USA > New York > Famous families of New York; historical and biographical sketches of families which in successive generations have been identified with the development of the nation, Vol. I > Part 2
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William Waldorf [1847], son of John Jacob III., and the head of the fifth generation of the family, is more versatile than any of William his ancestors. Though little over fifty, he has made his
Waldorf mark in law, authorship, politics, diplomacy, archæol- ogy, and journalism. He served in the N. Y. Legislature, 1878- 1881, and was U. S. Minister to Italy, 1882-1885. He built the Netherlands and the Waldorf hotels, and in addition to these a large number of residences, stores, and office buildings of great elegance and beauty. He married Mary D. Paul, by whom he had two sons and one daughter.
The Waldorf-Astoria
TRUNKS & BAGS
المن كــ
The Astor House
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Astor
William Astor [1830], second son of William B. Astor, was a man of the same type as his brother, John Jacob III. He was an ab- olitionist before the war, a Unionist during the struggle, William
and a generous friend of the South after peace was Astor declared. During the war, he equipped a regiment at his own expense. In 1875, when there was an Indian outbreak in Florida, in the Everglades, he raised a company and led them against the insurgents. He built the railroad from Palatka to the St. John's River, and began the development of the State. He constructed many handsome buildings in Jacksonville, which are still the special pride of the city. The Florida Legislature offered him the United States Senatorship from that State, and for his services pre- sented him with 80,000 acres of land in Lake County. He was an alumnus of Columbia, an athlete, a distinguished yachtsman, and a lover of fine arts. He left five children, of whom four were daughters.
His only son, John Jacob Astor IV. [1862], inherited the larger part of his estate. In him new traits were added to those dis- played by his ancestors. He has been successful in science, mechanics, invention, authorship, and the army. John Jacob IV He studied special courses in science at Harvard. During the late war with Spain, he fitted out a battery for the Government, and also served as a staff officer through the conflict. In him many ancient families of New York are represented. He is fifth in descent from Robert Livingston, original patentee of the Manor of Livingston, which included most of Dutchess and Columbia coun- ties, and ninth from Jacobus Van Cortlandt, Mayor of New York City in 1719. He is also a descendant of the Schermerhorns, Arm- strongs, Todds, and Brevoorts. He married Ava Willing in 1891, by whom he had one son. His chief mark in New York City is the Astoria, which combined with the Waldorf forms the largest and richest hotel in the world. There is a certain appropriateness that the family should be represented by two famous hotels, the one in the heart of the business quarter and the other in the centre of New York's most fashionable thoroughfare.
Through marriage the Astor blood has been transmitted to
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Astor
the following families : Boreel, Bristed, Carey, Carroll, Chanler, Chapman, de Groenings, Delano, de Notebeck, de Steurs, Drayton, Emmet, Jay, Kane, Kiefer, Langdon, Lowndes, Pollandt, Roose- velt, Rumpff, Stevens, Townsend, Van Alen, Ward, Wilks, and Wilson.
The family name is stamped upon American history and geography. There is a town of Astor in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Kansas. There are Astorias in Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Oregon. There is an Astor Park in Florida and an Astor Court and Astor Place in the metropolis. There are more than fifty Astor Houses and Astor Hotels in various parts of the Union, and even a larger number of town and city thoroughfares bearing the family name.
William B. Astor From a steel engraving
Barclay
Rev. Henry Barclay, D.D.
II
BARCLAY
O the Barclay family of Scotland, New York and the Middle States owe many of their most valued citizens. The name is a Gaelic variant of Berke- ley, and the family has contributed many incidents, and even chapters, to the annals of the Scotch kingdom from the time of William the Lion, A.D. 1220. They were proud and warlike nobles, fierce in their likes and dislikes, and enthusiastic in their religious convictions. They were noted for their beauty, the sons being successful in love, and the daughters winning the hearts and hands of the great nobles in each generation.
The progenitor of the American branch was Colonel David of Ury [1610], whose adventurous life was a romance which com- pares well with the works of the most thrilling masters Col. David of fiction. He was well educated at home and started of Ury life a fine scholar, a bon vivant, a good swordsman, and, oddly enough, a man of almost austere piety. When scarcely out of his teens, he visited Germany, where, after learning German and Swed- ish, he joined the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus. He rose rapidly in his martial calling, becoming in quick succession ser- geant, lieutenant, captain, and major. His career on the Conti- nent was cut short by the civil conflict at home, and in spite of
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the entreaties of the famous Swedish King, he threw up his com- mission and returned to Scotland, where he plunged into the tur- moil of the time. His career here was more brilliant than under his former commander. He became major and colonel of cavalry on the Parliamentary side, and soon made his name feared by the opposition. He defeated the Earl of Crawford at Banff, and in 1646, with Major-General Middleton, relieved Inverness and dis- lodged Montrose and Seaforth, driving them into the mountain fastnesses.
Honors came upon him thick and fast. He was made Governor of Strathbogie, Military Commander of Sutherland, Caithness, and Ross, and general of cavalry. He indignantly re- linquished his career upon the execution of the Duke of Hamilton. He and the Duke had been more like brothers than friends, and the injustice of the latter's fate changed completely the tenor of Barclay's life. Although he retired from the army, his active temperament had to have relief in some arena. He entered poli- tics, and was elected to Parliament for Sutherlandshire, and at the following Parliament for the shires of Angus and Mearns. Here he made himself the most talked-about man in the kingdom by opposing and voting against Cromwell. The audacity of the act astonished the nation, and every one expected his arrest and prosecution. The great Protector was so pleased with Barclay's intrepidity that he took no notice of what was regarded as trea- son by some and an insult by all. Cromwell's magnanimity was not shared by his time-serving followers. Upon several occasions Barclay was arrested without warrant and thrown into prison without a hearing ; but in each case his friends succeeded in ob- taining his release. In those days of gloom and persecution, his mind turned from material to spiritual subjects, and, when fifty- six years of age, he created amazement, especially among his intimate friends, by becoming a Quaker.
His conversion was accompanied with characteristic zeal. The sect which was harassed by the intolerance of the time soon began to thrive under his fearless leadership. It aroused the antipathy of the churches, which began to take action against the
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humble followers of George Fox. These culminated in 1676 in Barclay's arrest, on what now seems the incredible charge of " worshipping his Maker contrary to civil law." He was found guilty, fined, and imprisoned. Through the influence of his son and friends, he was released, then reimprisoned, but finally lib- erated by order of the court. This incident in his life is of interest to Americans, because it was instrumental, if not causative, in making his son, Robert, a Quaker, and bringing him into intimate relations with George Fox and William Penn, which eventuated in the departure of Penn for the New World and the establishment of Pennsylvania.
Of the children of Colonel David, Robert, the Governor of East Jersey [1648], played an influential part in the destinies of New York. He was educated at home and in Paris, and Governor Robert
when nineteen became a member of the Society of Friends. The mantle of Colonel David fell upon the shoulders of his son. When twenty-seven years old he wrote An Apology for the Quakers, which was presented to Charles 11. on behalf of that denomination. It was published in Latin, English, Dutch, German, French, and Spanish, and is a classic in Quaker literature. So well written was the apology that it won the respect of its enemies. In France it was highly praised by the arch-cynic, Vol- taire, who in his comments upon the pamphlet, said: " It is surprising how an apology written by a private gentleman should have such an effect as to procure almost a general release to the whole sect from the sufferings they then underwent."
Robert possessed rare tact and shrewdness. Through skilful management he largely increased his patrimony and engaged in many profitable enterprises. He was one of the twenty-four proprietors of East Jersey, a quasi-corporation formed to take over a part of the vast landed estates of Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley, which lay westward of New York harbor. The pro- prietors elected him Governor of East Jersey, and in order to induce him to accept the position they ceded five thousand acres to him in addition to his own share of the territory. This made him at a single step one of the largest landowners within the
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boundaries of New York and New Jersey. He does not seem to have crossed the Atlantic to enter into his new possessions, but John, the contented himself with sending his brothers, David and Founder John. The former died upon the voyage; the latter arrived safely, settled upon the estate, and married Cornelia Van Schaick, thus becoming the genealogical head of the family in the United States. For many years Robert was indefatigable in de- veloping his lands beyond the ocean. The records show that he shipped supplies, money, medicines, and immigrants from both Scotland and England.
John, the founder, was an industrious and devout man, of marked executive skill. He passed most of his life at his country- seat, but visited New York with great regularity. As a house at the time in New York was known as the Barclay House, it is fair to infer that he had a residence in what even then was regarded as a metropolis.
In the third generation but one name claims attention, the Rev. Thomas [1713], son of John the founder. He was a studious
Rev. and pious character, who, after receiving the best edu-
Thomas cation the colony afforded, took orders and entered the Church. He became the first rector of St. Peter's, Albany, and in that city met and married Anna Dorothea Drauyer, daughter of Admiral Andrew Drauyer of the Dutch navy. He was well off, having received considerable property by both inheritance and marriage.
The Rev. Dr. Henry, son of the Rev. Thomas, was the chief personage in the fourth generation. He studied in Albany, went Rev. to Yale, where he was graduated in 1734, thence to Henry England, where he took orders. He inherited the piety and fearlessness of his forebears, and upon his return took up the hazardous calling of a missionary among the Indians of northern New York. He spent several years in the Mohawk country, and learned the language of that tribe. No sooner had he mastered the tongue than he translated the liturgy from English, with the aid of two other scholars, the Rev. W. Andrews and the Rev. J. Ogilvie. He visited Albany at intervals, where his eloquence and
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fervor produced a deep impression. His fame travelled to New York, and resulted in a call from the trustees of Trinity. This he accepted, and in 1746 became the rector of New York's famous church.
His ministration was marked by rare tact and thoughtfulness. He did everything within his power to increase the social influence of his pulpit and to identify it with the best interests of the com- munity. He enlarged the parish school and extended the facilities for the education of poor scholars and for a higher training than was given in educational institutions of the province. As early as 1750, he took part in the agitation for the establishment of a Royal College in New York. In the beginning, these efforts met with but a feeble response. Indifference and religious prejudice were obstacles which might have daunted a less determined character ; but he kept on undiscouraged. Shortly after this he was the chief organizer of the meeting of the officers of Trinity Church, which discussed the advisability of action in the premises. He almost certainly was one of the committee which drafted the papers on which the charter was obtained.
In the meantime, such a sentiment had been built up in favor of the new institution of learning that the promoters formed a temporary organization and engaged the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson as President. This was done in the spring, although the charter was not secured until the autumn, of 1754. Eight scholars were enrolled, and it became necessary to establish temporary quarters. The rector came to the front and had Trinity offer the use of its own schoolhouse to King's College until the latter had built its own halls of learning. The offer was accepted and the first class assembled on July 17th of that year in this schoolhouse. Some fifty years before, Lewis Morris, who became Governor of New Jersey, had recommended the establishment of a college in New York and had counselled the British Government to set aside for that purpose a tract of land belonging to the Crown, known as the Queen's or the King's Farm, which lay to the north of Trinity Church. In the course of the years, Trinity had acquired title to this farm and had added it to its handsome estate. Now that the 2
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college was started and the scholars were meeting in the Trinity schoolhouse, the words of the old patriot were brought up and promptly acted upon. The rector and the churchwardens deeded to the college governors a portion of the farm, lying west of Broad- way, between Barclay and Murray streets, and extending down to the Hudson River. Here in 1756 the corner-stone was laid, and four years afterwards the buildings were enough advanced for use by officers and students.
Although a majority of the governors of the college were members of the Church of England, and the Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed people had predicted a sectarian management on the part of the college administration, Dr. Barclay, with extraor- dinary wisdom, was a warm supporter of the broad and liberal pol- icy which was adopted for King's, afterwards Columbia, College. The result was that the former opposition died away and all de- nominations united in supporting their new seat of learning. A pleasant evidence of his liberality is found in the fact that he approved the additional charter passed the following year, at the request of non-Episcopalians, providing for the appointment of a "professor of divinity of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church."
The passage of the supplemental charter allayed all fear of sectarian oppression, as doubtless the worthy rector had foreseen. The chair, however, it is said, was never filled. In 1758, the first Commencement was held in St. George's Chapel, with the rector of Trinity in full canonicals upon the platform. Diplomas were granted to seven graduates.
Dr. Barclay was one of the organizers and first trustees of the New York Society Library, to which he contributed books from his own private collection. He secured the building of St. George's Chapel on Beekman Street, upon land now occupied by the J. L. Mott Company, and was remarkably efficient in organizing church work and church workers. His popularity was evinced by the bestowal of his name upon Barclay Street, which was an appro- priate compliment when it is remembered that this thoroughfare was the southern boundary of the King's College grounds. He
Trinity Church as Enlarged in 1737 Reproduced from " The Parish of Trinity Church in the City of New York"
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married Mary Rutgers, daughter of Colonel Anthony Rutgers, by whom he had four children, all of whom grew up, married, and had issue.
In the fifth generation, the two daughters married men who were to attain high distinction, Cornelia wedding Stephen De Lancey, and Anna Dorothea, Beverly Robinson (II.,) from whom have descended the Beverly Robinson family, with its many offshoots.
The two sons, Colonel Thomas and Anthony, figured very prominently in the latter part of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries. They mark a turning-point in the history of the family. Theretofore the male Col. Thomas members had been landed gentry, courtiers, and clergymen; from now on they become largely identified with the commercial world.
Col. Thomas [1753] was graduated from Columbia in 1772. He was a strong Tory, and upon the breaking out of the Revolu- tion took up arms for the King. He was a good soldier, and in 1777 was made major, and afterwards colonel. At the close of the war, he was so indignant at the result of the contest that he left New York and went to Nova Scotia. Here he entered political life, and was elected to the Assembly, where he became Speaker. He was adjutant-general of the militia and British Commissioner under the Treaty of Ghent, commonly known as Jay's Treaty. As the years rolled by he became dissatisfied with the narrow life in the northern province, and yearned to rejoin his former friends in New York. He yielded at last to this desire and came to the me- tropolis, where he was appointed British Consul-General. He held this position until his death in 1830. In both New York and Nova Scotia, he was interested in commercial enterprises, showing abil- ity, which he transmitted to his children. He married Susan De Lancey, by whom he had six sons and four daughters.
His brother, Anthony [1762], was a merchant in the latter part of the eighteenth century, who married Dientie Lent, the beautiful and wealthy daughter of Abraham Lent. Both men Anthony the excelled in the social graces. The official position and Merchant brilliant record of Col. Thomas gave him much prestige, while the
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sterling qualities and winning nature of Anthony made him equally popular. Their children, especially the daughters, were social leaders both before and after marriage. All were happy in their unions. The weddings united the Barclays with the influential families of Stuyvesant, Parsons, Fraser, Watts, Aufree, Livingston, Waldburg, Moore, Johnson, De Lancey, and Beverly Robinson. The social registers of that period are little beside repetitions of these names.
The sons of Col. Thomas entered business, in which they proved successful. Two of them founded the house of "Henry & George Barclay," about 1814. Afterwards they admitted their brother Anthony, and still later, their brother-in-law, Schuyler Livingston, who married their sister Elizabeth. This firm was noted for its enterprise and did much to develop the commerce of New York. In 1834, the name was changed to Barclay & Living- ston, under which title it became even more famous than before. One of the members of this generation, Thomas (II.), Capt. Thomas
kept up his father's anti-Revolutionary prejudices, and entered the British navy, where he rose to be captain. A notable feature of this generation was physical vigor. There were thirteen representatives, all of whom grew to maturity and married, and nine of whom had large families in turn.
The seventh generation carried to a higher development the tendencies of the sixth. It displayed great activity in both the mercantile and social world. Its numbers and connections by marriage made it a dominant force in Gotham life. Of the chil- dren of Anthony, Henry A. W. married Cornelia Cochran ; Frederick W., Louisa C. Alburtis ; Adelbert E. E. W., Margaret Marshall ; John O'Connor, Ann Wilkes Collet ; J. Searle, Lilie Oldfield ; Walter C., Grace Douglass ; the Rev. Cuthbert, rector of All Souls' Church, New York, Sarah Sophia Schieffelin ; Thomas (III.), Lavinia Carrick, and afterwards Fanny McGee ; Henry A., Clara Wright ; James Lent, Olivia Mott Bell, and after- wards Priscilla Dixon Sloane ; and Sackett Moore, Catharine Cochran Barclay. On the female side of this generation, Matilda Antonia married Francis R. Rives ; Anna Matilda, J. Pollock
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Burgwm ; and Fanny, William Constable. In the eighth genera- tion, six male descendants preserve the family name. These are: Henry ; J. Searle ; Henry, son of Henry A .; Wright, Harold, and Robert Cochran.
The career of the family may be divided into three epochs. They were first pioneers and organizers, and contributed largely to the early settlement and development of New York. In the second epoch they were clergymen of talent and wide influence. In the third they were merchants, scholars, and society leaders. Those of the first epoch planted the seed, the second cultivated it, and the third reaped the harvest.
Beekman
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James W. Beekman
III
BEEKMAN
HOUGH the great wave of German immigration did not reach the New World until the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the so- called Palatine movement occurred, there were many additions to the population of both New Amsterdam and New York, in the earlier years, from the sturdy Fatherland. Fore- most among these was Wilhelmus, or William, Beekman of Statselt, Overyssel, Holland, whose family be- longed to that Cologne district of North Germany. He was born [1623] in a troublous period, when the German Con- Wilhelmus
federation was torn by religious strife, and was a mem- the Governor ber of an educated, influential Protestant family, which for many generations had rendered important services to the State. De- spite its wealth and power, it suffered severely in the persecutions of the period, and had been forced to remove several times from one district to another, in order to preserve property and life. Persecution did not cause the Beekmans to waver in their faith or attitude. From the time when Luther led the revolt against Rome, they were stanch advocates of the New Church in ad- versity as well as prosperity. This marked their career in Ger- many and their subsequent record in the New World.
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The higher fame of the family rested upon its learning. Ger- ard Beekman of the sixteenth century [1576], was a famous
Gerard linguist and scholar, who was said to speak, think, the Scholar and dream in five languages. Cornelius Beekman of the fifteenth century [1470] was a learned man, who was con- sulted by the petty princes of the time for information and advice. Cornelius Unlike most students, the Beekmans possessed a well-
the Sage developed business sense. They belonged to the wealthy class, and many of them held titled and official rank. The majority, however, refused to conform to court requirements, preferring the approval of their own consciences to the privilege of being nobles.
As the educational facilities for Protestants in his home dis- trict were small, Wilhelmus, while still in his teens, moved to Holland, where he made rapid progress in scholarship and social position. At twenty-one he was an officer in the Reformed Church, and at twenty-two a civil magistrate. When it is re- membered that the Netherlands were in those days about the most advanced of the European nations, and that its people were superior in intellectual accomplishments to their neighbors, the achievements of the young man show him to have been a re- markable personality. In 1647 he was asked to go to the Dutch colonies with Governor Petrus Stuyvesant, whose affections he seems to have won. He promptly assented, and took advantage of Stuyvesant's friendship to bring with him a number of German families who had been impoverished and expatriated from their homes by religious bigotry and oppression. The voyage from Holland to the New World was long and arduous, Stuyvesant going by the way of Curacoa in the West Indies on account of political considerations. It was the first time that most of the passengers had experienced a tropical climate, and their sufferings were great.
Wilhelmus endeared himself to all on board by his kindliness and wisdom. He served as nurse and physician, and was the soul of activity on the ship. They reached New York in due season, and, before attending to his own needs, he obtained for
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the families under his supervision a grant of lands on the shores of the Hudson. Here they settled a little village, which they named Rhinebeck. The name is undoubtedly a compliment to their protector, Wilhelmus, as well as a memorial to their own land, Rhine being the district from which they originally came, and "beck" being the shortened or ancient form of the first syllable of Beekman's name.
At first he seems to have spent some time in investigating the territory along the Hudson. He had brought with him a large amount of wealth from the Old World, and desired to invest it judiciously. Not until 1652 did he purchase the holdings which were to be the basis of his family's wealth. It cannot be said that his investment was admired at the time. It consisted of marsh land lying in the neighborhood of Corlear's Hook. At that period the East River ran much farther inland than at present, and a large portion of the territory between Fulton Street and Corlear's Hook was salt meadow, scarcely fit for grazing, excepting along the lines of the little ponds and streams which dotted the place. His first purchase was followed by others, which included the land now bounded by Nassau, Ann, Gold, Pearl, Fulton, and Frankfort streets, and also the swamp below Pearl Street, which from that time on was known as "Beekman's Swamp." Here tanneries were established, and a trade in leather developed. More than two centuries have passed, and the district is still known as "the Swamp," and the few tanneries are now replaced by the largest leather warehouses in the world. A street was laid out through the property and was designated Beekman Street by the public in honor of the owner. A second thoroughfare, running at right angles to the first was called William Street, after his Christian name. The two streets are the monument to-day of the wise and upright pioneer.
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