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 11
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Congressman Fish married, September 24, 1921, Grace Chapin, daughter of Alfred Chapin, a former Democratic mayor of Brooklyn, New York.
TUTHILL, Robert K.,
Physician, Surgeon.
For more than sixty years Pough- keepsie, New York, relied upon the pro- fessional skill and ability of a Dr. Tuthill, beginning in 1847 when Dr. Samuel Tut- hill came to the city from Newburgh, New York, and quickly won his way to high standing as a physician and as a citizen. Then, in 1859, his son, Robert K. Tuthill, joined his father in practice, but only until 1861, when he responded to the President's call, and not until 1864 were his services available to his home community. Then he again assumed the responsibilities of private practice and served Poughkeepsie with faithfulness and vigilance until his passing in 1909, having been in continuous practice from 1859 until 1909, a full half-century, all passed in Poughkeepsie excepting his years of military service as surgeon. He was a physician of deep learning and yet all his life he was a student, always
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seeking "more light" through study, re- search and observation. Nearly a decade and a half has elapsed since Dr. Tuthill wrote his last prescription and performed his last operation, but his memory is green in the city he loved and in which he left a host of friends who believed in him, trusted him and loved him. He was blessed with a keen sense of humor, and this with his wit greatly aided him.
To have known him as a family physician is to have felt the influence of good cheer and constant hope in the sick room. His presence brought con- fidence and relief like a benediction to the suf- ferer. He was for almost a generation among the busiest of men to be found in the community. He numbered his patients among the rich and the poor, and he gave in fullest measure all his splendid gifts in every case with which he had anything to do. His skill was acknowledged wherever he was known and his pleasing personality endeared him to his patients and their friends.
The name Tuthill is probably derived from tot-hill, or tut-hill, an artificial mound or tumulus, a number of these mounds being found in widely separated localities in England. Families living near them in ancient times probably re- ceived this designation as a surname. The largest of these tumuli, called tut- hill, in Thetford, Norfolk County, Eng- land, is described by Blomefield, the historian of Norfolk County; it was probably raised by the Danes in 871 A. D. to cover their slain after the battle with King Edward.
The arms of the Tuthills of Norfolk, as given in the Visitation of Essex, in 1634, are.
Arms-Or, on a chevron azure, three crescents argent.
Crest-A leopard passant, sable, crowned or, on a mound vert.
These arms, without the crest, are found in the church of Trowse-with- Newton, Norfolk, England, on the tomb
of Elizabeth, wife of Sir Roger Dalyson, daughter of William Tuthill, of Newton, Gentleman, and granddaughter of John Tuthill, of Saxlingham. She died Sep- tember 27, 1585, in her nineteenth year.
John Tuthill, of Saxlingham, father of Henry Tuthill, born in 1580, was, perhaps, brother of William Tuthill, named above.
Henry Tuthill, of Tharston, Norfolk County, England, was born in 1580, as above stated, and is the ancestor of this branch of the Tuthill family in America. He died in 1619. He was the third son of John Tuthill, of Saxlingham, and married Alice (Gooch?). They had five children : John, born in 1607; William, born in 1609; Henry, of whom further; Alice, baptized in 1614; Elizabeth, baptized in 1616.
Henry Tuthill, son of Henry and Alice (Gooch?) Tuthill, was born at Tharston, Norfolk County, England, in 1612, and baptized on the 28th of June of that year. He came to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1637, receiving a land grant there on July 17. He married, in England, Bridget, surname unknown, who came with him to America. She survived him and mar- ried again after her first husband's death. Henry Tuthill and his wife settled in Hingham, Massachusetts. He was made a freeman in March, 1638, and constable in 1640. He sold his lot in Hingham, June 20, 1644, and doubtless came to Southold, where it is said he settled in the same year. It is also stated that both he and his wife died before 1650. Their children were: John, of whom further; Elizabeth, married William Johnson; Nathaniel, died at Southold in 1660; Daniel, died at Southold in 1658.
John Tuthill, son of Henry and Bridget Tuthill, was born in 1635. He married, in 1657, Deliverance King, and was an ex- tensive land owner. He was, with little
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or no doubt, the link through whom the family under the present consideration was descended. John and Deliverance Tuthill had nine children, some of whom married on Long Island, and others re- moved to various localities. Their son, John Tuthill, who was born in 1658, mar- ried Mehitabel Wells, daughter of Wil- liam Wells. They were the parents of a number of children, among whom was Foregift Tuthill, born in 1698, and mar- ried, in 1727, Abigail Goldsmith. They settled in Orange County, New York. They had children, Abigail, Nathaniel, Joshua, and Freegift, the sons all being soldiers of the Revolutionary War. Among the children of their son Nathan- iel was a son, John Tuthill, who fought in the War of 1812, and removed from Blooming Grove to Chemung County in 1819. Among his children was Hiram Tuthill, who was born in 1799, and who also had a son Hiram; the name being that of an uncle of Dr. Robert K. Tuthill and of a brother of Dr. Samuel Tuthill, father of Dr. Robert K. Tuthill.
Samuel Tuthill, M. D., father of Dr. Robert K. Tuthill, was born in Blooming Grove, Orange County, New York, April 2, 1811, and died in 1890, the youngest of the ten children of Samuel and Eunice (Youngs) Tuthill. His father was a farmer, and originally came from Long Island, and died when his son Samuel was twelve years of age. The son Samuel remained on the farm with his mother and elder brother Hiram until his eight- eenth year. He was educated in the dis- trict schools of that day, and was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1837 he began the study of medicine with Dr. Thomas Lapham, a well-known "Thompsonian" physician in Poughkeepsie, and entered upon his pro- fessional career in Kingston, New York,
in 1840, and in 1848 he returned to Pough- keepsie and practiced the "Eclectic School of Medicine," to which he rose to high rank, having been honored and licensed as an M. D. by Syracuse Medical College and the Medical College of the City of New York. He was president of the District Eclectic Society and the New York Eclectic Society, also serving as as treasurer of the latter named society. Although he never was identified with the "old school" of medicine, he enjoyed the confidence and respect of its members. Dr. Tuthill was a man of remarkable physique, dignified and courteous in man- ner, and a general favorite with all on account of his kindness of heart and good sense. For years he was an alderman in the Poughkeepsie city government, and a member of the County Legislature as a supervisor, where he was locally famous as a ready, witty and direct speaker. For many years Dr. Tuthill and his family were members of the Cannon Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and Dr. Tuthill served as one of the district stewards and lay delegates to the New York Annual Conference. By common consent it was truly said of Dr. Tuthill that he was a representative man, in medicine, in politics and in the church.
Dr. Tuthill married, in 1833, Sally Maria Kelly, a native of England. They were the parents of six children. Robert K., of whom further; James Youngs; Orpha Maria; Sarah Elizabeth; Mary Ida, and a son who died in infancy.
Dr. Robert K. Tuthill, son of Dr. Samuel and Sally Maria (Kelly) Tuthill, was born in Newburgh, New York, Janu- ary 18, 1835, and died in Poughkeepsie, New York, June 11, 1909. The first thir- teen years of his life were spent in New- burgh, but in 1848 Poughkeepsie became the family home,and there he completed
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full courses of preparatory training before entering upon his life work, the practice of medicine and surgery. He was trained by his eminent father to succeed him, and after his training he entered New York Medical College, whence he was gradu- ated M. D., class of 1859.
The year of graduation he began prac- tice at Poughkeepsie and continued until about the middle of April, 1861, when he volunteered his services to the Govern- ment and went to the front with the Twenty-first Regiment, New York Volun- teer Infantry, as assistant surgeon. He was later appointed assistant surgeon of the Eightieth Regiment, and in 1863 was promoted to the rank of surgeon and as- signed to the One Hundred and Forty Fifth Regular New York Infantry. In June, 1863, he was made surgeon of the First Brigade (six regiments), First Division, Twelfth Army Corps, and early in 1864 was appointed surgeon-in-chief of the First Division (fourteen regiments) of the Twelfth Army Corps. He was with the Army of the Potomac in all its princi- pal battles, and also did duty with the Army of the Cumberland. By his general professional ability and his strict obser- vance of sanitary regulations, Dr. Tuthill kept his regiment and brigade in such a healthy and physical condition of effici- ency that he received special commenda- tion from the War Department officials. His service continued throughout the war, when he returned to Poughkeepsie a veteran surgeon, then only about thirty years of age.
From 1865 until his death in 1909 Dr. Tuthill was a notably successful practi- tioner of medicine and surgery in Pough- keepsie. In 1862 he had been in charge of the military hospital at Fredericks- burg, Virginia; from 1870 until its clos- ing in 1887 he was a member of the surgi- cal staff of St. Barnabas Hospital, Pough-
keepsie, and from the opening of Vassar Brothers' Hospital in 1887 until 1909 he was a member of its surgical staff selected by its founder, Mathew Vassar. From 1898 until his death he was a member of the consulting staff of the hospital. He visited many hospitals and attended many clinics in the European surgical and medi- cal centers of learning, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, always being anxious to keep in close touch with all advances in diagnosis, treatment, instrument and operation. He accepted only one office from his city, health officer, and that he filled for four terms. He was president of the Dutchess County Medical Society for two years, member of the New York Medical Society and of other societies of physicians and surgeons. He was a Companion of the New York Chapter, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States; a charter member of Hamilton Post, Grand Army of the Re- public ; and was affiliated with Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of the Masonic Order, and was one of the founders of the Amrita Club. He was a member of the Reformed Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie.
Dr. Tuthill married, April 6, 1864, Cornelia de Irius Eckert, daughter of Eugene Erskine and Catherine C. de Irius Eckert, of Poughkeepsie, of Holland and French ancestry, respectively. Dr. and Mrs. Tuthill were the parents of four children: 1. Edith Craig, died at the age of five years. 2. Grace Eckert, died at the age of three years. 3. Josephine Corlies, residing with her mother in Poughkeepsie. 4. Albert Sidney, died in infancy.
CANNON, Pelton,
Financier.
The ancestors of the Cannon family, who originally spelled their name Canon,
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were among that great and worthy throng of thrifty French Protestants, who during the political and religious disturbances of the seventeenth century fled from France to England and later to America. The Canon family settled on Staten Island, where the earliest of the name Andries (or Andrew) and his son Abraham signed their names Canon. The modern spell- ing, Cannon, was not adopted until the eighteenth century, and on Staten Island the name was usually accented on the last syllable. Andries or Andrew Canon was a resident of Staten Island as early as 1680, and there he raised his family. Records indicate that he was born in 1651, and his death occurred in March, 1710. He was twice married, first to Jane Pierce, who died before 1695, and second to Anna Papin, who was still alive in 1727. Among the children of the first marriage was John, of whom further.
John Canon, son of Andries, or Andrew, and Jane (Pierce) Canon, was born in 1677, died in 1746-48. He was "a boat- man," plying between Staten Island and New York in 1699. He purchased land in New York City in 1706 and 1718, and in 1728 was the owner of Cannon's wharf, which adjoined Schermerhorn's wharf, ex- tending toward, if not over, the present Fulton Market in New York. He mar- ried, in 1697, Maria Le Grand, daughter of Pierre and Jeanne (de Mendell) Le Grand. It is interesting to note that the first four of their children were baptized in the French Church in New York, and the remainder in the Dutch Church of the same city. Among their thirteen chil- dren was Peter, of whom further.
Peter Cannon, son of John and Maria (Le Grand) Canon, was born in New York, March II, 1711. He was master of the sloop "Two Brothers," which ran be- tween New York and South Carolina. He
married, in 1732, Willentje (or Wil- lemyntje) Schermerhorn, daughter of Ar- nout and Marytje (Beekman) Schermer- horn, and their first born was a son, born July 19, 1732, whom they called Arnout. Thus the name Arnout came into the fam- ily and was handed down to a later Arnout Cannon, born in 1805, grandfather of Pelton Cannon. He is thought to have been a grandson of the first Arnout Can- non, but the incomplete records of the time do not fully establish the exact relationship.
(I) Arnout Cannon, grandfather of Pel- ton Cannon, was born in New York City, July 13, 1805, and died in Poughkeepsie, New York, September 12, 1882. The name Arnout Cannon appears upon the New York directories as a carpenter at No. 41 Thompson Street, in 1829; is next found at No. 9 King Street (now Pine Street), in 1831 and 1832; at No. 215 Laurens Street in 1833; at No. 139 Amity Street in 1834; and at "13th Street near Avenue 5th" in 1835. The 1836-37 direc- tory does not contain his name, as in 1836 he removed to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he became a prominent builder and contractor. He held a leading place in many of the progressive movements of the day, and was a highly respected cit- izen. He married, in New York City, Naomi Chilson, born in Orange County, New York, June 11, 1812, and they were the parents of eight children: Hester, George W., Charles H., Arnout, Jr., of whom further; William H., Maria, Cor- nelius L., and Emma Kate.
(II) Arnout Cannon, Jr., son of Arnout and Naomi (Chilson) Cannon, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, August 3, 1839, and died March 31, 1898. After at- tending the public schools of Pough- keepsie, he continued his studies in the Dutchess County Academy, and then at
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the age of fifteen years began to learn the building and contracting business with his father, with whom he remained for four years. He then removed to New York City, where for two years he studied ar- chitecture in the office of Frederick Diaper. In the spring of 1861 he re- turned to Poughkeepsie and established himself as an architect in an office on the corner of Main and Catherine streets. But Fort Sumpter had been fired upon and the country was disrupted by civil war. Arnout Cannon was not one to remain at home while others gave their lives for the Union. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the 128th New York Volunteer In- fantry, and served in that regiment until after the siege of Port Hudson. He took part in the siege of Mobile, and was assigned to duty as an engineer, in which capacity he was engaged in building the dam on the Red River. In 1863 he was transferred to the command of some col- ored troops, who fought so nobly that he was successively promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, first lieutenant, cap- tain, and finally lieutenant-colonel of the 97th United States Colored Infantry. He received his discharge in April, 1865, and on his return to Poughkeepsie resumed the work of architect. Energy, ability and fair dealing brought the just reward of healthy expansion of business oppor- tunity, and for twenty-eight years he con- tinued to manage his business alone. In 1893, however, when business success and nearly three decades of continuous pro- fessional activity enabled him to look toward the time when he might hope for some years of leisure, he decided to ad- mit a partner, and chose Walter Schofield. In 1894 Percival Lloyd became a mem- ber of the firm, and the firm name became Cannon & Lloyd. In April of the follow- ing year, 1895, Mr. Cannon retired from
active participation in the business, but retained his interest in the enterprise. He had long been known as one of the foremost of his profession in his section of the State. Among the many important commissions which he executed with ex- ceptional ability may be mentioned the Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged men, Vassar Brothers' Institute, Vassar Broth- ers' Library, the Masonic Temple, and Nelson House Annex. These beautiful buildings stand as permanent visible me- morials to the artistic ability and profes- sional skill of Arnout Cannon. Another memorial, invisible, but rarely beautiful, remains in the hearts of those who knew and loved him, for Mr. Cannon was one of those who realized Oliver Wendell Holmes' closing lines in "The Chambered Nautilus":
Build thee more stately mansions, Oh my soul,
As the swift seasons roll !
Leave thy low-vaulted past,
Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from Heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine out-grown shell
By life's unresting sea.
Mr. Cannon was a prominent member of the D. B. Sleight Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Poughkeepsie; of the Loyal Legion; of Poughkeepsie Lodge, No. 266, Free and Accepted Masons ; and of Fallkill Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In February, 1862, Arnout Cannon, Jr., married (first) Ann E. Davis. She died, leaving three children : Ida Francis, How- ard A., and Grace A. He married (sec- ond), April 7, 1879, Emily J. Pelton, and they are the parents of one son, Pelton, of whom further.
(III) Pelton Cannon, son of Arnout, Jr., and Emily J. (Pelton) Cannon, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, May 28, 1880. He received his academic educa-
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tion in Riverview Military Academy. Upon completing his course in that insti- tution he made special preparation for a business career by taking a course in Eastman's Business College, and then, on March 28, 1900, he began his long con- nection with the Merchants' National Bank of Poughkeepsie. Beginning as a junior clerk, when he was twenty years of age, by ability and strict attention to business, he steadily rose through various positions until July, 1917, he was made as- sistant cashier. On July 2, 1918, he was elected a member of the board of direc- tors, and on July 9, of the same year the officers of the bank further expressed their confidence in his ability and integrity by choosing him to fill the responsible posi- tion of cashier of the bank. In January, 1921, he was elected vice-president of the institution, and the last two positions, those of cashier and vice-president, he is at the present time (1924) ably filling.
A list of Mr. Cannon's social affiliations is sufficient to indicate the extent and the strenuousness of his recreational activ- ities. He is a member of the Amrita Club; of the Dutchess Golf and Country Club, of which he was formerly director and treasurer; the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club, of which he is a former director and treasurer; a charter member of Poughkeepsie Rotary Club, of which he is now (1924) director and treasurer ; and of Triune Lodge, No. 782, Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a member of the Young Men's Christian Association; and of Christ Episcopal Church.
SPOOR, Lloyd E., Business Executive.
Lloyd E. Spoor, president of the Spoor, Lasher Company, Inc., and prominent road builder of Poughkeepsie and Dut-
chess County, comes of ancient Dutch ancestry. The word "spoor" is the Dutch for trail or track, and as a noun it is used to designate the traces left by an animal or man in the sand, mud or snow. As a surname it has always been popular in Holland, but when and how the common name became a patronymic is a matter of conjecture. In the original Dutch "spoor" is pronounced "spore," the Dutch double "o" being like our long sound of o, and it is quite likely that this pronuncia- tion accounts for the change in spelling of the surname from Spoor to Spore which occurs in several branches of the family. The family, as a rule, has usually followed agricultural pursuits, but in many instances of derivation from the vocation of their fathers, members of the family have achieved great success in legal, medical and theological circles, as well as in business and commercial life ; Lloyd E. Spoor's excellent record forming proof of the latter.
(I) Jan Wybesse Spoor was the immi- grant ancestor of the American family. He was born in Harlingen, Freisland, and died probably in Linlithgo, New York. The exact date of his coming to America is not known, but in the year 1662 he is on record as the purchaser of a tract of land in Catskill under the name of Jan Wybesse Van Harlingen He next ap- pears as Jan Wybesse Spoor when he pur- chased land in the vicinity of Niskayuna, a settlement east of Schenectady, near what is now known as Lishaskill. In 1697 he, his wife, and six children are listed in the census, and in 1714 it is likely that he made his home with his eldest son, Johannis, on the Livingston Manor. Jan Wybesse Spoor was married to Anna Maria Hanse, who bore him ten children, among them being Johannis, of whom forward.
(II) Johannis Spoor, eldest of the ten
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children of Jan Wybesse and Anna Maria (Hanse) Spoor, was born in Albany, New York, and was a wheelwright by occupa- tion. His name appears among the peti- tioners in a petition from the "Protestants of America to King William," dated December 30, 1701. On November 30, 1715, he is mentioned as an ensign in the "Roll of the Independent Company of the Manor of Livingston." In 1731 he is listed as a captain. He purchased from the Indians for thirty pounds and a suit of clothes, six hundred acres of land on Egremont Plain, Berkshire County, Mas- sachusetts. In 1735 and 1736 he was con- stable of Albany, New York. He was married in Kingston, New York, April 21, 1700, to Mary Singer, who bore him nine children, among whom was Johan- nis, of whom forward.
(III) Johannis Spoor, eldest of the nine children of Johannis and Mary (Singer) Spoor, was baptized in Kingston, New York, July 13, 1701, and died in Lunen- burgh, New York, February 15, 1761. At an early date he removed to Coxsackie, where he was one of the first settlers. On December 30, 1741, he purchased of the Van Loons a forty-five acre tract of wood- land in Coxsackie, where he built the stone house which is still standing. The neighborhood became known as Spoor- enberg, or Spoor's Hill. In his will he describes himself as a yeoman. Johannis Spoor was married to Eva Siberse, who bore him six children, the third being Johannes, of whom forward.
(IV) Johannis Spoor, third of the six children of Johannis and Eva (Siberse) Spoor, was baptized in Coxsackie, New York, October 8, 1733. He served with distinction in the Revolutionary War. He married Catherina (-) who bore him five children, the eldest being Abra- ham, of whom forward.
(V) Abraham Spoor, eldest of the five children of Johannis and Catherina Spoor, was born July 28, 1759, baptized in Athens, New York, July 27, 1761, and died in Guilderland, New York, Decem- ber 17, 1829. He acquired lots 8-13 in- clusive in Roosevelt's Purchase, Oswego, New York, in 1826, and bought more land in 1827 in Scriba's Patent. He removed to Guilderland, where three of his sons were baptized. He served in the Revolu- tionary War as a private in the Eleventh Regiment, under the command of Colonel Anthony Van Bergen. He was married at Coxsackie, New York, March 26, 1782, to Maria Wells, who bore him eleven children, the fifth being Jacob, of whom forward.
(VI) Jacob Spoor, fifth of the eleven children of Abraham and Maria (Wells) Spoor, was born in Guilderland, New York, November 29, 1790, and died there in January, 1882, having followed farming throughout his life at Guilderland, and Watervliet, New York He was married December 28, 1816, to Hannah Smith, a daughter of Jonas Smith, of Guilderland, New York. Of this union there were seven children, among them being John J., of whom forward.
(VII) John J. Spoor, fifth of the seven children of Jacob and Hannah (Smith) Spoor, was born in Guilderland, New York, May 9, 1826. He was a successful farmer of his section, and a member of the Reformed Church. He was married, October 12, 1848, to Anna Eliza Hallen- beck, and they had issue: Jacob J., of whom forward; Isaac H .; Agnes A. ; John B .; Agnes Augusta; Anna M .; Marga- retta.
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