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 pre?minent in their own and many other states. V.6 > Part 10
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(V) Esek (name changed to Wilbur), son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Carr) Wil- bor, was born December 22, 1728, and died in 1781. His wife, Rachel (Gifford) Wilbur, bore him a son, Jeptha, of whom further.
(VI) Jeptha Wilbur, son of Esek and Rachel (Gifford) Wilbur, was born Janu- ary 18, 1759, and died in 1843. He was one of the "little" nine partners. He lived in the town of Milan, Dutchess County, New York. His wife, Elizabeth (Mosher) Wilbur, bore him a son, Sam- uel, of whom further.
(VII) Samuel Wilbur, son of Jeptha and (Elizabeth (Mosher) Wilbur, was born on his father's farm, in the town of N.Y .- 8-5
Milan, May 7, 1785, died November 6, 1826. He was a farmer, and in early life settled on a farm in Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York. His wife, Betsy (Hicks) Wilbur, bore him a son, Jeptha S., of whom further.
(VIII) Jeptha S. Wilbur, the youngest son of Samuel and Betsy (Hicks) Wilbur, was born at Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York, October 29, 1817, died at Pine Plains, New York, September 21, 1885. He followed farming until his death. He was a church member, a temperance man, a strong Abolitionist, a Whig, later a Re- publican, and a good citizen. He mar- ried Mary Jane Story, and their son, Dan- iel W., of whom further.
(IX) Daniel W. Wilbur, son of Jeptha S. and Mary Jane (Story) Wilbur, was born at Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York, in 1857. He attended the country schools and took a course in the De Garmo Institute at Rhinebeck, New York. On his return home he assisted his father in the cultivation of the farm. He remained on the farm until he was twenty-five years old, when he removed to Red Hook, where he engaged in the coal and lumber business in partnership with his father-in-law, H. H. Conklin, under the firm name of H. H. Conklin & Company. The partnership continued until the death of Mr. Conklin, August 1, 1883, when Mr. Wilbur succeeded to the business, which he managed with success for eighteen years. In 1901 he came to Poughkeepsie to live, and soon became one of the leaders in the business life of that city. While a resident of Red Hook, and prior to 1901, Mr. Wilbur bought of William H. Sheldon his coal business and of E. B. Taylor his lumber business, both of Poughkeepsie, and incorporated the Wilbur Company, of which Mr. Wilbur has been president since its organization.
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In 1909 he became the incorporator of the Hygeia Ice and Storage Company, which continued in business until 1919, when the concern dissolved. Mr. Wilbur was also one of the incorporators of the Kall Rock Chair Company, which has ceased to do business.
Mr. Wilbur has always been a strong advocate of the principles of the Repub- lican party. His fellow-citizens honored him with the mayoralty nomination in 1913, and he was elected. So able an ad- ministration did he give the city that he was renominated in 1914 and was re- turned to the executive office January I, 1915. Mr. Wilbur continued to be much in the public eye and in demand for ser- vice. In 1917 Governor Whitman ap- pointed him a member of the local board, of which he served as chairman until the end of the World War. Mr. Wilbur was prominently identified with others in the promotion of the Poughkeepsie Highway Bridge bill, which passed the New York State Legislature in May, 1923. His civic pride has also found expression in the gift of the site on which the St. Francis Hospital stands. Mr. Wilbur was one of the incorporators of the village of Red Hook in 1895, and was a member of the original board of village trustees until his removal to Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Wilbur's clubs are the Amrita and Elks, of Poughkeepsie. He has been a trustee of the Washington Street Meth- odist Episcopal Church for twenty years. and was a member of the General Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Springfield, Massachusetts, 1924. He is essentially a home man, of domestic habits, devoted to the good of the com- munity, and deeply interested in the wel- fare of the city and its people.
Mr. Wilbur married, November 17, 1881, Mary G. Conklin, daughter of Henry
H. and Ann Eliza (Gifford) Conklin, and is of an old Dutchess County family and Revolutionary stock.
MOFFIT, Albert R.,
Attending Surgeon Vassar Brothers' Hospital, Poughkeepsie.
In a direct line from a sturdy Scotch forebear, who came to this country from Scotland during the French-English War to serve the Crown as a British soldier, and who afterward was one of the settlers of Central Illinois, comes Dr. Albert R. Moffit, attending surgeon at Vassar Brothers' Hospital, Poughkeepsie, New York, great-grandson of William Mof- fit, the Scottish progenitor of this branch of the American Moffits. "Blood will tell," and so it was that when the Civil War broke out, Dr. Moffit's father en- tered the army for the preservation of the Union ; and Dr. Moffit himself has fought his way over numerous obstacles until he has reached a very high place in his pro- fession. The Moffits have been noted for centuries for their indomitable and ad- venturesome spirit, their pioneering in- stinct and their deeds of valor on the field of battle and in the realm of the profes- sions; therefore, it would have been wholly out of the Moffit order of things had the Moffit of this review been satis- fied to have unsuccessfully sought the royal road to learning.
William Moffit, the British soldier who later became one of the pioneers of Cen- tral Illinois, married Mary Porter. They were the parents of a son, William Moffit, born in Illinois. He became a farmer on his section, joining the early settlers in opening up the country. He married Mary Carlton. They were the parents of Aaron Carlton Moffit, born in Illinois, in 1840. He received a common school edu-
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George Seaman
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
cation. At the outbreak of the Civil War Aaron C. Moffit enlisted at Jubilee, Illi- nois, in the 48th Regiment, Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, and became first ser- geant of Company K. The war ended, he settled in Princeville, Illinois, where he followed the trade of wagon maker and wheelwright, and later became a carpen- ter and builder, which trade he followed until he retired from active work. He died November 30, 1921. He married Mary Jane Rowcliffe, daughter of William and Mary (Ford) Rowcliffe, of County Devonshire, England, and of this union there were two children: Fred Howard, born in 1873, at Princeville, Illinois, grad- uated from Williams College, and a post- graduate of Columbia University, New York City; he is a government geologist at Washington, District of Columbia ; and Albert R., of whom further.
Albert R. Moffit was born at Prince- ville, October 11, 1876. He attended the common schools of Princeville, and Princeville Academy. He entered Wil- liams College with the class of 1898, and was graduated with the degree of A. B. He entered Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was graduated with the class of 1904, degree of Medical Doctor. The three years fol- lowing his graduation he saw surgical ser- vice at St. Luke's Hospital, New York City. In 1907 he removed to Poughkeep- sie, New York, to become assistant sur- geon of Vassar Brothers' Hospital. In 1909 Dr. Moffit was appointed attending surgeon of this hospital, a position which he still holds. His services are devoted exclusively to surgery, in which field he is widely acknowledged to be an expert. Dr. Moffit is a Fellow of the American Medical Association, Fellow of the Amer- ican College of Surgeons, member of the New York State Medical Society, Dutch-
ess and Putnam Counties Medical So- ciety, Poughkeepsie Academy of Medi- cine, and Alumni Association of St. Luke's Hospital, New York City. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Princeville, Illinois. His clubs are : The Amrita and Dutchess Golf and Country, of Poughkeepsie, and Williams Club of New York City.
Dr. Moffit married, November 18, 1916, Ella Borland, daughter of John and Constance (Reeves) Borland, of New York City and New Hamburg, New York.
SEAMAN, George,
Coal Merchant, Financier.
The late George Seaman, who for more than fifty years was a prominent, widely known, and respected citizen of Pough- keepsie, Dutchess County, New York, was descended from the Seaman family of Long Island, whose common ancestor, Captain John Seaman, was an influential colonist of the early days. Captain Sea- man was the father of eight sons and eight daughters, all of whom married and had numerous offspring. The direct line, therefore, is obscured by literally thou- sands of Seaman surnames, but as far as can be ascertained the line of descent is as follows: (1) Captain John Seaman ; (2) Nathaniel Seaman; (3) Nathaniel Seaman; (4) Ambrose Seaman; and (5) Samuel Seaman, the latter of whom was the grandfather of George Seaman, of this record.
(I) Samuel Seaman, probably the son of Ambrose Seaman, removed from Staten Island, New York, in 1833, and settled in Dutchess County, New York. His two brothers, Hicks and Stephen, accompa- nied him, but they later went on to Sara- toga County. Samuel Seaman located in Hyde Park, where he was soon engaged
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in the manufacture of woolen cloth. An one of the oldest coal concerns in the city. ancestor, Zebulun Seaman, was noted as being the manufacturer of the finest linen in America, which he made from flax grown upon his own property, and prepared by his wife, Phebe (Valentine) Seaman. A piece of this homespun linen is still in existence. Samuel Seaman mar- ried Sarah Billings, and they were the parents of six children, among whom was Nelson, of whom further.
(II) Nelson Seaman, one of the six children of Samuel and Sarah (Billings) Seaman, was born in the year 1833, and died in Poughkeepsie, New York, Sep- tember 26, 1904. He followed the trade of carpenter and builder, and constructed many buildings throughout this section. He was a Republican in politics, and served Poughkeepsie as a member of the Board of Aldermen. Nelson Seaman was married to Elizabeth Millard, whose death occurred on January 29, 1888. They were the parents of George, of whom fur- ther.
(III) George Seaman, son of Nelson and Elizabeth (Millard) Seaman, was born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, October 18, 1854. He was educated in the Quaker schools of his birthplace, following which he attended the Warring Military School. Upon the completion of his scholastic work, in 1872, he entered the employ of the firm of Col- lingwood, Millard & Company, coal and lumber dealers. In 1894 Mr. Seaman be- came a partner of the late George Colling- wood, under the firm name of Colling- wood & Seaman, they having purchased the coal business of George E. Dutcher, in the northeast section of the city. After the death of Mr. Collingwood the busi- ness was continued by Mr. Seaman under the original name of Collingwood & Sea- man, and at the present time (1924) is
For many years Mr. Seaman was a direc- tor of the Farmers' & Manufacturers' National Bank, and in the year 1912 was elected vice-president of the institution, which important office he held for many years. At a meeting of the board of directors of the bank, held on June 30, 1924, following the death of Mr. Seaman, the following expression of regret and esteem was passed :
Since the last meeting of this Board it has learned of the death of George Seaman, for many years one of its directors.
Mr. Seaman, while in health, was diligent and faithful in the performance of his duties as a director and his cheerful and helpful disposition endeared him to all his fellow-directors. They all feel a personal loss in his death, and that the bank has lost a valuable and efficient officer. They wish to express to his widow, and the immediate mem- bers of his family the respect and affection in which they held their deceased associate, and their sympathy for them in their loss.
Let this be inscribed in full upon the minutes of the Board, and a copy sent to Mrs. Seaman.
Mr. Seaman was also prominent in club life, holding membership in the Amrita Club; the Dutchess Golf & Country Club; the Poughkeepsie Rotary Club ; and at one time was actively con- nected with the Apokeepsing Boat Club. For years Mr. Seaman had been a loyal and sincere member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church.
George Seaman was married in Boston, Massachusetts, June 19, 1895, to Cora U. L. Knapp, a daughter of Jerome B. and Sarah (Sickles) Knapp, old residents of Ulster County, New York. Mrs. Cora U. L. (Knapp) Seaman, on the maternal side, comes from Revolutionary stock, and is a member of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion.
The death of George Seaman occurred
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at his home in Poughkeepsie, New York, June 18, 1924. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Cora U. L. (Knapp) Sea- man. In the death of George Seaman Poughkeepsie lost a sterling citizen. He was one of the most prominent business men of the city, and the head of a concern that has been foremost among local in- dustries for a long period of years. A quiet, thoughtful man he said or did no- thing for display or eclat. Always a gentle- man it was a pleasure to be associated with him socially and in business discussions. He was prominent in church and club circles, and possessed a host of friends who deeply regret his passing. His life was long and useful and he goes to his eternal repose with the honor and affec- tion of all who knew him.
FISH, Hamilton,
Congressman, World War Veteran.
Three generations of this family have been headed by a Hamilton Fish, and within the recollection of the present generation have held either Cabinet, Senatorial or House seats. The elder Hamilton Fish was Lieutenant-Governor of New York State, Governor of New York State, United States Senator from New York State, elected to all as a Whig, and Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Grant, a Republican. His son, Hamilton (2) Fish, was elected a member of the Sixty-First Congress, and his son, Hamilton (3) Fish, was elected to fill a vacancy in the Sixty-Sixth Congress, and was reelected to the Sixth-Seventh, being the present sitting member from the Twenty-Sixth New York Congressional District comprising the counties of Dut- chess, Orange and Putnam.
Hamilton (1) Fish was a son of Colo- nel Nicholas and Elizabeth (Stuyvesant)
Fish, his mother a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch-Colonial Governor of New Amsterdam. The earliest Ameri- can ancestor of the family, Jonathan Fish, was born in England, in 1610. He early came to New England, settling in Lynn, Massachusetts, afterward removing to Sandwich, and thence to Newtown, Long Island. From Jonathan Fish the line of descent is through his son, Nathan Fish ; his son, Jonathan Fish; his son, Samuel Fish; his son, Jonathan Fish; his son, Colonel Nicholas Fish ; his son, Hamilton Fish; his son, Nathan Fish, who died in Newtown, Long Island, August 1, 1734; his son, Jonathan Fish, of Newtown, a man of value to his town and church; his son, Samuel Fish, a man of influence in Newtown, who was thrice married, and had fifteen children; his son, Jonathan Fish, who dwelt in Newtown, but for some years was a merchant of New York City ; his son, Colonel Nicholas Fish, who was the father of Hamilton (1) Fish of this review.
Colonel Nicholas Fish, only son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Sackett) Fish, was born in New York City, August 28, 1758, died in the city of his birth, at his home, No. 21 Stuyvesant Street, June 20, 1833. He studied law, but on the out- break of war with the Mother Country he entered the Colonial service, receiving a lieutenancy in the First New York Regiment. On November 21, 1776, he was appointed by Congress, Major of the Second New York Regiment, of the Con- tinental Army, and at the close at that year, by resolution of Congress, was com- missioned Lieutenant-Colonel. He took part in the battle of Long Island, the bat- tle of Monmouth, and was with General Sullivan in his expedition against the Indians. He was engaged in the fighting which led to the surrender of General
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Burgoyne at Saratoga, and was with his lifelong friend, General Hamilton, in the final assault at Yorktown. He enjoyed the confidence of Washington and was by him appointed a division inspector in 1778, under General Steuben. He con- tinued in the regular army for a few years after the close of the war, commanding a regiment of infantry at Fort McIntosh, and at other points on the river.
Colonel Fish was one of the original members of the Society of the Cincin- nati, assistant-treasurer of New York chapter at the organization and president thereof, 1797-1804. He was the first adju- tant-General of the State of New York, 1786-1793, and for several years was Supervisor of the Revenue, appointed by President Washington in 1794. He was an alderman of New York City, 1806-17, serving on the Committee of Defense during 1812-14. He was chairman of the board of trustees of Columbia College, 1824-1832, and in 1831 was the last presi- dent of the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank. He was a devout churchman and served the Episcopal Church in many capacities. His epitaph in St. Mark's Church in the Bowerie records :
He was the faithful soldier of Christ and of his country.
Colonel Nicholas Fish married, April 30, 1803, Elizabeth Stuyvesant, daughter of Petrus Stuyvesant, a great-grandson of the last Dutch Governor of New Am- sterdam (New York).
Hamilton (1) Fish, son of Colonel Nicholas and Elizabeth (Stuyvesant) Fish, was born in New York City, August 3, 1808, died at Glen-Clyffe, near Garrison, New York, September 7, 1893. He com- pleted his classical education at Columbia College with the class of 1827, then studied law and was admitted to the New
York bar in 1830. From the beginning of his law studies he took a deep interest in politics, espousing the Whig side. For several years he was a commissioner of deeds, and in 1834 was the Whig candi- date from his district for Assembly, but was defeated. In 1842 he was a candidate for Congress from the Sixth District of New York City, was elected, but in 1844 was defeated for reelection. In 1846 he was the unsuccessful candidate for Lieu- tenant-Governor of New York, but the successful candidate Adderson Gardner was made a Judge of the Court of Appeals, Mr. Fish being elected to suc- ceed him in 1847. In 1848 he was elected Governor of New York, and in 1851 he was chosen United States Senator to succeed Daniels Dickinson. In the Senate he opposed the repeal of the "Mis- souri Compromise," and from the forma- tion of the Republican party in 1856 he acted with that party. He retired from the Senate at the expiration of his term, March 4, 1857.
Upon retiring from the Senate he re- sumed the practice of law in New York City, and in 1859-60 he toured Europe. On his return he warmly supported the candidacy of Abraham Lincoln, and in 1861 he ardently espoused the Union cause. He served on numerous commit- tees, and served in January, 1862, under appointment of Secretary of War Stanton on a commission, "to relieve the neces- sities and provide for the comfort of Federal prisoners in Confederate prisons." The refusal of the Confederate Gover- nors to treat with this Commission save upon the principle of a general exchange of prisoners soon resulted in a satisfac- tory system of exchange.
On March 11, 1869, Mr. Fish became a member of President Grant's Cabinet, succeeding Elihu B. Washburn, as Secre-
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tary of State. He held that portfolio through President Grant's second term, and in the Cabinet of President Hayes until March 12, 1877, then surrendered it to William M. Evarts, the choice of President Hayes. Mr. Fish was the father of the joint high commission to arrange the differences with Great Britain in 1871, served as a member thereof and was appointed plenipotentiary to sign the treaty settling the Alabama claims and Northwestern boundary question the same year. In November, 1873, he nego- tiated the settlement of the "Virginius" question with the Spanish minister at Washington.
In matters educational and patriotic, Mr. Fish figured prominently. He was a trustee of his alma mater, Columbia Col- lege, from 1840 until 1893, and chairman of the board, 1859-93; president of the General Order of the Cincinnati, 1854- 93; chairman of the Union Defense Com- mittee, 1861-65; president of the New York Historical Society, 1867-69; trustee of the Astor Library; and one of the original trustees of the Peabody Educa- tion Fund appointed by the founder. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Columbia College in 1850, Union College in 1869, and from Harvard in 1871.
Hamilton (1) Fish married, in 1836, Julia Kean, daughter of John Kean, long a leader of the Republican party in New York. Mrs. Fish died in 1887, leaving three sons and five daughters: Hamilton (2) of whom further; Nicholas; Stuy- vesant; Sarah Norris, married Sidney Webster; Elizabeth Stuyvesant, married G. d'Nauteville; Julia Kean, married Colonel S. N. Benjamin ; Susan Le Roy, married William E. Rogers; Edith Livingston, married Oliver Northcole. The family home became Glen-Clyffe at
Garrison, New York, and there Mr. Fish died, aged eighty-five.
Hamilton (2) Fish, eldest son of Hamilton (1) and Julia (Kean) Fish, was born at Albany, New York, April 17, 1849. He attended private schools in his own State and in Switzerland, Europe, later becoming a student at Columbia College, whence he was graduated, class of 1869. He chose to follow his father's profession, and after ample preparation was admitted to the New York bar in 1873. He practiced his profession in New York City, but soon after his admission to the bar his father was appointed Secre- tary of State in President Grant's Cabinet and from 1869 until 1872 the young man acted in the capacity of private secretary to his father. He then returned to the practice of law in New York City, and for several terms represented a Putnam County district in the New York Legisla- ture, and during the session of 1895-96 served as Speaker of the House
He then again devoted himself to the practice of his profession until 1903, when he was appointed assistant trea- surer of the United States at New York by President Roosevelt, serving in office under one reappointment until October 1908, when he resigned. He was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-first Con- gress, March 4, 1909-March 3, 1911. After leaving Congress Mr. Fish estab- lished his residence at Garrison. During his legislative career Mr. Fish served as a member of important committees and upon the staff of Governor John A. Dix, as aide-de-camp. He was one of the recognized leaders of the Republican party in New York State, and in 1884 was a delegate to the National Convention at Philadelphia, which nominated James G. Blaine, of Maine, "The Plumed Knight,"
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for president, he going down in defeat before Grover Cleveland, of New York.
Hamilton (2) Fish married (first), in 1880, Emily M. Mann, daughter of Fran- cis N. Mann, of Troy, New York, and they were the parents of five children. Mr. Fish married (second), in 1912, Florence Delaplaine Amsinck, widow of Gustav Amsinck.
Hamilton (3) Fish, and son of Hamilton (2) Fish, was born at Garrison, fifty miles north of New York, in Putnam County, New York, December 7, 1888. He was early prepared to enter college, and at the age of twenty was graduated cum laude from Harvard University. He was not only a student but an athlete, and gained the distinction of leading the Varsity foot- ball team as its captain. In the business world Mr. Fish is known as the capable vice-president of John C. Paige Company, general insurance, No. 115 Broadway, New York City, but is better known through his political prominence and his military record in the war with Germany. In 1914 he made his entrance into politi- cal life as a member of the New York State Assembly, a body in which he served three consecutive terms. He was then out of politics until after the war, when he was elected to fill a vacancy in the Sixty-sixth Congress of the United States, caused by the resignation of Ed- mund Platt. He was the regular candi- date of the Republican party for the same seat and was elected by a large majority and is now serving in the Sixth-seventh Congress from the Twenty-sixth New York District composed of Dutchess, Orange and Putnam.
When the Congress of the United States declared a state of war against Germany in the spring of 1917, Mr. Fish tendered his services and was commis- sioned Captain of Colored Infantry (15th Regiment, New York Volunteers) later
known as the 369th Regiment of Infantry, United States Army, went overseas, and took an active part in the battle of Cham- pagne, July 15, and in the general offen- sive of September, 1918, following. Captain Fish was decorated with the Croix de Guerre for his conspicuous bra- very at the capture of the Village of Sechoult, and later was commissioned major of Infantry, Fourth Division Army of Occupation. He is a graduate of the Army General Staff College, American Expeditionary Forces, and when he re- turned to the United States was honor- ably discharged from the service.
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