USA > New York > Encyclopedia of biography of New York, a life record of men and women whose sterling character and energy and industry have made them preeminent in their own and many other states, Vol. 3 > Part 12
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Mr. Chase married (first) September 14, 1859, Harriet M. Stevens, born May 22, 1834, daughter of George Stevens, of Syracuse, New York. She died March
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23, 1866. Mr. Chase married (second) July 3, 1867, Lavina Bunton, born August 19, 1843. Children of first wife: Henry M .; Carleton A., born in Syracuse, New York, November 25, 1864; William G .; and Orrin N.
VAN WYCK, Augustus,
Lawyer, Jurist, Political Leader.
Augustus Van Wyck, former Supreme Court Justice of New York, and now a leader of the bar in Greater New York, derives those qualities which have made him preëminent in his profession, and a leader in various lines of endeavor, from a multitude of ancestors many of whom belonged to the early Dutch families which settled in that section. He is de- scended from Samuel Maverick and Gen- eral Robert Anderson, two distinguished representatives of Southern families, who settled in South Carolina soon after 1630, and through his mother he inherits those softer qualities which distinguish South- ern families, thus combining the practical strength of the Northland and the charm- ing manners of the South. Through the various intermarriages down through the generations the present descendants of the Van Wyck family are connected with most of the old and aristocratic families of early New York, including those of Van Cortlandt, Livingston, Van Rensselaer, Beekman, Hewlett, Lefferts, Lot, Loril- lard, Ludlow, Polhemus, Governor Sey- mour and Chancellor James Kent, Stuy- vesant, Van Vechten, Ver Plant and others. The name Van Wyck is one of the many Dutch place names, indicating the point whence the immigrant came to America.
The first in this country was Cornelius Barentse (son of Barent), who was de- scribed in the early Dutch records as Van Wyck, that is, from Wyck, a hamlet in North Brabant, Holland. He came to
America in 1650, settled at Flatbush, was a member of the Dutch colony there in 1677, and took the oath of allegiance to the English government in 1687. He was descended from Chevalier Hendrick Van Wyck, who lived in 1400. In 1575 Jan Van Wyck of the council of Utrecht mar- ried Wyander Van Asch, the last of that family. She received her brother's prop- erty provided her descendants would join the family arms and carry the name Van Asch Van Wyck. (A descendant, Robert Anderson Van Wyck, was first mayor of Greater New York). From her son Jacob, born at Utrecht, 1584, died 1635, married Anna Van Rynevelt, the whole Protestant branch of Van Wycks descend.
Theodorus Van Wyck, son of Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck, was born Septem- ber 19, 1668, resided at Great Neck, Long Island, and was an extensive land holder, especially in Flushing and Hempstead. He was justice of the peace under the king, supervisor of Queens county in 1726, and again justice in 1745. He pre- sented the first registry book to St. George's Protestant Episcopal Parish of Hempstead, Long Island, and, like many of the Dutch settlers of that day, gave support for a time to this church until a Dutch church was organized in his vicinity, at Jamaica. He married, April 29, 1693, Margareta, daughter of Abra- ham and Altie (Stryker) Brinckerhoff, of Newtown, and granddaughter of Joris and Susanna Brinckerhoff. Their son, Barent Van Wyck, born March 4, 1703, died January, 1750, settled at East Woods, now Woodbury, Long Island, where he had a large tract of land, and was one of the firm supporters of the Dutch church. He married, November 12, 1727, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Carman, born 1704, died June 9, 1760. Their third son, Samuel Van Wyck, born August 4, 1735, died November 6, 1810, was, with his brother, Abraham, a banker
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of Long Island, and served as assessor of Oyster Bay. He married, August 30, 1766, Hannah, daughter of Captain John and Hannah (Jackson) Hewlett, born July 25, 1733, died May 16, 1808. His brother, Captain Abraham, Van Wyck, was a member of the Provincial Militia, and his sword is still preserved at his homestead at West Neck, Long Island. He married Elizabeth Wright, and their daughter Zeruah vowed she would never change her name, and kept her vow by marrying her cousin, Abraham Van Wyck, the next mentioned.
Abraham Van Wyck, eldest child of Samuel and Hannah (Hewlett) Van Wyck, was born October 21, 1767, and died January 30, 1852, at West Neck. He had a large tract of land at Clason Point, on the main land of New York, but after his marriage to his cousin, Zeruah Van Wyck. January 24, 1790, above men- tioned, he sold his farm for five thousand pounds, and removed to West Neck, where he purchased from his uncle and father-in-law, Captain Abraham Van Wyck, his homestead, for which he paid ten thousand dollars. This estate em- braced five hundred acres, and at that time about thirty slaves were employed in its cultivation.
William Van Wyck, youngest son of Abraham and Zeruah (Van Wyck) Van Wyck, was born January 24, 1803, and died June 30, 1867. He resided in New York City, was a distinguished lawyer, often in the public service, and a judicial officer. He married, in 1833, Lydia An- derson Maverick, of South Carolina, born in Charleston, in 1814, daughter of Sam- uel and Elizabeth (Anderson) Maverick, granddaughter of General Robert Ander- son, a distinguished soldier in the War of the Revolution, and a public officer of the State of South Carolina for over thirty years, the county of Anderson being named in his honor, and a descendant of
John Maverick, who was among the earli- est settlers of Charleston, and whose brother, Samuel Maverick, settled in Bos- ton in 1630. Members of the family were prominent in the affairs of New York when it passed into the possession of the Duke of York, and the Southern branch of the family has been extremely promi- nent in several States. Samuel Maverick, father of Mrs. Van Wyck, was born at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1772, and his wife was born at Pendleton, Anderson county, South Carolina. Children : Samuel Maverick, M. D., died 1861 ; William, died 1887; Zeruah, married Charles Banks, of New York; Abraham; Mary; and a second Abraham, died in infancy; Au- gustus and Robert A., who receive further mention in this work ; Lydia Ann Maver- ick, married General Robert Hoke, of Raleigh, North Carolina; Benjamin Stevens, a physician, died in 1888.
Augustus Van Wyck was fitted for college at Philips Exeter Academy, and graduated with high honors from the University of North Carolina. Immedi- ately after his admittance to the bar, he entered upon the practice of the law in New York City, where he quickly gained clients and a prominent position. Very early in life he took an interest in political affairs, and in New York City he became head of the reorganized Democracy, which movement led to the nomination of Grover Cleveland for Governor. Mr. Van Wyck conducted the campaign which resulted in Mr. Cleveland's elec- tion, and for twelve years the power of Democracy thus regained continued in the State. Mr. Van Wyck was a delegate to the National Convention, representing Kings county, and through his influence the delegates from that section remained firm in support of Mr. Cleveland for the presidential nomination, and thus se- cured that happy result. Again Mr. Van Wyck took charge of the campaign which
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resulted in the triumph of his candidate. Subsequently he was elected to the bench, and continued as justice of the Supreme Court until he resigned to be- come the standard bearer of his party in the State campaign, as a candidate against Theodore Roosevelt for Governor. Judge Van Wyck was especially fitted by nature and training for his position upon the bench, which was most congenial to him, and it was with regret that he left it, but was compelled to do so by his sense of duty to his party, as he seemed to be the only available candidate in that campaign. After the close of the campaign he re- sumed his practice at the bar, and has since vigorously and successfully con- tinued in charge of many important cases. He has refused several nominations which would have restored him to the bench, and can now be seen daily in our courts conducting a general practice. He occupies a high position before all the courts of the State, both trial and appel- late, as well as the United States courts. Judge Van Wyck was chief counsel for Senator Conger in the trial of his charges against Senator Allds, who was im- peached by the State Senate, and secured the latter's conviction, which is a most unique exception to the usual result of such trials, to the great and lasting honor of the Senate of the State. Less than three months before the trial, Senator Allds had been elected as president pro tem. of the Senate, which clothed him with all the powers of leadership of what was then the majority party. Judge Van Wyck has always been active in educa- tional, charitable, church and social work, and has served as trustee of schools, collegiate institutions, and hos- pitals, and a leading lay member of the standing committee of the diocese of Long Island of the Protestant Episcopal church. He has also been very active in many social organizations, acting as
president of the New York Holland So- ciety, the Southern Society, the North Carolina Society, the South Carolinians, and the New York Alumni Association of North Carolina University. While in college he was active in Greek letter societies, and has served as grand master of the Zeta Psi fraternity of North America. He was president of the New England Society of Brooklyn, and is a member of many clubs, including the Lincoln, Oxford, Brooklyn, Crescent Athletic, Hamilton and Montauk clubs of Brooklyn, and the Lawyers', Manhat- tan, and National Democratic clubs of Manhattan. He has always been ready to give of his time and counsel in the interests of the Democratic party, has attended many local State and National conventions, and in the National Con- vention of 1900 he was selected as New York's member of the platform commit- tee. He has ever urged what seemed to him as the most advanced and practical action of the party, and at the National Convention of 1900 he held the platform committee in consecutive session for about fourteen hours, in the discussion of his views in the interest of harmonizing his party upon the platform. For many years Judge Van Wyck was a member of the Democratic State Committee, and he has participated in many struggles for the attainment of high ideals. In 1909 he suggested a plan for the restoration of his party to power in Kings county, and at great sacrifice on his part he accepted the chairmanship of the com- mittee, which was unanimously tendered him by the regular county and district leaders. This resulted in the election of the local ticket, and contributed to the election of Judge Gaynor as mayor of New York City. The New York State League, which was modelled upon his plan for Kings county, was very helpful in achieving success of the State ticket
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in the succeeding year, and in this organi- zation Judge Van Wyck acted as a pri- vate. Judge Van Wyck has a most exten- sive acquaintance in all parts of the coun- try, and in every circle he is welcomed as a congenial and able public man.
His devotion to his principles has cost the jurisprudence of New York State the loss of an able judge.
Judge Van Wyck married Leila G. Wilkins, of Richmond, Virginia, and they have two children: William Van Wyck, formerly assistant district attorney of Kings county ; and Leila Grey, the wife of James W. Osborne, of New York City, formerly assistant district attorney of New York county.
VAN WYCK, Robert Anderson,
First Mayor of Greater New York.
Robert Anderson Van Wyck, sixth son of William and Lydia Anderson (Maver- ick) Van Wyck, of New York City, was born in 1849, in New York. He was prepared for college at the celebrated Wilson Academy in North Carolina, and later graduated from Columbia College, New York, as valedictorian of his class. His earlier years were spent in banking and mercantile pursuits, after which he prepared for the practice of law, and for many years has enjoyed a large and lucrative practice in New York city. In 1889 he was elected a judge of the City Court, and became presiding judge of that court. In November, 1897, he was elected mayor of Greater New York at the first election held under its charter. The task which confronted him as chief executive of the several combined boroughs forming the greater city was a gigantic one, but he brought order out of what seemed almost like chaos. The interests of the various municipal corporations involved were harmonized and adjusted, and under Mayor Van Wyck's administration was
constructed the first subway railroad in Manhattan, and provision was made for the construction of the tunnel to Brook- lyn, and the first subway in that borough. He was also an advocate of greater bridge facilities connecting the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and the further extension of tunnels under both rivers bordering the latter. He had long been active in political affairs, attending many conventions, State and national. By tak- ing advantage of a division of forces in the National Convention, he and a few others without organized political back- ing secured the nomination of General Winfield Scott Hancock as the Demo- cratic candidate for President of the United States, in 1880. Judge Van Wyck is pleasantly and prominently identified with social institutions, has been presi- dent of the Holland Society, a member of many social clubs, and prominent in Masonic circles, affiliating with the An- cient Lodge of New York City. He is very fond of traveling, and has indulged in that pleasure to a large extent, accom- panied by his estimable wife.
The brothers Augustus and Robert A. Van Wyck have both been highly hon- ored by their fellow citizens, and maintain a most constant intimate and affectionate association.
DONOHUE, Florince O., M. D., Physician, Sanitationist, Author.
Among all the vocations that con- tribute to the welfare and happiness of mankind, none stands in closer relation- ship than the medical profession, for to be of any great use to himself or the world at large it is quite necessary that a man should possess a "sound mind in a sound body." While there have been instances of genius making itself known, and even accomplishing what seemed to be its complete mission, under adverse
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physical conditions, still the question is always open as to the amount of good which might have been achieved without the handicap of weakness. Therefore, the man who chooses as his lifework the task of promoting the physical well being of his fellowmen performs a mission the result of which is too far reaching to be estimated by the amount of suffering re- lieved. Prominent among the members of the medical profession in Syracuse, New York, is Florince O. Donohue, M. D., ex-president of the State Board of Health, and who has filled a number of other offices of equal importance and re- sponsibility. He is a son of Cornelius and Ellen Donohue, both natives of Ire- land, who came to this country in 1847, the former dying here in 1900, and his wife in 1907. Mr. Donohue was a well known merchant of Syracuse in his day.
Florince O. Donohue, M. D., was born in Syracuse, New York, October 8, 1850. As a lad he attended the public schools of the city. When he reached the age of nine years his parents removed to the town of Onondaga, where he went to school winters and worked on the farm summers until 1869, after which he spent two years in Onondaga Academy and one year at Cazenovia Seminary, alternating with terms of teaching at Navarino and Onondaga Hill. Being endowed with mental qualifications of exceptional strength and activity, and possessing scholarly attributes of a high order, he had by this time thoroughly equipped himself for college, and also earned suffi- cient money to pay his own way, and having decided on medicine as a profes- sion he entered the Medical Department of Syracuse University in 1874 and re- mained two years, living in the meantime with Dr. W. W. Porter, under whose able tutelage hie supplemented his studies with hard work. In 1876 he entered Long Island College Hospital and was gradu-
ated therefrom in 1877 with high honors. Since then he has been in constant prac- tice in Syracuse, where he has won unusual success and wide professional recognition both at home and abroad.
Dr. Donohue, being an enthusiast in every branch of his profession, has mas- tered its mysteries with commendable persistency, and as an obstetrician has, perhaps, gained his highest renown, though his knowledge of medicine and surgery is fully as extensive and practical. He became a member of the New York State Medical Association on November 20, 1884, and in October, 1885, was elected a delegate from that body to the British Medical Association, of which he has been a member thirty years, and took part in its deliberations in 1886 and again in 1889. He is a member of the Onondaga County Medical Society and the Amer- ican Medical Association, served as presi- dent of the Syracuse Medical Association two years, and has been president of the Syracuse Academy of Medicine. On Oc- tober 31, 1889, he was appointed a mem- ber of the Syracuse Board of Health, and on November 26, of the same year, was appointed one of the State Commissioners of Health, by Governor David B. Hill. His term on the State Board expired in February, 1892, and in the following July he was reappointed by Governor Roswell P. Flower. At the first meeting there- after he was elected president of the board, and was reëlected to that position three successive years, the last time just prior to the expiration of his term of membership, in June, 1895. In 1892 he was appointed by President Harrison a member of the United States Pension Board of Surgeons, and is still president of this body. President Mckinley ap- pointed him special United States Medical Examiner of Central New York State, and he is still the incumbent of this office. In May, 1894, he was appointed
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by Governor Flower a member of a special commission of five to investigate the prevalence and distribution of tuber- culosis in the milk supply of the State and report thereon. This commission re- ported and went out of existence in Janu- ary, 1895, at which time Dr. Donohue was its secretary and chief executive officer. The Legislature then passed a law which provided that two members of the State Board of Health should be appointed to continue the investigation, thus creating the New York State Commission of Tuberculosis, of which Dr. Donohue was made chairman, and is still in office. In 1906 he was elected president of the American Anti-Tuberculosis League at Atlantic City. He was a member of the local Board of Health, having been ap- pointed by Mayor Kirk in 1889.
Dr. Donohue occupies a foremost posi- tion among the leading physicians and surgeons of Central New York. He is a writer of force and ability on a wide range of medical subjects and has con- tributed numerous articles to the leading medical journals of the country. He is the author of the "Report of the Special State Commission of Tuberculosis ;" "The Progress of the Science and Art of Obstetrics;" "A Retrospect of Medi- cine and Report of the Proceedings of the International Medical Congress of Mos- cow," 1897; and numerous papers on tuberculosis. In all official capacities he has been fearless, effective and useful, and locally he is always alive to the needs of the city, not only from a sanitary standpoint, but in a general way. He is public-spirited, progressive and popular, respected and esteemed by friends and opponents alike, and enjoys to the fullest extent the confidence of both the profes- sion and of the public.
Dr. Donohue married, September 27, 1877, Lucy A. Moseley, who died in 1905, a daughter of the late William T.
Moseley, and a granddaughter of Judge Daniel Moseley, whose career in the jurisprudence of the State, and especially in this county, is detailed elsewhere in this work.
CONKLIN, William Rowe,
Lawyer, Man of Affairs.
The Conklin or Conkling family is among the oldest in New York, having located in Long Island as early as the middle of the seventeenth century. John Conklin came from England in 1638 and settled at Salem, Massachusetts, whence he removed in 1650 to Easthampton, Long Island. Annanias Conklin, who came to Salem and Easthampton at the same time, is supposed to have been his son. John Conklin received a grant of land at Salem, May 30, 1649, and con- tinued to own it until 1683, when he deeded it to his son, John. The elder was residing at that time in Huntington, Long Island. While in Easthampton he lived in the section known as "Hasha- mommuck," and was subject to the colony of Connecticut, which made him and his son, John, freemen in 1662. John Conk- lin, Jr., was born in 1630 in Nottingham- shire, England, and died April 6, 1694, in Southold, New York, as shown by his gravestone. He was the father of Nicho- las Conklin, born 1661, in Easthampton, and lived in East Chester, New York. John Conklin, son of the last named, was born in 1700 in East Chester, and located at Haverstraw, New York, about the time of attaining his majority. His son, Nicho- las Conklin, was born in 1724 at Haver- straw, and died at Cochecton, Sullivan county, New York, in 1815. He was the father of John Conklin, born May 8, 1756, at Haverstraw, died in Cochecton, April 15, 1856.
William A. Conklin, son of John Conk- lin, was born March 3, 1787, at Cochec-
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ton, died in Conklin, New York, in 1850. George Conklin, son of William A. Conk- lin, was born January 22, 1822, in Conk- lin, died in New York City in 1901. He lived for some years at Amenia, Dutchess county, New York, where his son. Wil- liam Balis Conklin, was born June 24, 1844. In 1876 the latter moved to New York City, and continued to reside there until his death, November 26, 1915. He was president of the Orange County Milk Association, and treasurer of the Ocma Realty Company of New York. He mar- ried Helen, daughter of Clinton and Mary (Rowe) Rowe.
William Rowe Conklin, son of William Balis and Helen (Rowe) Conklin, was born March 2, 1876, at Amenia, and came to New York City with his parents when three months old. He attended the public schools of New York in childhood, was later a student at the Condon private school on Fifth avenue in the city, and entered Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1896. Four years later he was graduated with the degree of A. B., and immediately entered the New York Law School, from which he was graduated with the degree of LL. B. in 1902. In the same year he was admitted to the New York bar, and entered the law office of Frederic J. Swift, on Broadway, New York, where he continued until May, 1906. Following that he engaged in practice independently, with offices at No. 100 Broadway, until May, 1911, when he formed a law partnership with John Reid, Jr., under the title of Conklin & Reid. This firm has since engaged in general practice, devoting especial atten- tion to surrogate and real estate law. Mr. Conklin succeeded his father as president of the Orange County Milk Association, and is active in real estate operations, be- ing treasurer of the Ocma Realty Com- pany. He has had much to do in handling large estates in his surrogate practice.
such as the Rockefeller properties and others of that class, and has gained a high reputation in that line of legal work. He is attorney and counsel for the village of Great Neck Estates, Long Island, and has devoted much time to philanthropic and religious works. He is a member of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church of New York, secretary of its board of trustees, a member of the executive committee of the New York City Baptist Mission So- ciety, and of the advisory committee of the Baptist Home for the Aged. He is also a member of the law committee of the Northern Baptist Convention. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of New York, and of the Phi Delta Pheta college fraternity and the Williams Col- lege club of New York. Mr. Conklin is a steadfast supporter of Republican prin- ciples and policies in the management of public affairs, but has always avoided any official station.
He married, September 16, 1909, at Great Neck, New York, Anna Lulu Dick- erson, granddaughter of the late Commo- dore John S. Dickerson, of the New York Yacht Club. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin are the parents of two sons, William Dicker- son, born December 22, 1911, and Frank B., December 17, 1914.
CALDWELL, George B., Expert Accountant, Financier.
Although of New York birth, parentage and ancestry, Mr. Caldwell, from the age of five years, has spent his life outside his native State, returning in 1915, weighted with business honors gained in many fields of activity. As clerk, bookkeeper. state accountant, national bank examiner and banker, he has had an experience most unusual for a man of his years; an experience that particularly fits him for the position he returned to New York to fill, president of the Sperry & Hutchinson
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