USA > New York > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and family history of New York, Volume III > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23
Among other property Goldsbrow Banyar was the owner of various very extensive tracts of land in Schoharie and adjoin- ing counties. Of his descendants we will add an extended account. Goldsbrow Banyar married, in 1769, the widow of John Appy, who was the Judge Advocate of the Royal forces in America. Their children were a son, Goldsbrow Banyar, and a danghter, Martha. The former married Maria Jay, daughter of Peter Jay, a member of a very illustrions family. He died in 1826 without issue. Martha Banyar married Jacob Le Roy, who had a son, Goldsbrow Banyar Le Roy, and a daughter, Harriet, who married Campbell P. White.
In a petition presented to the legislature by Goldsbrow Ban- yar Le Roy it is stated that his grandfather, Goldsbrow Ban- yar, Esq., late of Albany, had in his will left him a large part of his estate as residuary legatee, on the condition that he took the name of Goldsbrow Le Roy Banyar. His name was accordingly changed by a special act of legislature passed March 1, 1816.
Goldsbrow Le Roy Banyar was a prominent and useful cit- izen, possessed of a large estate, born March 9, 1802, died in 1866, leaving a large amount of property to his nephew, John
169
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
Campbell White, born in New York city, March 17, 1817, son of Campbell P. and Harriet Banyar (Le Roy) White, on condition that he assmine the name of Goldsbrow Banyar, and that was accordingly done. He also left liberal legacies to his nieces, Catharine E. Stewart, Ann White, Mary Martha White and Cor- nelia Le Roy White.
TOWNSEND-VAN RENSSELAER FAMILIES.
Among the earliest settlers on Long Island were three brothers, John, Henry and Richard Townsend, whose descend- ants are numerous and their record honorable. These brothers were natives of Norwich, England, and came to this country in 1645, or, as another account states, in 1638. They were members of the Society of Friends, "called by the world's People in seorn, Quakers," as one of their number expresses it, and it is a singular fart in the history of religions sects that the society who came preaching and practicing peace toward all mankind, found not peace but a sword. They settled in Flushing and were soon in trouble with Governor Stuyvesant, whose per- secutions of the Quakers is the only serions fault that can be laid to the charge of the famous personage known in the pages of the veracions Diedrich Knickerbocker, as "Peter the Head- strong." It is to the everlasting credit of his wife, Judith Bayard, that it was through her influence that the persecution was greatly lessened. A complaint against John Townsend was that "he was among the principal persons in Flushing who re- sisted the Dutch mode of choosing Sheriffs, protesting against the adopted course in the Fatherland, and who refused to con- tribute their share to the maintenance of Christian, pions, re- formed ministers." He with several others was summoned be- fore the Director General and Council, January 23, 1648. In consequence of this perseention they left Flushing and went to
170
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
Warwick, Rhode Island, where all three of the brothers are said to have been members of the Provincial Assembly, besides hold- ing other offices. In 1656 they returned to Long Island, and with others obtained a patent for Rusdorp (now Jamaica). Here they were still beset by their former religious difficulties. Henry was particularly obnoxious, and John "neither concealed nor compromised his opinions." In 1657 Henry was sentenced to pay "Eight Pounds, Flanders," or leave the province within six weeks, his crime being "having called together Conventicles." The people held a meeting and remonstrated. As a result "the Town Clerk, the magistrates and John Townsend were arrested and held in bail of Twelve Pounds." They were condemned
LEC GENER
INCREMENTIA
FIDES
to pay one hundred pounds, Flanders, and remain arrested until paid. The matter seems to have been settled in some way, for they still remained. Henry and John Townsend with others were accused of "entertaining the Quakers," and Henry was again imprisoned. It is stated that before 1676 John Townsend had occupied "8 acres of land at the Fresh Water, in New York," "and made large improvements, and enjoyed the same divers years," but was obliged to leave the same "through the Indians and other difficulties." This tract was probably in the vicinity of James street and the Bowery. John Townsend died in 1668, was buried on his own land on Long Island, and was probably the first person buried in the graveyard at Fort Hill. He left a wife, Elizabeth, and children: James; Elizabeth, wife
171
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
of Gideon Wright; Rose, Ann, Sarah, George and Daniel. His widow died about 1671.
The history of Oyster Bay begins with the purchase made from the Indians in 1653, by which Assiapuns, alias Mohanes, an Indian Sachem, sold to Peter Wright, Samuel Mayo and William Leverich, all the land situated upon Oyster Bay, bound- ed east by Oyster river, and west by Papaquatunk river, with all the islands "excepting one island commonly called Hog Island." The consideration was "6 Indian coats, 6 kettles, 6 fathoms of wampum, 6 hoes, 5 hatchets, 3 pairs of stockings, 30 all blades or muxes, 20 knives, 3 shirts, and as much Peegue as will amount to 4 Pounds Sterling." What this last article was we leave to others to decide. The original purchasers accepted as partners Thomas Armitage, Anthony Wright and John Wash- burne, and then began the building of the town. To these were added Daniel Whitehead, Robert Williams and Richard Hol- brook. Then came William Smith "and old John Titus." They laid out twenty lots "beginning at mill river, and so east to the Barbor side." The purchase money not being paid, "the In- dians began to be very unruly and disturbed," and the amount was raised by the help of Mr. Briant, of Milford. Richard Hol- brook was "the first man as a purchaser that got up his house at Oyster Bay." Such was the testimony of Nicholas Simkins, December 20, 1683, he being then "aged 53 and an inhabitant of Mosketo Cove."
To this place came the Townsends. John Townsend was a magistrate in 1684. Henry Townsend was here before Sep- tember 16, 1661, when he had a grant of a mill stream. On the third day of seventh month, 1667, he wrote a letter to the inhabi- tants of Huntington, protesting against their trespassing, and the three brothers were present at Town meetings. In 1669 they liad orchards in bearing, and shortly after Thomas Townsend
172
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
purchased Fort Neck, a tract estimated as four miles square. The grant of the hill stream to Henry Townsend was upon the condition that he "build a mill such as at Norwalk, on the main, or an English mill." They were careful to provide that if the mill should cease for half a year, it should revert to the town. He was to have one-tenth for toll, but if the amount increased "so the miller be not discouraged," he was to have less. His "toll dish was to be true, and to be struck when taking the toll." In 1673 he built a saw mill. The house built by Henry Town- send in 1683 was standing for many years. The homestead of John Townsend was owned in recent years by Rev. Aaron John- son. Mark Meggs came from Southampton, and was an early resident. A meeting house was built, but disappeared before 1709. Such was Oyster Bay when Henry Townsend was a resi- dent. He was Town Clerk and surveyor. His dwelling house was on the main street "the next house but one to Quogne Lane." In 1683 he built a new house "on the Hill," giving the old house to his son Henry. Notwithstanding his unpleasant experience in Rusdorp (Jamaica), he seems to have had an affection for the place. By the will of Richard Grassmore he had "housing and lands" there, and gave them to the poor of the place and also £176 in money. His whole life was one of active usefulness even in old age. He died probably in March, 1695, at an ad- vanced age. After the custom of the Friends, his grave is marked only by a rough stone bearing the initials H. T. Henry Townsend married Anne, daughter of Robert Coles. His children were: Henry; Rose, wife of Joseph Dickinson; Susannah, wife of Aaron Furman, Jr .; Mary, wife of John Wright; and Eliza- beth, who died unmarried, September 13, 1680.
Henry Townsend, the eldest son, married Deborah, daughter of Captain John Underhill famous in Long Island history. He
173
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
left children: Henry; Robert; and a daughter, who married Lndlam.
Henry Townsend, the third of the name, married Eliphal, daughter of John Wright and Mary Townsend, his cousin. After the death of his uncle, known as "Mill John," he was appointed surveyor. He had a reputation for prudence and thoughtful care. He died a young man in 1709, leaving three sons: Isaac, Henry and Absalom.
Henry Townsend, the fourth of the name, married Eliza- beth Titus and moved to Orange county, New York. Their ehil- dren were: Henry, born 1725; Nicholas; Peter; Phebe; Eliza- beth; Martha, and Absalom.
Henry Townsend, the fifth married Anne Wright, who died September 17, 1825, at the age of ninety. Her husband died March 28. 1803. Their children were: Betsey, who married Lewis Carpenter; Henry; Zebulon; Noah; Phebe, who married Wright; and Charles, who died unmarried in 1799. Henry Townsend, the sixth, married Mary Bennet. Their children were Isaiah, John, Mary A., Samuel, William, Peter A., Hannah. Charles, and Noah. The last three sons died un- married.
Among the descendants of John Townsend was Samuel Townsend, who was the father of Solomon Townsend, born in 1746. - In his twentieth year his father placed him in command of a brig. At the beginning of the Revolution he was captain of the ship "Glasgow." He went to Paris and obtained from Franklin a certificate of American citizenship. He returned to this country, went to Chester, Orange county, where he mar- ried Anne, daughter of Peter Townsend. Here he purchased property adjoining that of his father-in-law, and established extensive iron works. It was at these works that the great iron chain was made which was stretched across the river at West
174
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
Point. At a later date he removed to New York and carried on an extensive business in iron. He established a manufactory of bar iron on the Peconie river on Long Island. He was also prominent in politics, and was a member of the Legislature at the time of his death, March 27, 1811.
Isaiah Townsend, born 1777, died 1837, married Hannah, daughter of the above mentioned Solomon Townsend. Both he and his brother John moved to Albany in 1799 and established an iron furnace. They were prominent merchants. Isaiah's children were: Isaiah, Jr .; Anna, wife of Henry H. Martin; Robert; Franklin; Howard; Frederick; and Mary, wife of Gen- eral William H. Walker. Of these sons, Robert married Har- riet Monroe. At the beginning of the Civil war he entered the navy, and served on the blockading squadron off Charleston, and on the Mississippi under Commodore Porter. He was com- mander of the gunboat "Essex," and died on the China Station in 1866, while in command of the United States Steamer "Mas- sachusetts."
Franklin Townsend married Anna, daughter of Rufus King, of Albany. He was twice adjutant-general of the state, and was mayor of the city of Albany.
Frederick Townsend married Sarah, daughter of Joel Rath- bone, of Albany. In April, 1861, he went to the front as com- mander of the Third Regiment, New York Volunteers. He served through the war and was made brevet-brigadier-general in 1865.
Isaiah Townsend married Harriet, daughter of his uncle, Samnel Townsend, of Orange county.
Dr. Howard Townsend, the fifth child of the family was born November 18, 1823, and died Jannary 16, 1867. He was graduated from Union College in the class of 1844. His profes- sional education was obtained in Philadelphia, and he spent a
175
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
year and a half in perfecting his medical knowledge in Paris. Upon his return he was made a professor of materia medica in the Medical College in Albany. Dr. Townsend married Justine Van Rensselaer, fourth daughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer, the son of the late Patron of the Great Manor of Rensselaer- wick, who married Harriet Elizabeth Bayard, daughter of Will- iam Bayard of New York.
Their children were: 1. Stephen Van Rensselaer Town- send, born in Albany, October 20, 1860, died at Hempstead, Long Island, January 15, 1901. He married Janet Eckford King, daughter of Cornelius Low and Janet (De Kay) King, and left three daughters: Janet King, Margaret Schuyler and Justine Van Rensselaer Townsend. One son, Stephen Van R. Townsend, died before him.
2. Justine Van Rensselaer Townsend was born in Albany, December 5, 1862, and died in Paris, March, 1881. She mar- ried, February, 1877, Thomas H. Barber, an officer of an artil- lery regiment, United States Army. She left no children.
3. Harriet Bayard Townsend, born March 23, 1864, mar- ried, April, 1886, Thomas H. Barber. They have two children: Thomas H., born Jannary, 1889, and Justine Van Rensselaer, born March 31, 1901.
The Townsends of Albany held a high position, not only due to their ancestral descent, but to their own intrinsic ability and excellence. They were men of the highest sense of honor and exerted a wide and beneficial influence, and were not only honored but beloved.
Howard Townsend was born in Albany, New York, in 1858, and received his early education at the Albany Academy. He entered Harvard University in 1876 and was graduated in the class of 1880; he studied for one year at the Harvard Law School and for two years in the office of Jenkins & Cooper,
176
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
attorneys of Albany, New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1883 and moved to New York, where he entered the law office of Julien T. Davies, whose partner he subsequently became, the firm name being Davies, Short & Townsend. Mr. Townsend withdrew from the firm in 1893. He was for many years inter- ested in the creation of the State Hospital for the Treatment of Incipient Consumptive Patients. and when the Legislature created this institution Mr. Townsend was appointed by the governor one of its trustees and was its first president.
He is a governor of the New York Hospital, a trustee of Roosevelt Hospital, vice-president of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, and manager and sec- retary of the House of Rest for Consumptives. He is a mem- ber and governor of the Union Club, and a member of the Cen- tury, University and other clubs. Mr. Townsend has his sum- mer home at Southampton, Long Island. He married (first) Sophie Witherspoon, danghter of the late Charles D. Dickey. She died in January, 1892. He married (second), October, 1894, Anne Langdon, danghter of the late Eugene Langdon. Mr. Townsend's children are as follows: By his first marriage: Sophie Witherspoon Townsend, born February, 1889; Howard Townsend, born in 1890, died in 1891. By his second marriage: Anne Langdon Townsend, born 1898; Howard Van Rensselaer Townsend, born 1900; Eugene Langdon Townsend, born 1902; and Philip Schuyler Townsend, born 1906.
It remains to show the lines of descent of this branch of the Townsends from various ancient families of the state.
VAN RENSSELAER LINE.
Killiaen Van Rensselaer, the first patroon, was born at Niewerkerk, Guilderland, Holland, and settled in Amsterdam, where he was a merchant in precious stones and pearls. He
177
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
was a director of the Dutch West India Company. In 1635 he received from the Director General a grant of the immense tract of land called the Manor of Rensselaerwyck. This manor was twenty miles in width on each side of the Hudson, and twelve miles north and south from Beeren, Island of Cohoes. Over this tract he held full power as a feudal lord. He mar- ried (first) Killegonda Van Bylant; (second) Anna Van Weely. By the first marriage he had a son, Johanes, and by the second, three children : Jeremias, Nicholas and Richard. Johanes, the eldest son, had a son Johanes, who married Elizabeth Van Tweller, and had a son, Killaen, who married Anna Van Rens- selaer, and died without issue. His widow married William Nicoll, the Patentee of Islip. The line of descent is as follows:
1. Kilian Van Rensselaer, died 1647. 2. Jeremias. who mar- ried Maria Van Cortlandt. 3. Kilian, who married Maria Van Cortlandt. 4. Stephen, born 1707, died 1747. He married Eliza- beth Grosbeck, who died 1729. 5. Stephen, born 1742, died 1769. He married, in 1764, Catherine, daughter of Philip Livingston, signer of the Declaration of Independence. 6. Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer, born in New York, 1764; died Janu- ary 26, 1839, married (first) Margaret, daughter of General Philip Schuyler (her sister Elizabeth married Alexander Ham- ilton) ; (second) Cornelia Paterson, daughter of Governor Will- iam Patterson, of New Jersey. 7. Stephen Van Rensselaer, who married Harriet Elizabeth Bayard, daughter of William Bay- ard. Their children were: Margaret S., wife of De Peyster Douw; Wilmot Johnson; Cornelia P., wife of Nathaniel Thayer, of Boston; Stephen; Catherine, wife of Nathaniel Berry; Jus- tine, wife of Dr. Howard Townsend; Bayard; Harriet, wife of T. Schuyler Crosby; Eugene, now living at Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
178
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
THE SCHUYLER LINE .
1. Philip Pieterse Schuyler, the ancestor, was a magistrate in Albany, where he died March 9, 1684. An emblazoned win- dow was placed by him in the first church in 1656. He married Marguarita Van Schlectenhorst, December 12, 1650. 2. His son Johanes was born in 1668, died July 25, 1747. He was mayor of Albany 1703-6. He married Elizabeth Staats. 3. Their son, Colonel Johanes Schuyler, born 1697, died 1747, married Cor- nelia Van Cortlandt, October 18, 1723. He was mayor 1741-2. 4. Major-General Philip Schuyler, born November 11, 1733, died November 18, 1804. 5. His daughter Margarita, married Gen- eral Stephen Van Rensselaer. 6. His son, Stephen Van Rens- selaer, married Harriet Elizabeth Bayard. 7. Their daughter, Justine Van Rensselaer, married Dr. Howard Townsend.
VAN CORTLANDT LINE.
Oloff Stevense Van Cortlandt, a soldier in the employ of the Dutch West India Company, came in the ship "Haring" with Governor William Kieft in 1638. He soon attained promi- nence. Was Schepen in 1654; Commissioner to treat with Con- necticut, 1663; Member of Council under Governor Andross. His descendants are found in almost all of the noted families of the state. He married Anatje Lockermans, sister of Gou- vert Lockermans, whose daughter Elsie was the wife of the famous, but ill-fated, Jacob Leisler. Stephen Van Cortlandt, son of Oloff Stevense, was the proprietor of Van Cortlandt Manor in Westchester county. He married Gertrude Schuyler. Their daughter Cornelia married Colonel Johanes Schuyler, who was the father of General Philip Schuyler, whose daughter Margarita married General Stephen Van Rensselaer, from whom the line has been traced.
179
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
Another line of descent from Oloff Stevense Van Cortlandt is from his son Stephen Van Cortlandt, whose daughter Mar- garet married Samuel Bayard, whose line is here traced.
THE LIVINGSTON LINE.
Robert Livingston, of Ancram, the First Lord of the Manor of Livingston, born 1654, died 1728. His son, Philip Livingston, the second Lord of the Manor, born 1686, died 1749. His son, Philip Livingston, born 1716, died 1778. He was member of Assembly 1759-1769. In 1768 he was Speaker. As member of the Provincial Congress he signed the Declaration of Indepen- dence. His daughter Catharine married Stephen Van Rens- selaer, who was the father of Major-General Stephen Van Rens- selaer, from whom the line has been given.
The Townsends are also descended from the Livingstons, in another line. Robert Livingston, the first Lord of the Manor, had a daughter, Margaret, who married Colonel Samuel Vetch, whose daughter Alida married Stephen Bayard, from whom they are descended, as seen by the Bayard line.
THE BAYARD LINE.
This family is said to be descended from an uncle of the Chevalier, "sans peur et sans reproche."
Rev. Lazare Bayard married, 1601, Judith De Vos, and had children : Judith, wife of Governor Peter Stuyvesant, and Sam- uel, born 1609. The latter married Anna, sister of Peter Stuy- vesant, and his children: Balthazar, Petrus and Nicholas.
Nicholas Bayard was the father of Samuel Bayard, who married Margaret, daughter of Stephen Van Cortlandt. They had among other children, a son, Stephen Bayard, born 1700, died 1757. He married Alida Vetch, daughter of Colonel Samuel Vetch and Margaret Livingston.
180
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
Their third child, William Bayard, born June 1, 1729, died in Southampton, England, 1804. He married Catherine Mc- Evers. Their son, William Bayard, Jr., died 1826. He mar- ried in 1783 Elizabeth Cornell, daughter of Samuel Cornell, Esq., of Newbern, North Carolina. Her sister Hannah married Herman Le Roy, October 19, 1786.
Their daughter, Harriet Elizabeth Bayard, married Stephen Van Rensselaer, whose daughter Justine married Dr. Howard Townsend.
CLINTON-JONES FAMILIES.
The Clintons, who were for more than fifty years the ruling power of the state and have left an imperishable record in the history of our country, were descended from William Clinton, a grandson of Henry, second Earl of Lincoln, who was an officer in the army of Charles the First. After the downfall of that monarch he fled to the continent and afterwards went to Scot- land and married a lady of the family of Kennedy, the heads of which were Earls of Cassilis. He then went to Ireland, where he died, leaving a daughter Margaret, and a son James, then two years old.
James became an officer in the army of Queen Anne, and married Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of one of Cromwell's officers. They had three children: Mary, Christian and Charles, who, after the death of their parents, came to America and set- tled at Little Britain, in Ulster county, New York.
Charles Clinton was judge of Orange county. He was lieu- tenant-colonel of De Lancey's Regiment in the expedition against Fort Frontenac, in which two of his sons, James and George, were also officers. He died in 1778. He married, in Ireland, Elizabeth Denniston. They were the parents of seven children, three born in Ireland, and four in America. Of the former, two
181
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
died young; the other, Catherine, married Colonel James Mc- Langhry, of the Revolutionary army. The four children born in America were: 1. Alexander, a physician, who married Maria Kane. He left no issue. 2. Charles, also a physician, who died unmarried. 3. James Clinton, brigadier-general in the Revolu- tion, was born at Little Britain, Angust 9, 1736, and died there,
The Old Clinton House New Windsor
December 22, 1812. He was promoted major-general at the close of the war.
The fourth son was George Clinton, famous in the annals of our state. He was born at Little Britain, July 26, 1739, and died in Washington while in office of vice-president, April 20, 1812, in his seventy-third year. He married Cornelia Tappan, and had five danghters and one son, George Washington Clinton, who
Vol. III-12
182
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
married Anna, daughter of General William Floyd, signer of the Declaration of Independence. They had one son, George W. Clinton, who left no issue, and the name of this branch of the family became extinct.
One of the daughters died in her thirteenth year. Another daughter, Cornelia, married "Citizen" Genet, minister of the French Republic to the United States. The others married into the Van Cortlandt and Talmadge families, and had many de- scendants.
General James Clinton married (first) Mary De Witt; (sec- ond) Mrs. Mary Gray, a widow. By the first marriage there were seven children :
1. Alexander, who, when scarcely more than a lad, was lieutenant in Colonel Lamb's Regiment of Artillery in the Rev- olution, and served till its close. He was drowned in the Hud- son river in his twenty-second year.
2. Charles, who married Elizabeth Mulliner, and had three children : Mary De Witt, wife of Captain Robert Gourley; Al- . exander, who married Adeline A. Hamilton; and Ann Eliza, who married James Foster, Jr.
3. De Witt Clinton, Mayor of New York, and Governor of the state. He married (first) Maria, daughter of Walter Franklin; (second) Catherine, daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones.
4. George Clinton, who married Hannah, daughter of Walter Franklin, and sister of Maria, who married his brother, De Witt Clinton.
5. Mary, who married (first) Robert B. Norton; (second) Judge Ambrose Spencer. By the first marriage there were two children: Clinton Norton, who married Sally Pearsall; and Mary, wife of Alexander C. Spencer.
6. Elizabeth, who married Lieutenant William Stewart, of the Revolutionary army.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.