnaces, he placed the company in the fore ranks with their com- petitors. During all his life he was interested in Church work, being an organizer of several of the Churches of which he was a member, and latterly was quite prominent in the Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, Ill. He was held in high regard by his business asso- ciates, and by those with whom he had busi- ness dealings, for his strict integrity and busi- ness qualities. His home life was an unusu- ally happy one; he was of gentle manners, and his thoughtfulness for others made him greatly looked up to and revered, not only by his family, but by all with whom he came in con- tact.

James A. Seward, the subject proper of this memoir, was born in New Hackensack,

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

January 3, 1836, and acquired his education in part at the neighboring district schools, in part at those of the village of Fishkill. At seventeen he went to New York City and spent two years as clerk in a cloth-importing house. He then visited Illinois, and was engaged in photography at Elgin, but after a short time returned cast. On October 12, 1858, he married Miss Mary B. Platt, a native of the town of Wappinger. Three brothers by the name of Platt came to this State from Con- necticut at an early period, of whom one set- tled at Plattsburg, and one, Zephania Platt ( Mrs. Seward's grandfather), located in Dutch- ess county, in the town of Wappinger, where her father, Hervey D. Platt, was born, He was a Whig in politics, and a member of the Reformed Dutch Church. He married Miss Phæbe F. Cary, a member of one of the old- est families in the town of Beekman, and made his home upon a farm in his native town, where he died in 1877, and his wife in 1862. Mrs. Seward was the eldest of three children. The others, Ebenezer C. and Elizabeth R., are both deceased. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Seward lived for two years on a farm at East Mills, Dutchess county, and then moved to Poughkeepsie, where Mr. Seward was interested in various business enterprises. He was also for a time engaged in the manu- facture of carriages in Baltimore, Md. Later was in the furniture business at Poughkeepsie and New York City; but he finally returned to his native town, where his death occurred May 1, 1892. A man of great public spirit and wide sympathies, he entered heartily into all movements in which he saw good. He and his wife contributed liberally to the Reformed Dutch Church, and his interest in religious work, as well as in educational movements, was shown in many ways. He was active in the Masonic fraternity, and in the Republican party, holding several prominent offices at various times, including two terms as Assem- blyman from the First District of Dutchess county. He was also the first supervisor of the town of Wappinger, serving in that capacity for two consecutive terms.

Mr. and Mrs. Seward had three children: Irving P. died at the age of eight years; Carrie A. married John C. Kingman, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and died at the age of twenty-nine, leaving one child, Arthur S. Kingman; and Sarah S., the wife of Robert Johnston. The family has always occupied a high position

socially, and their home at New Hackensack is one in which cultured tastes and wealth combine to make it charming.

COL. SAMUEL LEITH. To a patriotic American there can be no badge of honor equal in merit to a title won by gallant service in the field of battle for the cause of freedom and union. The subject of this sketch, now a prominent resident of Matteawan, Dutchess county, enjoys this distinction, and though of foreign birth has demonstrated his devotion to his adopted country in bloody combat, in toil- some marches, in the camp. and in the loath- some prisons of the South, in which so many brave souls found death a welcome relief from intolerable suffering.

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Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York, Part 64

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