USA > New York > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and family history of New York, Volume III > Part 14
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7. Katharine, who married (first) Samuel L. Norton, brother of her sister Mary's husband; (second) Judge Ambrose Spencer, her sister's widower.
By his second marriage General James Clinton had six chil- dren: James, who died young; Caroline, wife of Judge Charles A. Dewey; Emma L., who died unmarried; James Graham, who married Margaret Conger, and had one son: De Witt; Letitia, wife of Dr. Francis Bolton, had two sons: Thomas, and James Clinton Bolton, who married Lanra Tallmadge; and Anna, wife of Lientenant Edward Ross, U. S. A.
De Witt Clinton, governor of the state, had by his first mar- riage ten children, four of whom died young. The others were: Charles Alexander, who married Catharine Howe; James Henry, who died at sea; George William, who married Laura C. Spen- cer; Mary, wife of David S. Jones; Franklin, who died unmar- ried; and Julia, who died unmarried.
George Clinton, the younger brother of De Witt, married Hannah Franklin and had three children: Mary Caroline, who married Henry Overing; Franklin, who died young; and Julia Matilda, who married (first) George C. Tallmadge, (second) James Foster, Jr.
George Clinton, whose life and labors are so large a part of the state and nation, passed his early life at Little Britain. He was for many years surrogate of Ulster county. The be- ginning of the Revolution found him ready for the struggle and foremost among the defenders of the rights of his country. He was commissioned as brigadier-general, and was dangerously wounded when the British took Fort Montgomery, in the High- lands. He was a member of the Convention at Philadelphia which adopted the Declaration of Independence, for which he voted, but before it was engrossed and ready for signature, at the request of Washington, he hastened to New York to defend
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the passes of the Highlands. His day of glory was when he, as governor of the state, rode at the side of Washington when they entered New York City after the evacuation. For twenty-one years he held the office of governor, was twice vice-president of the United States, and died in office, honored and respected, in 1812. The name and reputation of De Witt Clinton are too well known to require extended mention here. To the end of his life he was connected with almost every office in the power of the
Gov. George Clinton.
people to bestow. While United States senator he resigned that high position to become mayor of New York, which office he held 1803-1807, 1808-1810, 1811-1815. His career as governor of the state for nine years, and his long struggle for the Erie canal, which was crowned with success when the Great Lakes were united with the sea, are too well known to be repeated here. In the midst of his usefulness, the "Great Governor" died sud- denly at his residence in Albany, in 1828. Leaving none of the name who could fill his place in the world, he might be said to be the last of the Clintons. A magnificent monument to liis
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memory was prepared at the instance of his countless friends. This was exhibited for a while in the City Hall Park, in New York, and now stands over his honored grave in Greenwood cemetery.
The country residence of De Witt Clinton was at Maspeth,
Country Seat of Gov. De Witt Clinton, Maspeth, L.I.
Long Island. The house was built many years before the Revo- lution by Judge Joseph Sackett. He died about 1756, and his son, William Sackett, sold it to Walter Franklin, February 28, 1776. Upon his death in 1780, it was left to his daughter Maria, who married De Witt Clinton, and they occupied it as a country seat during the remainder of his life. After his death in 1832 it was sold under a partition suit, and in 1842 it was purchased
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by Hon. David S. Jones, who took the deed in the name of his wife, Mary Clinton Jones, who was one of the children of Gov- ernor Clinton. They occupied it until the death of Judge Jones, May 10, 1848, and it was sold by his widow the following year. The view here given was made when it was in its original form and beauty. Since then it has passed through many hands, and
E
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119-
Walter Franklin's House,
now presents all the aspects of decay, and in a few years it will be swept away by the "march of improvement." Mrs. Mary Clinton Jones died in Portland, Oregon, August 10, 1872, aged sixty-five.
Walter Franklin was a merchant of great ability and ex- tensive means. In 1762 he purchased from the heirs of Robert Benson a large lot at the junction of Queen (now Pearl) and Cherry streets. Upon this he erected one of the most beautiful
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houses in the city, and afterward noted as the residence of President George Washington. Walter Franklin left it to his daughter Hannah, who married George Clinton, a younger son of De Witt Clinton, who made it his temporary residence in 1816. After the death of Hannah Clinton it remained un- changed until 1856, when the heirs destroyed the building and erected stores in its room. The enterprise was not successful, and the stores being mortgaged were sold to Robert R. Morris. When the Brooklyn bridge was built the upper stories of the stores were removed. The mansion, when Washington occupied it, was No. 3 Cherry street. About 1826 the numbers were changed, the even numbers being placed on the north side of the street.
THE JONES FAMILY.
The ancestor of this family, one branch of which is so closely allied with the Clintons, was Major Thomas Jones, who was born 1665 at Strabane, County Tyrone, in the Province of Ulster, Ireland. His parents came from England, but the family is originally from Northern Wales. He was an officer of James the Second, and was engaged in the battle of the Boyne 1690, and Aughrim 1691. After the defeat he fled to France and then embarked for the West Indies and was on the Island of Jamaica when Port Royal was destroyed by the great earthquake July 7, 1692; he then came to Rhode Island and finally made his permanent residence at Fort Neck, in Queens county, Long Island. He married Freelove, daughter of Thomas Townsend, who died in July, 1726, from whom he obtained the grant of a very large tract of land at Fort Neck. He built there, about 1696, the first brick house on Long Island, which stood nntil about 1833 when it was removed by his great-grandson, David S. Jones, who erected near the same site a mansion to which he gave the Indian name of Massapequa.
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Major Thomas Jones was a man of wealth and influence. He was commissioned by Lord Cornbury, sheriff of Queens county in 1709, and in 1710 was appointed ranger-general of the Island of Nassau or Long Island. He died at his residence in 1713. His eldest son, David Jones, who was born September, 1699, inherited most of the paternal estate. He was a lawyer
TRUST
D
IN
JONES Coat of Arms.
and a man of great attainments. From 1737 to 1738 he was a member of the Provincial Assembly, and for thirteen years was speaker. In 1758 he was appointed judge of the Supreme Court and held the office until 1773. He died October, 1775, and few men shared more largely in public confidence and respect.
His eldest son, Judge Thomas Jones, was admitted to the bar in 1775, and was clerk of Queens county from 1757 to 1775. He married Anne, daughter of Chief Justice De Lancey. In
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1769 he was made recorder of New York City and retained the office for several years. He was appointed judge of the Supreme Court in 1774 and held the office during the Revolution. Being an intense Loyalist his property was confiscated and he went to England, where he died many years later. His journal, which is a complete Tory history of the Revolution, was published a few years since by the New York Historical Society, and edited by his descendant, Edward Floyd De Lancey.
David Jones was the ancestor of the branch known as the Floyd Jones family. The stately mansion built by Judge Jones before the Revolution is now owned by that family.
William Jones, the third son of Major Thomas Jones, was the father of Samuel Jones, who was born July 26, 1734. He was admitted to the bar in 1760, and by his application and talents soon became distinguished for his legal acquirements and took a high stand among his contemporaries. He was a member of the convention held to consider the propriety of adopting the Constitution of the United States and gave his vote for its adoption. About this time he was chosen, with Colonel Richard Varick, to revise the laws of the state, a task which was performed to general satisfaction. For many years he represented the southern district in the state senate and to him we owe the preservation of many of our most venerable insti- tutions, which the rude hand of innovation was ready to hew down. He was appointed recorder of the city of New York in 1789. He was also a member of common council, and a judge of mayor's court. He was made comptroller of the state in 1797, and held this office till his retirement from public life. In the spring of 1800 he retired from business and professional pur- suits and purchased from one of his brothers the place where he was born, residing there until his death, and enjoying all the pleasures of country life. His long and useful career was
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terminated by his death, November 25, 1819, having reached his eighty-sixth year, and the highest honors were paid to his memory.
Judge Samuel Jones married Cornelia, daughter of Elbert Haring, July 17, 1768. Her father was the owner of the famous Haring (or, as it is more commonly called the Herring farm) which, on the west side of Broadway, extended from Waverly Place nearly to Bleecker street, and included a large part of
SAMUEL
JAMES.
Washington Square and a larger tract at the north part of Bleecker street. Upon her part of the farm Cornelia street was laid out and perpetuates her memory, and Great Jones street was named in honor of her husband. The children of Samuel Jones and his wife Cornelia were: Samuel, Thomas, William, Elbert and David S. Jones.
Samuel Jones, the eldest son, was also a noted lawyer, and held among other important positions that of chancellor of the state, judge of the Court of Appeals and presiding justice of the Superior Court of the city of New York. He died in 1853.
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He left a son, Samuel Jones, who was also a noted lawyer and was justice of the Superior Court and clerk of Court of Com- mon Pleas. He died in 1892.
David S. Jones, the youngest son, was born November 3, 1777. He was also a lawyer of the highest professional and social standing. He held few public offices, but in 1812-1813 was corporation counsel of New York, and in 1836-1837 was judge of Queens county. He was closely related by blood or marriage to all the old and leading families of New York, and was the intimate friend of Irving, Cooper and, in a word, of all the prom- inent men of his day. He was to the time of his death a trustee of Columbia College, of the New York Society Library and General Theological Seminary. He was also a director of the Bank of the Manhattan Company, and one of the founders and a director of the Phoenix Bank, and trustee and guardian of large estates. He died May 10, 1848.
Mr. Jones married (first) Margaret, daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones, of an entirely different family. She was a granddaughter of Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Her sister, Catherine, was the second wife of De Witt Clinton. He married (second) Susan Le Roy, daughter of Herman Le Roy. Her younger sister was the second wife of Daniel Webster. (Third) Mary Clinton, eldest daughter of Gov- ernor De Witt Clinton. The children of David S. Jones by his first wife were: Henry, Philip L., and William Alfred, all of whom died without issue. By his second marriage to Susan Le Roy, who died May 26, 1832, he had two children: Herman Le Roy, who married Augusta L., daughter of Mayor Ambrose Kingsland, and has children: Herman Le Roy, Kingsland and Mary ; 2. Mary, who died unmarried. By his third marriage, to Mary Clinton, June 11, 1833, he had four children: De Witt Clinton, Walter Franklin, Julia C. and Florence C.
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In this sketch only a few names comparatively have been given, but the various branches have furnished a lieutenant- governor, as well as judges, senators, members of assembly to the state for generations. In short, the Jones family has fur- nished legislators and jurists to the colony and state for more than a century.
De Witt Clinton Jones, son of Hon. David S. Jones, was boru June 30, 1834, at the residence of his father, No. 2 Bond street, then one of the most fashionable quarters of New York. He was educated at the school of Rev. Dr. Mühlenberg at Col- lege Point, Long Island, and at Mr. Marlborough Churchill's Military Academy, at Sing Sing, New York, and graduated from Trinity College, Hartford, in 1854. He then attended a two years' course at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy and left in 1857, the year before graduating, to accept a posi- tion on the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac railroad. Here he was actively engaged as a civil engineer when the financial dif- ficulties of 1857 caused a suspension of railroad enterprise. He returned to Poughkeepsie where his mother had a country seat, commenced the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He entered the office of Mr. John T. Crosby whose niece he after- wards married. He, with Mr. P. W. Ostrander, formed a part- nership with Mr. John P. Crosby in 1867, under the firm name of Crosby, Ostrander & Jones. During the continuance of this partnership Mr. Jones was interested in many important law suits, and conducted the large real estate business of the firm. He was one of the original incorporators of the elevated rail- road on Greenwich street, patented by Mr. Charles T. Harvey, which was the forerunner of the elevated railway system. Mr. Jones went with his family to Portland, Oregon, in 1871, and there practiced his profession. The following year he obtained an appointment on the United States Coast Survey under his
Jewilt Clinton gomes
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friend General Michler, and was engaged in the survey of the San Juan archipelago and the channel of the Columbia river, at Astoria. In the fall of 1873 he went to San Francisco and formed a business relation with Hon. Delos Lake, a leading lawyer, which continued several years. He then entered into partnership with Hon. Nathaniel Bennett, formerly one of the judges of the Supreme court, and was for a time attorney for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and in many important cases gained a well merited reputation as an able lawyer. He returned to New York in 1882 and entered the office of Coudert Brothers, where he remained two years and then recommenced practice by himself, principally confined to real estate and counsel busi- ness and to corporation matters.
Mr. Jones married, December 18, 1860, Josepha, second daughter of the late William Henry Crosby and Josepha Neilson, his wife, who was a daughter of Dr. John Neilson, son of Col. James Neilson, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, distinguished officer in the Revolution. William H. Crosby was formerly a professor in Rutgers College, and brother of Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby, who was a son of Dr. Ebenczer Crosby, surgeon on Washington's staff, Professor in Columbia College and member of the Cincinnati. William H. Crosby was a nephew of Col. Henry Rutgers, and inherited a large part of the Rutgers farm. Mrs. Jones was also a lineal descendant of Gen. William Floyd, and of Johanes DePeyster, anciently Mayor of New York.
The children of Mr. DeWitt Clinton Jones are: 1. De Witt Clinton, Jr., born December 28, 1862. He married Bessie Dun- can Cannon, daughter of Henry Rutgers Cannon and Mary Brinkerhoff. They have two children, DeWitt Clinton Jones, third, and Rutgers Brevoort. 2. Mary Franklin. 3. Henry Crosby. 4. Ellen Roosevelt, wife of Frederick Glover Pyne.
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They have three children, Frederick Cruger, Schuyler Neilson and Charles Crosby.
The residence of William B. Crosby, of which a view is given, was built about 1740 by Henry Rutgers. It stood on the block bounded by Cherry, Monroe, Clinton and Jefferson streets, and was one of the finest residences in the city. It re- mained an interesting relic of the past until 1868.
Residence of Wm. B. Crosby, Esq.
L'HOMMEDIEU FAMILY.
The ancestor of this family was Pierre L'Hommedieu, of La Rochelle, France. He married Martha Peron, and their son, Benjamin L'Hommedieu, was born in 1656 and came to America about 1686. He married Patience, daughter of Nathaniel Syl- vester, the owner of Shelter Island. The ancient family Bible of Benjamin L'Hommedien is now in possession of his descend- ant, Sylvester Youngs L'Hommedieu, of East Orange, New Jer- sey. and from it the following record is copied verbatim:
"The first temps that I com to this country I lande at Rod Island the first, 168 ... "
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Benjamin L'Hommedieu, son of Benjamin and Patience L'Hommedieu, was born on Monday, the 3rd of December, 1694. Hosea L'Hommedieu, son of Benjamin and Patience L'Homme- dieu, was born on Sunday in April, 1697. Peter L'Hommedien was born on the Sabbath day, 19th of August, 1699. Grizzel L'Hommedien was born 20th of April, 1701. Sylvester L'Hommedieu was born January 7, 1703. Susanne L'Homme- dien was born Thursday, December 14, 1704. John L'Hommedien was born Saturday, January 11, 1707. Patience L'Hommedieu died 1719, the 2nd of November, at 10 o'clock in the night, and was 55 years of age, born in the year 1664, first of November. "The Lord received her soul." Next to this is the following, almost illegible: "My father Nathaniel Sylvester dyed June 13, 1688 My mother, Grizzle Sylvester dyed June 13, 1687 (?)" Benjamin L'Hommedieu died January 4, 1749, aged ninety-six. His daughter Grizzel married Samuel Hudson. Susanne mar- ried Jonathan Tuthill.
Benjamin L'Hommedieu, son of Benjamin (1), married (first) Mary Conklin, who died June 19, 1730. He married (sec- ond) Martha Bourne. The children by the first marriage were: Benjamin, born November 21, 1717, "Thursday morning at 2 o'clock :" died in 1718. Sarah and Elizabeth. The only child by the second marriage was Ezra L'Hommedieu, of whom a more extended notice will be given. He was born August 30, 1734.
Hosea L'Hommedieu, son of Benjamin (1), married Free- love Howell. Their children were: Constant, born November 22, 1720, died March 29, 1725. Patience, born December 13, 1721. Joseph, born May 20, 1723. Hosea, born May 31, 1726. Nathaniel, born May 3, "on Friday about 11 o'clock in the morn- ing, 1728." And Timothy, born October 23, 1729.
Peter L'Hommedieu, son of Benjamin (1), married Sarah
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Corwin. They had one son, Constant L'Hommedien, born Feb- ruary 5, 1730. He married Deborah, daughter of John and Dorcas Young. She was born March 23, 1732. They had ehil- dren: Nathaniel, born August 19, 1762, died July 19, 1832. William, born June 10, 1759. Deborah, born June 24, 1764. Sarah, born August 1, 1767. Hannah, born at Southold, Sep- tember 21, 1769, died at Red Mills, New Jersey, April 17, 1854. John, born January 31, 1772. Betsey, born October 23, 1774.
Jolın L'Hommedieu, son of Benjamin (1), married Mary Hudson, and had children: John, Benjamin, Henry, born 1741, and Mary.
Sylvester L'Hommedien, son of Benjamin (1), died March 9, 1783. and is buried in the churchyard at Southold. He mar- ried Elizabeth Booth in 1737. Their children were: Elizabeth, who died September 6, 1754. Grover, born August 3, 1741; and Samuel, born February 20, 1744.
Of this family, Samuel L'Hommedieu married Sarah, daughter of Ebenezer White, of the Southampton family, Novem- ber 26, 1776. Their children were: Sylvester; Ezra ; Phebe, who married Fosdick; Charity; Elizabeth; Mary ; Charles and Samuel, born June 25, 1785. Samuel L'Hommedieu, the father of this family, died March 17, 1834, aged ninety. His wife died November 18, 1822, and both rest in Oakland Ceme- tery, Sag Harbor, Long Island.
Grover L'Hommedieu, brother of Samuel, married (first) Esther Vail, December 27, 1763. Their children were: Eliz- abeth; Giles, born April 28, 1766, married Abigail Reynolds, of Norwich, Connecticut, no children; Mary; Susanne, born March 13, 1770, married James Gordon, December 5, 1816; Ezra, born March 12, 1772; Sarah; Esther; Joseph; Lucretia ; William, born November 17, 1783, died young; Abbey, who married Gurdon Smith ; and Joshua, who died unmarried. Grover L'Hommedieu
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married (second) Elizabeth Tracy. Their children were: Will- iam, born October 6, 1793; Stephen, born March 16, 1796, married Mary Clark, August 24, 1835; Benjamin, born March 6, 1798; Maria, Fanny and Nancy. Of this family, Ezra L'Hommedieu left children : John, Grover, William, Joshua, Samuel, Harriet and Laura.
Nathaniel L'Hommedieu, son of Constant, son of Peter, son of Benjamin (1), married Ann Burcham, April 8, 1806. Their children were: William A., born July 24, 1807, died in New Orleans, May 31, 1841; Nathaniel C., born March 4, 1810; Eliz- abeth, wife of - Suydam; Ann Amelia, born August 7, 1813, died November 23, 1835; Sylvester Youngs, born October 16, 1816, died August 20, 1840. Of this family, Nathaniel C. L'Hommedieu married Jane M. Hepburn, August 29, 1838. She died August 19. 1866. Their children were: Ward B., born August 5, 1839, died at Hong Kong, China, May 28, 1862; and Sylvester Youngs, born March 24, 1842. Nathaniel C. L'Homme- dieu, the father, died April 30, 1901.
Sylvester Youngs L'Hommedieu married Abby Caroline Baldwin, September 15, 1875. Their children are: Frank Ar- nold, born June 23, 1876; Sylvester Y., born November 15, 1878; Nathaniel Constant, born August 28, 1882; Augusta Dean, born June 27, 1889; and Nathalie Constant. Frank Arnold L'Homme- dien married Noella Virginia Colquitt, October 14, 1905.
Sylvester Youngs L'Hommedieu, a prominent citizen of Orange, New Jersey with extensive business interests in New York, is the possessor of the ancient family Bible of his honored ancestor, Benjamin L'Hommedieu, which is treasured with care as a precious heirloom of the past.
Nathaniel L'Hommedieu, son of Hosea, son of Benjamin (1), married Mulford, of Southampton, Long Island. His eldest son was Henry Mulford L'Hommedieu, commonly known Vol. III-13
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as Mulford L'Hommedieu, who had a son, Henry L'Hommedieu, whose son, Wallace L'Hommedieu, was the father of Hon. Irving L'Hommedieu, of Medina, New York, late State Senator.
Ezra L'Hommedien, son of Benjamin, son of Benjamin (1), was one of the most distinguished men of Suffolk county. He was born August 30, 1734, and died September 28, 1811. He was graduated from Yale College in 1754, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1783; also in 1787-8. He was a member of the New York Legislature from 1777 to 1809, except in 1793. Helped form the first State Constitution and was a member of the Council of Appointment. For twenty-six years he was clerk of Suffolk county. His first wife was Charity Floyd, sister of General William Floyd, "The Signer." She died in 1785. and he then married Mary Catharine Havens, June 15, 1803. She died February 4, 1837, aged thirty-one, and left three danghters. The present representatives of this illustrious man are the daughters of Professor Eben Horsford, who has an estate on Shelter Island.
Samuel L'Hommedien, son of Sylvester, son of Benjamin (1), was one of the most prominent citizens of Sag Harbor, Long Island. He was Lieutenant of Militia, and his commis- sion from Governor Tryon is in the Long Island Historical Society. With other prominent Whigs he fled to Connecticut and settled in New London. After the war he returned to Sag Har- bor and carried on the manufacture of ropes and cordage, which was continued by his son Samuel. He was Justice of the Peace, and for long years was known as "Old 'Squire L'Hommedieu," and was also a member of Assembly, and in both positions he was held in high honor. One of his daughters, Mary, married Rev. J. L. Gardiner, father of late Samuel L. Gardiner, a noted lawyer of Sag Harbor.
Previous to 1774 a Joseph L'Hommedieu, whose life we do
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not know, married a daughter of Ephraim Hildreth, of South- ampton, Long Island.
Henry L'Hommedieu, born 1741, son of John, son of Ben- jamin (1), was the great-grandfather of Hon. Frederick L'Hom- medien of Deep River, Connecticut, to whom the writer is under great obligations for information granted.
SAMUEL L'HOMMEDIEU.
Benjamin L'Hommedieu, the ancestor of the family, of whom a more extended notice has been given, had among other children a son John, born Saturday, January 11, 1707. He mar- ried, February 25, 1727, Mary Hudson and had children: John; Henry, born 1741; Benjamin and Mary. In his will he mentions Benjamin as being his second son.
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