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. II > Part 8
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In the neighborhood of what is now Chambers Street and West Broadway there was a swamp, which occasioned much fever and ague. The title lay in the Crown, but under the law of the time it could not be sold in fee simple, but only leased for life or a period of years. Besides injuring public health, it was a blemish to the neighborhood, and interfered with the growth of the young city. Anthony petitioned the local authorities to obtain authority from the Crown to grant him the swamp in fee simple, so that he might drain and reclaim it, and so end the sickness which always prevailed in this neighborhood. In return, he promised to make it into habitable land at his own expense, no matter what that might be. It took no less than three years to secure the authority, and to sign the proper deeds. When this was done, the good burgher put his men to work, and within a year had changed a noisome, festering morass into one of the best meadows on Manhattan. Anthony was twice married: first, to Hendrickje Vandewater, by whom he had issue, and, second, to Mistress Cornelia Benson.
Harman 11. went into business with his father upon coming of age, and thereafter purchased a farm lying east of what is now
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Chatham Square. Of this farm, Rutgers Street is the relic, and
Harman II. undoubtedly represents the early road or path which led
the Land- down to Rutgers Wharf. Harman married Catharina Owner Meyer, and had two sons and three daughters.
In the fourth generation, Anthony II., son of Anthony I., died a young man, leaving one son, Anthony III., and five daughters. This son is of importance, because he transmitted to his daughter Elsie or Alice one third of his great estate. She married Leonard Lispenard, who thereafter purchased from his wife's two sisters the other two thirds, thus bringing together again the old Anthony Rutgers estate, which then became known as the Lispenard estate.
Peter [1701], son of Anthony, was a wealthy brewer and mer- chant, and was Assistant Alderman from 1730 to 1736. He was Captain Captain of the Independent Company of Cadets, and Peter married Helena Hoogland, by whom he had issue. Of the children of Harman II., Harman III., a son, died before his father. The three daughters made brilliant marriages. Elsie espoused John Marshall, Catharine married Abraham Van Horne, and Eva, John Provoost. Harman III. left three sons and three daughters.
Hendrick [1712], his brother, was a thrifty merchant and real-estate owner, who married Catharine de Peyster, by whom he had four sons and a daughter. None of the former left issue.
In the fifth generation the family reached its meridian. An- thony III., son of Anthony II., was the head of the family and Anthony III., filled a large place in social circles. He married Ger- Captain trude Gouverneur, a famous belle. In 1775, he was a captain of artillery. When he was ordered out by the British Government, he resigned, and moved to Newark, N. J., which he made his permanent home. He had three sons and four daugh- ters, and was the founder of the Rutgers family of New Jersey. Anthony the lawyer, son of Peter, was a prominent member Anthony the of the New York bar in the middle of the eighteenth Lawyer century. He married Elizabeth Williams.
The Old Rutgers Mansion, New York, 1768 From a print in Valentine's Manual
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Of the three sons of Harman III., the oldest, Robert, was a man of great wealth, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. William Beekman. Harman IV. was a wealthy mer- Anthony the chant, who never married. Captain Anthony, the Sea Captain youngest brother, took to the sea in his youth, and rose to be a captain. In 1754, he received his first command, and in 1758 was the captain of a privateer. In 1760, he received letters of marque from the Crown and sailed the good brig King George, with which he captured many ships and realized an independent fortune. Five years afterwards or thereabouts he retired and settled upon the land. The same year he was made an Assistant Alderman.
Shortly afterwards he opened a rope-walk with Jacob Le Roy, and was the father of that business in the colonies. His two sis- ters, Catharine and Cornelia, successively married his partner, Jacob Le Roy, from whom comes the Le Roy family of New York.
Of the children of Hendrick, three command notice. His daughter Catharine married William Bedloe, grandson of Isaac, of Bedloe's Island.
Lieutenant Harman was a heroic soldier, who enlisted in the Colonial army upon the breaking out of the Revolution, and was one of the first to give up his life for the cause of Lieutenant liberty. He was killed by a cannon-ball at the bom- Harman bardment of Red Hook, on August 28, 1776, by the British ships in the Long Island campaign.
In Colonel Henry [1745], the son of Hendrick, the race produced its finest representative. He was marked by unusual attractiveness-physical, mental, and moral. In his youth he was studious and was graduated in 1776 Colonel Henry the with very high honor from King's College, now Co- Statesman lumbia University. On leaving college, he took up a mercantile life and assisted in the management of his father's estate. The times were exciting, the troubles between the colonies and the mother country coming to a crisis. In the general controversy which prevailed he took strong sides with the Colonials. His fine appearance, culture, and ability soon made him prominent,
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and before the Revolution broke out he was looked upon as a Revolutionary leader. He was lieutenant in 1775 and a captain in 1776, serving in Malcolm's Regiment and taking part at the battle of White Plains, where he was wounded. He fought through the war and was cheered (?) from time to time by escaped or returned soldiers, who informed him that his family homestead had been converted into a British barracks and after- wards a military hospital.
At the close of the war he returned to New York City, where the following year he was elected a member of the Assembly. This honor was frequently repeated, his last term being 1807- 1808. In 1802, he was made a regent of the New York State Uni- versity, and held it for twenty-four years. From 1804 to 1817, he was a trustee of Princeton.
His most important work in political life was in 1800, when he was one of the Republican leaders in the movement to defeat the Federalist party. The campaign was all-important as regarded the future policy of the United States, and in it the two New York champions of popular rights were Colonel Henry and Gen- eral George Clinton. Their efforts were successful, and their party carried the day and elected Thomas Jefferson President of the Republic.
In 1812, Colonel Henry was chairman of the mass-meeting held in New York, which was called to take defensive measures against a threatened attack on land and sea by the British, sub- scribing liberally to the campaign fund and overseeing the con- struction of the fortifications that were built to defend both New York and Brooklyn against a naval expedition from the harbor and a land attack from Long Island. In 1829, he was made Presi- dent of the New York Public School Society, succeeding Gov- ernor De Witt Clinton in that office. He gave the money which assisted in founding Rutgers Female College, New York, and which took Queens College, New Jersey, out of bankruptcy. It was in honor of his munificence that the name of that institution was changed in 1825 to Rutgers College, by which it has been known ever since.
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Rutgers
His benefactions to churches were large and numerous. He showed no sectarianism and treated all with equal kindness. Among the beneficiaries were the Dutch Reformed, the Scotch, the Baptist, and the Presbyterian. He made many gifts to schools, charitable societies, and to the deserving poor. The rule of his life was to spend one quarter of his income in charity. This, however, did not include what he called his "special gifts." These were numberless and extraordinary. Thus, for example, for many years he had all the boys of the ward in which he lived call upon him early New Year's morning. When the crowd was small, they were invited into the house; when large, they would stand in the yard and on the sidewalk. Punctually at the hour, the Colonel appeared in full dress, delivered a little speech appro- priate to the occasion, and then presented each urchin with a large cake and an entertaining volume. The cakes were always made to order, and were "nutritious and wholesome, but not too rich nor cloying," and the books were "edifying as well as amusing." Even the Colonel's speeches were not impromptu affairs, but were the results of weeks of careful thought and preparation. A few have been, it is believed, preserved, and are models of kindliness of heart, manliness, and patriotism.
On any occasion when the city's finances were at an ebb and the schools were about to suffer, the Colonel paid repair bills, teachers' wages, and on several occasions built schoolhouses, out of his own pocket. During the last twenty years of his life he was known as the " well-beloved citizen."
His home, a large and superbly furnished mansion, stood at Rutgers' Place-what is now the corner of Jefferson and Cherry streets-and for many years was a capital of the world of fashion. Here Lafayette was entertained, "en prince," to use the great Frenchman's own words, and here was given the most notable reception of the time to General Washington and Colonel Willet, after the latter's return from his mission to the Creek sachems and sagamores. In the Rutgers drawing-rooms met all the Republi- can leaders of the period, and, despite the bitter asperities of politics, most of the great Federalists.
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The names of the streets bear testimony to the man. Henry and Rutgers are his name ; while Clinton and Jefferson represent General George Clinton, with whom he led the campaign which gave New York's electoral vote to their friend, Thomas Jefferson, and made him President of the nation.
Colonel Henry never married. His estate was divided by his will among his many relatives, the largest individual share going
William B.
to his great-nephew, William B. Crosby, grandson of
Crosby his sister, Catharine Bedloe, who, left an orphan in his childhood, had been adopted by his generous kinsman.
In the sixth generation, the main line was represented by Gerard, who married Margaret Bayard ; Robert II., and Elsie.
Elsie Rutgers married John Marshall and from this marriage came the Rutgers-Marshall family of the metropolis.
Of their issue the Rev. John Rutgers was the foremost. Graduated from King's College in 1770, he took orders, and was ordained a minister of the Church of England at Lam-
Rev. John
Rutgers- beth Palace, London. He began his clerical career as
Marshall a missionary at Woodbury, Connecticut, where he remained until his death, in 1789.
He took an active part in bringing about the first convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, which was held at Woodbury in 1783. The old "glebe house," one of the earliest landmarks of that denomination in this country, is now used by the diocese as a home for aged and infirm clergymen.
The head of the present generation is Henry Rutgers- Marshall, the psychologist and architect.
No family has ever given more of itself and its belongings to the Commonwealth. From Rutgers Jacobse to the ninth generation, the members have been marked by commercial and intellectual ability and have reaped the reward which comes from these traits, when put to practical use. Instead of applying this wealth solely to the upbuilding of a great family, they have devoted it to relatives and friends, neighbors, and strangers. Colonel Henry, the greatest son, must have given away two
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The Old " Glebe House," Woodbury, Conn. (At the time of the Revolution it was the home of Rev. John Rutgers Marshall)
The Rutgers House, Rutgers Place Between Jefferson and Clinton Streets. From a print in Valentine's Manual, 1858
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thirds of his vast fortune during his life ; and at the close, dis- tributed the remaining third with the same kindly thoughtfulness. The other members have been marked by this altruistic character. They have left their imprint upon the city in the names of a dozen streets, and upon the country in Rutgers College, New Jersey; but more lasting than these are the noble actions which for two hundred years have made them notable among their fellow-men.
VOL. II .- 8.
Schermerhorn
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XXXI
SCHERMERHORN
CHARACTERISTIC Knickerbocker family is that of Schermerhorn. It em- bodies the so-called Dutch virtues - thrift, courtesy, probity, patience, and zealous patriotism. It was among the very first settlers, and antedates most of its Knickerbocker compeers. It has cared little for military glory or politi- cal power, but has devoted its energies to religious, philanthropic, and edu- cational institutions. Its history is to be found in church archives, college records, and the annual reports of benevolent organizations. Such qualities exert a profound influence upon a community and give a prestige to a family name like that which clings to such characters as Wesley, Fox, and Asbury.
The founder of the Schermerhorn family in the New Nether- lands was Jacob Jansen, who was born in Holland in 1622. He crossed the ocean with some relatives in 1636, and Jacob Jansen shortly afterwards settled in Beverwyck, now Albany. the Founder Here he married and had many children. His farin was not far from the river, and was so fertile as to make him independent. In spite of his prosperity and of the large and happy family which he saw growing up around him, he was not altogether contented with his residence. Many features of the feudal system which
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were applied by the West India Company and the Patroons con- travened his ideas of liberty and government, so that when Arendt Van Curler proposed to his friends to migrate westward and there form a new settlement, based upon freedom and equal rights, Jacob was one of the first farmers who volunteered to take part in the expedition.
They made the journey in 1662, and established the village which is now the city of Schenectady. Here Jacob cleared the virgin soil and made a farm whose fertility was greater than that of the one he had relinquished. He resided on this estate until his death in 1688, seeing the country develop, the population in- crease, his wealth accumulate, and his family of nine children grow up, marry, and become esteemed citizens of the community. His wife was Jannetje Segers, daughter of Cornelius Segers Van Voohoudt. His sons were Beyer [1652], Symon [1658], Jacob, and Lucas, and his daughters, Helena, Nachtilt, Cornelia, Jannetje, and Neeltje.
Among these the chief in the second generation was Symon. He began life as a farmer and Indian trader, and was one of the Symon the survivors of the massacre at Schenectady in 1690 by Fearless the French and Indians. In this tragic affair he dis- played rare gallantry, saving several people at the risk of his life. Even as it was, his horse was wounded under him and he himself shot through the thigh. The following year he removed to New York and became interested in the navigation of the Hudson. He seems to have been commander and part owner and, finally, owner of a large trading-sloop, which, owing to his great strength and business sense, soon became very profitable. This change in his calling affected not only his own career, but also the careers of his descendants. For the next five generations, nearly all of these showed a love for the sea and for commercial and maritime enter- prises. He married Willempie Viele, by whom he had four chil- dren. The marriages of his brothers and sisters disclosed the names of several families that were to become eminent in after years. Among them were Bogart, Van Buren, Beekman, Ten Eyck, and Dame.
1
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Arnout [1686], the second son of Symon, was the master mind of his generation. In his early boyhood he escaped the massacre at Schenectady, where his elder brother, John, was killed. After receiving such education as Arnout the Ship-
the period afforded, he took eagerly to his father's Owner calling and soon became a skilful navigator and shipping-master. He led a very long and busy life. He invested his earnings with sound judgment in New York real estate, many of his trans- actions being on record in the New York Register's office. One of these was the purchase of three parcels of land, which cover nearly all the present site of Fulton Market. The bay at that time ran up nearly to Pearl Street, then known as Queen Street. Here Arnout built a handsome wharf, after the old Holland pattern, which lasted into the nineteenth century. This is the Schermer- horn wharf, so often referred to in the old books and records. It proved a wise investment, as it was soon called into constant use by the increasing commerce of the port, so that the wharf dues and demurrages amounted to a handsome sum every year. He displayed rare enterprise and energy. Before January, 1733, he had established a line of sailing vessels between New York and Charleston, S. C., and, in connection with this, a warehouse and ship-chandlery in the latter city. At the height of his career he was conducting this line, managing large mercantile establish- ments at each end, and also caring for many interests in real estate and water rights. He married Marytje Beekman, by whom he had six children, Catharina [1711], Willementje [1713], Johannes [1715], Aeltje [1717], Jannetje [1719], and Symon [1721].
Of the two sons, Johannes proved another edition of his brilliant father. He was both a "merchant and mariner," and enlarged the lucrative business which his father had established. During the long war between England Johannes, " Merchant
and Mariner "
and France he secured letters of marque and reprisal from the British Government, and under this authority fitted out a number of privateers, which played havoc with French com- merce and put corresponding profits in the pockets of the shrewd builder. He married Sarah Cannon, daughter of John Cannon,
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who was a descendant of a Huguenot refugee from Rochelle, France. The union was very happy and was blessed with twelve children- Arnout [1742], Mary [1743], John [1746], Symon [1748], Peter [1749], Sarah [1751], Catharine [1753], Abraham [1755], Cornelius [1756], Catharine [1759], Esther [1761], and Hester [1762].
Of the six sons of this generation, Peter, commonly known as Peter the Elder, was the greatest. He started life with a
Peter moderate fortune, on account of the great wealth of
the Elder his father, and increased it largely and rapidly. At the beginning of his business-life, he took up his father's calling and conducted it until the outbreak of the Revolution in 1776. Here his forethought was displayed to rare advantage. After the frigate Asia fired upon the town and before the people had taken alarm, he disposed of all the property he could and then with his family and belongings removed up the Hudson to the neighborhood of Hyde Park. In this district were many coves, where his vessels would be safe from the men-of-war upon the river. What increased their security was the strong colonial spirit of the people on the land. Nearly all of his kindred withdrew from New York at the same time, so that the family lost almost nothing in the weary seven years of the Revolution. Both Peter and his relatives were strong Revolutionists and helped the colonial cause wherever it was possible. The sterling seamanship of the family enabled them to be of great usefulness to the Continental armies. They supplied transportation to the soldiers, forwarded arms and pro- visions, carried despatches, and even made reconnaissances, when information was needed by the American generals.
When peace was restored, Peter returned to New York and re-established himself as a ship-chandler. The business was devel- oped with such skill that it soon became one of the first commer- cial concerns in the metropolis, and its owner one of the richest merchants. In the beginning of the nineteenth century the firm was changed to "P. Schermerhorn & Son," and afterwards to "P. Schermerhorn & Sons." It sustained its reputation under the new management and earned fine fortunes for the two junior
The Schermerhorn Residence, 84th Street and East River From a print in Valentine's Manual, 1866
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members. In 1796, Peter was elected a director of the Bank of New York, and in 1800 was prominent in all financial matters. He was one of the first to invest in Brooklyn real estate, and as early as 1795 purchased a great tract in Gowanus, which included what is now a goodly part of Greenwood Cemetery. From his interest in Brooklyn matters, the authorities of that town named one of its chief thoroughfares after him, a name which it still retains. He took an active part in church and charitable work, and was justly regarded as one of the best citizens of New York in his time. He married Elizabeth Bussing, daughter of Abraham Bussing, by whom he had six children: John [1775], Peter [1781], Abraham [1783], George [1785], Elizabeth [1787], and James [1792].
In the sixth generation, the most conspicuous member was Peter the Younger, son of Peter the Elder. When he came of age he was admitted to his father's firm as a junior Peter partner, and, in 1810, he and his brother, ambitious to the Younger surpass their father, started a separate firm called " Schermerhorn & Co.," which they managed with success, while still retaining their connection with the other house. This duality was con- tinued even after the father's death, the old houses being reorgan- ized under the names of "Schermerhorn, Banker & Co." and "Schermerhorn, Willis & Co." He invested wisely in real estate, purchasing among other tracts a large piece of land between Third Avenue and the East River, from Sixty-fourth to Seventy-fifth Street.
In 1814, he was made a director of the Bank of New York, which office he held until his death in 1852. He was a pillar of Grace Church, which in the early part of the nineteenth century was a small affair, but which, owing to the hard work and munifi- cence of the Schermerhorns, reached its present prominence in the ecclesiastical world. Peter the Younger became a vestryman in 1820 and a warden in 1845. He was an active member of the Building Committee which superintended the new church and rectory on Broadway, near Tenth Street. The two buildings with their exquisite façades are a fitting tribute to the memory of the
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great merchant prince. He married Sarah Jones, daughter of John Jones, by whom he had six children: Peter Henry [1805], John Jones [1806], Peter Augustus [1811], Edmond Henry [1815], James Jones [1818], and William Colford [1821].
In the seventh generation, William Colford has probably been the most eminent member of the family. He was graduated from
William
Columbia in 1840, and admitted shortly afterwards to
Colford the bar. He received the degree of A.M. from his Alma Mater in 1860, and the same year was elected one of the trustees. In 1893, he was chosen chairman of the Board of Trus- tees. His life has been eventful for its many acts of philanthropy and munificence, the most notable being the presentation to Columbia University of Schermerhorn Hall, one of the noblest buildings devoted to natural science. He married Ann Elliott Huger Laight.
His brother, Peter Augustus, gave promise of the highest scholarship. He was an honor-man at Columbia, where he was Peter Augustus graduated in 1829, and where he took the degree of the Scholar A.M. in 1833. His erudition, literary talent, and vig- orous mentality were unusual. He had just begun his career as a scholar when he was overtaken by death at the age of thirty-four. He married Adeline E. Coster, by whom he had three children: Ellen, Henry Augustus, and Frederick Augustus. The first has played an active part in city philanthropy. She married the late Colonel R. T. Auchmuty, who founded the New York Trade School in 1881.
Frederick Augustus [1844] is the head of the eighth genera- tion. He was educated at Columbia. During his college term he Frederick enlisted in the Union army, and served in the Civil War Augustus as second lieutenant in the One Hundred and Eighty- fifth New York Infantry. He rose to be first lieutenant, and at the end of the war was brevetted captain for gallant conduct at the battle of Five Forks. At the close of the war he returned to Columbia, but instead of continuing the classical course he took up the study of science, and was graduated from the School of Mines (1868) with the degree of Engineer of Mines. In 1877, he
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was elected a trustee of the university, which office he has held ever since. He is President of the New York Institution for the Blind, a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Loyal Legion of America, the American Geographical Society, and other learned bodies.
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