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Visitors to the cemetery may well be prepared to be surprised at the dimensions of this symbolic memorial, for the platform stands some eighteen inches high and is about ten feet square, while the pedestal is two feet six inches in height, with a diameter of three feet. It is necessary to approach closely to read the ornamental lettering, which, however, repays examination. On the bronze dial occur these words :
This sundial was presented to the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery A. D. 1923, by Frederic Barnard. Vitae fugaces exhibet horas.
The Latin quotation (which, freely translated, reads : It shows the fleeting hours of life) is one that Pierre Loti, French author, mentions in one of his books as appearing upon the face of a clock in a ward of the French Military Hospital at Saint Louis, Senegal, French Equatorial Africa.
Encircling the granite column that supports the dial-plate are two bands, each of which is carved with the words of a quotation. The upper band is inscribed with a couplet from Austin Dobson, the English writer :
Time goes, you say? Ah, no! Alas, time stays, we go.
On the lower band is the exclamation :
What shadows we are and what shadows we pursue .- (Taken from a speech delivered by Edmund Burke at Bristol, England, September 9, 1780.
The trustees of the cemetery have made to Mr. Barnard suitable expression of their appreciation of the remarkable addition to the beauty of the cemetery-property which has been afforded by his generosity, and many residents of the city, possessed of taste and discrimination, will doubt- less follow their example as the gift becomes more and better known.
Mr. Barnard is a director of the Far- mers' and Manufacturers' National Bank,
trustee of the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank and the Rural Cemetery ; member of the American Museum of Natural His- tory, New York; American Geographical Society, New York; National Geographi- cal Society, Washington, District of Columbia; Amrita Club, and Dutchess County Historical Society, Poughkeepsie. He is affiliated with the Protestant Epis- copal Church of the Holy Comforter at Poughkeepsie. In politics he is a Demo- crat.
PECKHAM, Alva L.,
Physician, Surgeon.
Dr. Alva L. Peckham, one of Dutchess County's most prominent physicians and surgeons, comes from a long line of dis- tinguished ancestors, whose advent into the New World antedated 1640, and whose English history dates back to the twelfth century. The surname "Peck- ham" is classified as a local surname, being derived from the Parish of Peck- ham in County Kent, England. Thus Hugo who lived in Peckham became Hugo de Peckham. The heraldic device used by the descendants of the early English Peckham is as follows :
Arms-Ermine, a chief quarterly gules and or.
(1) Hugo de Peckham is the first of the name of whom we have definite in- formation. He resided in Tunbridge in 1199.
(II) Sir John Peckham, Knight, son of the above, was one of the commission- ers for the Preambulation of North Frith, near Tunbridge.
(III) William Peckham, Esquire, a descent of the above, died in 1491, leav- ing issue : James ; Thomas ; and Reginald.
(IV) The line descends through either James, Thomas or Reginald, just which one is not known.
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(V) John Peckham, descended from one of the above.
(VI) John Peckham, son of John Peck- ham.
(VII) Edward Peckham, son of John Peckham, was Lord of the Manor of East Hampnett in Sussex, near Chichester. He married Grace Lamburne.
(VIII) Henry Peckham, son of Ed- ward and Grace (Lamburne) Peckham, was likewise Lord of the Manor. He mar- ried Elizabeth Badger, a daughter of Robert Badger. Issue: Henry, Lord of Manor in 1634; John, of whom forward; William ; Thomas.
(The Family in America).
(I) John Peckham, second of the four sons of Henry Peckham, Lord of the Manor of East Hampnett, and Elizabeth (Badger) Peckham, was a member of the ninth English generation in direct line and was destined to become the progeni- tor of the family in America. He was born and reared on the family estate of East Hampnett, in Sussex, near Chi- chester, England, and immigrated to America, in 1630. On March 2, 1638, he was admitted an inhabitant of the island of Aquidneck (Rhode Island), and was made a freeman of Newport on March 16, 1641. In 1644 he was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church, and in 1648 was one of the ten male members in full communion. He resided in that part of Newport that was later set off as Middletown, where he was again made a freeman in 1655. John Peckham was married (first) to Mary Clarke, a sister of Rev. John Clarke, friend and helper of Roger Williams, and one of the most influential men of his day. John Peckham was married (second) to Eleanor, whose family name is unknown. Issue: Proba- bly all by first union: John; William; Stephen; Thomas; James; Clement, of
whom forward; Sarah; Rebecca; Debo- rah; Phoebe; Elizabeth ; Susannah.
(II) Clement Peckham, sixth of the twelve children of John and Mary (Clarke) Peckham, was born probably at Newport, Rhode Island, and died while yet a young man, leaving but one child. Little is known of him except that he bought land in Tiverton, Rhode Island, in 1706-8. Tradition says that his wife was a sister of Giles Lawton. Issue : Job, of whom forward.
(III) Job Peckham, only child of Job and - (Lawton) Peckham, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, about 1692, and died in Providence, Rhode Island, August 22, 1779. He owned large farms in Tiverton and Middletown, Rhode Island, probably inherited from his father. Job Peckham married Mary Turner, a daughter of Lawrence and Mary Turner, of Newport, who bore him the following children: Silas, born in 1731, died in 1820; Giles, of whom for- ward; Enos; George; Sarah, married Henry Tew; Mary, married Joseph Ben- nett; Lydia, married Elisha Gibbs; Nancy, married a Mr. Freeborn.
(IV) Giles Peckham, second of the eight children of Job and Mary (Turner) Peckham, was probably born in Provi- dence, although no record of his birth and death has ever been found. He lived in Providence, Rhode Island, and Rehoboth, Massachusetts. He was married, on May 20, 1753, to Mary Kingsley, a daughter of the Hon. Aaron and Patience (Cole) Kingsley. Issue : Jonathan, of whom for- ward; Aaron, born in 1756; Patience; Mary ; Silas.
(V) Jonathan Peckham, eldest of the five children of Giles and Mary (King- sley) Peckham, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in the year 1754, and died at Ballston Spa, New York, February 3,
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1803. He resided at Bristol, Rhode Island; Swansea, Massachusetts; Schen- nectady, New York; and finally Ballston Spa, New York. He served in the Revo- lutionary War as a member of Captain Peck's company, Colonel Lippitt's regi- ment, in 1776; and in Captain Peleg Peck's company, Colonel Thomas Car- penter's regiment, until 1780. For his services in the War of the Revolution he was given a land grant at Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, New York. He was married (first), April 18, 1779, to Susan- nah West, daughter of Henry West; and (second) to Innocent Wood. Issue by first union : Mary, born March 14, 1780; Nancy, born January 31, 1783; Caleb, born January 1I, 1785. Children by second wife: Giles Henry, of whom for- ward; Stephen, born in 1792; George; Sarah R .; Aaron; Minerva; Susan.
(VI) Giles Henry Peckham, eldest of the seven children of Jonathan and Inno- cent (Wood) Peckham, was born in 1786, and died in Schenectady, New York, Sep- tember II, 1876. He resided in Ballston Spa and Schenectady, New York, and served with distinction in the War of 1812. He married Abigail Gregory, who bore him the following children: Eliza, born in 1812; Alva Gregory, of whom for- ward; Harriet ; Anne, born July 20, 1820; Rinaldo Silas F., born in 1824.
(VII) Alva Gregory Peckham, second of the five children of Giles Henry and Abigail (Gregory) Peckham, was born January 1, 1815, and died in Schenectady, New York, August 14, 1876. During his life he was a farmer, merchant, and engi- neer. He was a Baptist, but late in life joined the Dutch Reformed Church. He married Mary Ann Stevens, daughter of Nicholas and Eleanor Stevens, who bore him the following children: William Davis, died young; William Henry, of
whom forward; Robert B., died young ; Isaac J., died young ; Mary Eleanor, died young.
(VIII) William Henry Peckham, sec- ond of the five children of Alva Gregory and Mary Ann (Stevens) Peckham, was born in Milltown, New York, April 25, 1846. He was educated in the schools of Schenectady, following which he be- came bookkeeper and teller in 1877 of the Mohawk National Bank, continuing in this position for about fifteen years. In 1891 he entered the lumber business firm of Van Vorst & Peckham, which later became Peckham, Wolf & Company. He retired from active business in 1911. He was a director for many years of the Mohawk National Bank; a member of the Schenectady School Board; and treasurer for many years of the Schenec- tady Volunteer Fire Department ; and a staunch Republican. He was married, in Albany, New York, July 21, 1870, to Emma Lawson, born October 12, 1848, a daughter of Henry and Eunice (Hogan) Lawson, and a granddaughter of Peter Hogan, a native of Ireland. To William Henry and Emma (Lawson) Peckham was born a son, Alva Lawrence, of whom forward.
(IX) Alva Lawrence Peckham, M. D., son of William Henry and Emma (Law- son) Peckham, and a representative of the ninth generation of the Peckham family in America, is to-day (1924) one of the prominent physicians and surgeons in Dutchess County, New York State. He was born in Schenectady, New York, November 25, 1874. He received his early education in the public and high schools of his birthplace. He then matric- ulated at Union College, from which he was graduated in 1896 with the degree of Bachelor of Science and with special honors in biology. In 1899 he received
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the degree of Master of Arts from the same institution. Meanwhile he had matriculated at the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, and was gradu- ated from this famous institution with the class of 1899, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then served for three months at the Philadelphia Lying- In Charity Hospital, from which he re- ceived his diploma and in 1895 he com- pleted a special course in Embryology at the Cold Spring Harbor Biology Labora- tory, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. In 1897 he served as the national chief executive officer of the Chi Psi Fraternity. He was also a member of the Alpha Zeta Fraternity in the Union Classical Insti- tute, Schenectady, New York, and served as editor-in-chief of the Centennial Garnet at Union College. He is a member of the University Club.
In 1899, upon the completion of his medical studies, Dr. Peckham took up his residence at Poughkeepsie, New York, and began the practice of his chosen pro- fession, which he carried on with steadily growing success until 1918, at which time he became Pathologist to Vassar Broth- ers' Hospital, and spent two summers in study at Columbia University. In 1923, after the remodeling of the hospital, Dr. Peckham was appointed Director of Laboratories of that institution and devoted his time to special work in bac- teriology, chemistry, and pathology. Physically ineligible for service in the Army Medical Corps, he served as one of the medical examiners for the local draft board during the American participation in the World War.
Dr. Peckham is a Fellow of the Ameri- can Medical Association and the Ameri- can Society of Clinical Pathologists; a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the New
York State Medical Society ; the Dutchess Putnam Medical Society, of which he was president in 1916; the Poughkeepsie Academy of Medicine, of which he was president in 1910. In 1906 he organized the first Medical Milk Commission under the authority of the County Medical Society and was its chairman for several years. He has also been a member and chairman of the Medical Library Com- mittee since its organization. Fraternally, he is a member and Past Master of Tri- une Lodge, No. 782, Free and Accepted Masons; and a member of Poughkeepsie Chapter, No. 172, Royal Arch Masons. He is a member of the board of trustees of Vassar Brothers' Institute, and has served as president of that body for three terms. He is also a member of the Poughkeepsie Automobile Club, of which he was president of in 1909, 1910, and 19II ; and a member of the Poughkeepsie Board of Health from 1918 to 1920. Politically, he gives his support to the Republican party. He holds membership in the Dutchess County Historical Soci- ety. His religious affiliation is given to the First Congregational Church, of Poughkeepsie, New York, of which for several years he was a trustee.
Dr. Alva Lawrence Peckham was mar- ried (first) in Schenectady, New York, June 15, 1899, to Mary Woolworth Hal- sey, a daughter of Professor Charles S. and Maria (Lippincott) Halsey. Pro- fessor Halsey was for many years Princi- pal of the Union Classical Institute of Schenectady, New York, and is well known as an educator. Mrs. Peckham died of pneumonia on December 19, 1909, and a memorial font was erected to her memory in the First Congregational Church at Poughkeepsie in which she was a most active worker. To Dr. Alva Lawrence and Mary Woolworth (Halsey)
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Peckham have been born two children, as follows: I. Elizabeth Halsey, born in the year 1903, educated in Poughkeepsie High School and Elmira College. 2. William Halsey, a student at Union Col- lege, representing the tenth generation of his paternal line in America, born April 24, 1907, in Poughkeepsie, New York. On October 23, 1914, Dr. Peckham mar- ried (second) to Margaret (Chisholm) Wade, of Gouverneur, New York, a daughter of Thomas H. and Julia (Banell) Chisholm.
REYNOLDS, William Thatcher, Business Executive.
The late William Thatcher Reynolds, whose death in the year 1917 removed from Dutchess County, New York, one of the most prominent and widely known citizens of the Empire State, was a lineal descendant of an old Colonial Rhode Island family, whose ancestry traces back to Henry, King of France, 1030, and to Robert, Earl of Leicester, Eng- land, 1310, an authentic record of which is now in the possession of the family of the Hon. John Jonathan Reynolds, of North Kingston, Rhode Island. There were three early settlements of the Rey- nolds family in Rhode Island: Jonathan at Bristol; John the carpenter at what is now Exeter ; and James in what is now North Kingston. It is through James Reynolds that the line herein considered descends.
(I) James Reynolds married Deborah, surname unknown, and had children: John, born October 12, 1648, was killed in the Great Swamp Fight, December 19, 1675. 2. James, born October 28, 1650; married (first), February 20, 1685, Mary Green, and (second) -. 3. Joseph, born November 27, 1652; married
(second) Mary, surname unknown. 4. Henry, born January 1, 1656; married Sarah Greene. 5. Deborah, born Febru- ary 12, 1658; married John Sweet. 6. Francis, of whom forward. 7. Mercy, born December 22, 1664; married Thomas Nichols. 8. Robert, born in 1666. 9. Benjamin, born in 1669. 10. Elizabeth, born in 1670.
(II) Francis Reynolds, son of James and Deborah Reynolds, was born October 12, 1662, and died April 14, 1722. He married (first) Elizabeth Greene, born October 17, 1668, daughter of James Greene, and had four children: I. Francis, born in 1689; married Mary Greene. 2. Peter, of whom forward. 3. James, born in 1693; married, December 7, 1717, Hannah Jenkins. 4. Jabez, born in 1695, died June 3, 1759. He married (second) Elizabeth Berry, and had four daughters: 5. Elizabeth. 6. Mary. 7. Deborah. 8. Susannah.
(III) Peter Reynolds, son of Francis and Elizabeth (Greene) Reynolds, was born in 1691, and died in 1761. His father gave him one-third of the farm on Grand Plain, Exeter, and on this he settled in 1717. In 1744 he purchased the estate where Allen Reynolds now lives, at Davisville. Peter Reynolds now lives, at Davisville. Peter Reynolds and his wife Sarah had five children : 1. John, of whom forward. 2. Joseph. 3. Francis. 4. Jon- athan, who married Mary Tanner. 5. Benjamin.
(IV) John Reynolds, son of Peter and Sarah Reynolds, was born in North Kingstown, in 1718, died October 9, 1804. He married (first), July 15, 1744. Phebe Tillinghast, and had two children: I. Phebe, born January 2, 1747; married John Kenyon. 2. Weltham, born April 20, 1749, died February 1I, 1823. He married (second) Anne Utter, born
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
October 28, 1725, daughter of William Utter, and she died April 28, 1787. They had children : 3. Anne, born August 9, 1751; married Giles Olin December 17, 1769, and went to Vermont. 4. William, of whom forward. 5. Benjamin, born April 19, 1756, died February 19, 1820.
(V) William Reynolds, son of John and Anne (Utter) Reynolds, was born July 19, 1753, and died October 4, 1841. He was a house builder and erected many of the houses now standing in Wickford. He was ensign of the First Company, train band, in June, 1775 ; and was a pri- vate in a Rhode Island Troop under Captain Clark and Colonel Brown, and received a pension from the United States for his services. (See Vol. XII, page 338, "Vital Statistics of Rhode Island.") Late in life he became almost blind, and his death was due to a fall down a flight of stairs. His first wife was his second cousin, Esther Reynolds, daughter of John Reynolds, son of James Reynolds. She was born August 1I, 1755, and died September 7, 1822. Their children were: I. Jonathan, born March 31, 1774, died September 12, 1851. 2. Nicholas, born December 12, 1775, died January 19, 1822. 3. James, of whom forward. 4. Silas, born October 17, 1782, died July 22, 1814. 5. Zebulon U., born November 15, 1786, died December 15, 1837. 6. Esther, born August 19, 1788, died December 31, 1850. 7. William Job, born March 12, 1791, died July 14, 1833. 8. Samuel Watson, born April 13, 1795, died September 15, 1863. 9. Daniel, born March 13, 1797, died March 23, 1821. William Reynolds' second wife was Mary (Razee) Reynolds, a widow, who died March 4, 1847, aged ninety-two years.
(VI) James Reynolds, third of the nine children of William and Esther (Rey- nolds) Reynolds, was born April 7, 1777,
and died November 18, 1856. He left his birthplace, North Kingston, Rhode Island, in 1800, and removed to Pough- keepsie, Dutchess County, New York. Soon after his arrival in Poughkeepsie. he entered into partnership with Aaron Innis in the operation of a line of packet sloops, running from what was then known as the "Upper Landing" to New York City. In 1811 two sloops, named the "Mary" and the "Driver" ran to New York on alternate weeks, carrying both freight and passengers. These sloops were replaced in 1816 by the "Huntress" and the "Counsellor," and somewhat later the barges "Clinton" and "Republic" were added to the little fleet. Reynolds & Innis, in the year 1818, gave notice through the columns of the "Pough- keepsie Journal" "to the Farmers and Merchants of Dutchess County that the subscribers have taken the mill lately occupied by Martin Hoffman & Company, to tender their services to the customers of that firm in the milling business." About the year 1820, James Reynolds added a general store, which, with the mill, became the natural outgrowth of the transportation business. This was the start of the present day well known firm of W. T. Reynolds & Company, which continues a business that has been in the family for more than a century. James Reynolds married Elizabeth Winans, and to them were born two sons: I. William W., of whom forward. 2. James, Jr.
(VII) William W. Reynolds, the eld- est son of James and Elizabeth (Winans) Reynolds, was born May 21, 1807, and died April 27, 1873. William W. Rey- nolds, and his brother, James Reynolds, Jr., succeeded to their father's business about 1840, at which time the firm name became W. W. & J. Reynolds. Later,
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they developed the wholesale flour and grain branch of the business. In 1849 they built a warehouse at the Upper Landing, and conducted the business there until 1871. In 1872, since railroads had almost superceded the slower boat- shipping facilities, they erected the present warehouse opposite the passenger station of the New York Central Railroad. At the death of James Reynolds, Jr., in 1865, the firm name became Reynolds & son, and in 1869, when John R., son of James, Jr., associated himself with the business, it became W. W. Reynolds & Company. In 1874, when George E. Cramer entered the firm, the name became Reynolds & Company ; and in 1889, upon the death of John R. Reynolds, the firm name was changed to Reynolds & Cramer. Finally, in 1899, when Mr. Cramer died, the firm name became William T. Reynolds & Company, its present form.
William W. Reynolds married Amanda Thacher, a daughter of the Rev. William Thacher, who was descended from Hon. John Thacher, of Yarmouth, Massachu- setts. The latter served in King Philip's War in 1675, and was an influential mem- ber of the Governor's Council. To Wil- liam W. and Amanda (Thacher) Rey- nolds was born a son, William Thacher, of whom forward.
(VIII) William Thacher Reynolds, a son of William W. and Amanda (Thacher) Reynolds, was born in Pough- keepsie, Dutchess County, New York, December 20, 1838, and died January 28, 1917, during his seventy-ninth year. His education was received in the schools and academies of his birthplace, following which he at once engaged in the great commercial business founded by his grandfather, taking his place as a member of the firm in 1860, and succeeding to the head of the firm upon the death of his
father in 1873. Mr. Reynolds was the possessor of an unusual amount of execu- tive ability, and the present excellent status of this old established house is in great measure due to his foresight and unerring business judgment. He was prominent in the business life of the com- munity for more than half a century. He never took an active part in politics, but in all kinds of church and charitable work he was undeniably a leader. Mr. Reynolds was a director of the Fallkill National Bank, and a trustee of the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, and for a period of forty-seven years served as president of the official board of the Washington Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was a regular attend- ant and a loyal and sincere supporter. Formerly, he had been a trustee of the Vassar Brothers' Hospital; the Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged Men; the Old Ladies' Home; and of the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery Association.
William Thacher Reynolds was mar- ried in Clinton Corners, Dutchess County, New York, on July 6, 1864, to Louisa Smith, a daughter of Jacob and Esther (Doty) Smith, of Clinton Corners, New York. Louisa (Smith) Reynolds was born October 1, 1843, and died January 28, 1917, her death occuring within twenty- four hours of that of her husband, the burial being a double one. Mrs. Reynolds throughout her life had been prominent in church and charitable affairs in Pough- keepsie. Their married life was one closely approaching the ideal, and a little more than two years before their deaths, when both were in the best of health and enjoying the greatest happiness, their Golden Wedding was celebrated. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were the parents of two children : I. Harris S., of whom for- ward. 2. May L.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
V
(IX) Harris S. Reynolds, only son of William Thacher and Louisa (Smith) Reynolds, and a direct representative of the ninth generation of his family in America, was born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, May 19, 1865. His early education was received in the local public schools and in Pough- keepsie Academy, following which he matriculated at Yale University and was graduted with the class of 1887, receiv- ing the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In September, 1887, he entered the busi- ness which had been so well and firmly established by his forefathers, and be- came associated with the branch known as the Reynolds Wholesale Grocery House. He began at the very foot of the ladder, and rose step by step until his admission into the firm of Reynolds & Cramer took place in 1900, during which year the firm name was changed to Wil- liam T. Reynolds & Company. In 1917 the company was incorporated and Harris S. Reynolds was made president, which position he now retains (1924).
Mr. Reynolds is prominent in the com- mercial and financial circles of Pough- keepsie, and at the present time is carry- ing forward the great enterprise founded by his ancestors to an ever increasing success. He is a director of the Fallkill National Bank; a trustee of the Pough- keepsie Savings Bank; a trustee of the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery ; director of the Central Hudson Gas & Electric Company ; director of the United Hudson Electric Corporation and its subsidiaries ; and a member of the executive board of the New York State Grocers' Associa- tion. His clubs include, among others : the Yale Club, of New York City; St. Anthony Club, of New York City ; Amrita Club, former president of same ; Dutchess Golf & Country Club; charter member,
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