USA > New York > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and family history of New York, Volume III > Part 3
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To attempt a character sketch of Colonel Roosevelt is a most difficult undertaking. He can be judged only by his acts. His motive is always apparent, for he is incapable of duplicity. His utterances both public and private are clear, distinct and unequivocal. Whether his opinions are right or wrong they are honestly held and are stated with simplicity and directness. He is emphatically a man of action, and his writings deal with matters of observation rather than thought; he is no theorist, but intensly practical. With determination and undaunted courage he combines tenacity of purpose. If he ever experi- enced the sensation of fear it is known only to himself. He has the instinct of a soldier, and in emergencies does not stop to consider whether or not the odds are against him, but obeys orders with decision and accepts the consequences. He is as generous as he is brave; bears no malice; and after inflicting punishment on an adversary he would instantly seek to alleviate the pain he has caused. With the heart of a lion in danger, he is moved to pity at the sight of suffering, and without a mo- mnent's hesitation would befriend a fallen adversary. His quali- ties and achievements have made him a popular hero, and in a democratic society like ours there is no distinction which he may not hope to attain.
Colonel Roosevelt married, first, Miss Alice Hathaway Lee; second, Miss Edith Kermit Caron, and his children are Alice, Theodore. Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archibald and Quintin. The chil- dren rough it at their country home. Sagamore Hill, as did their father, enjoying the utmost freedom, apparently unconscious
Theodore Roosevelts Home, Oyster Bay.
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of the honors that have been showered upon the father by a grateful and appreciative constituency. The veteran war horse "Texas" that carried him through the Santiago campaign munches his oats and hay in the stable in peace and quietness, glad no doubt that his campaigning days are over and that for the remainder of his life he can enjoy the cool breezes of Oyster Bay in summer and a warm, comfortable stall in winter.
The entrance to Sagamore Hill is up a winding road through a thickly wooded country for some distance until a "private road" turning sharply to the left is reached, which leads up to the home of the president. The view on reaching the crest of the hill is a most beautiful one, although partly obscured on the west and south sides of the house by the dense growth of forest trees. From the east and south sides a fine view of the bay is presented. A lawn of several acres slopes down to the wall of forest trees, and the other side, which is nearly level, is devoted to farming purposes. The character of the exterior of the dwelling is known as the Queen Anne style of architecture. It is a substantial edifice, the first story being of brick, the second and third stories of frame. A wide piazza extends around two sides, from which a beautiful view of the surrounding country is obtained. The entrance to the house is through a vine-covered port-cochere. The wide hall, simply furnished, contains numerous trophies of the colonel's life in the far west. The large library looks like the workshop of an active brain worker. A portrait of the father which hangs on the wall looks benignly down on the son, who, with unceasing energy and tireless industry, works out the great problems of life, stimu- lating in others a desire to be something and do something for their fellow men.
Mr. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency in November. 1904, by a popular plurality of 2,542,062. The most conspienous
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and useful act was his mediation between Russia and Japan, which had as its result the restoration of peace under the pro- visions of the Treaty of Portsmouth.
RIKER FAMILY.
Abraham Kycken, or de Rycke (the name is written in both forms in the early records) was the progenitor of the present Riker families in New York, New Jersey and other states, his descendants in the third generation having assumed the present form of the name. He emigrated about 1638, in which year he received an allotment of land from Governor Kieft, for which he afterwards took ont a patent dated August 8, 1640, the land being situated at the Wallabout. In 1642 Ryker was in New Amsterdam, where he lived many years upon a place of his own on the Heeren Gracht, now Broad street. In 1656 he made a voyage to the Delaware river for the express purpose of pur- chasing beaver skins, then a leading article of traffic. In 1654 he obtained a grant of land at the Poor Bowery, to which he removed after adding to his domain the island known as Riker's Island. Having attained to more than three score years and ten, he died in 1689, leaving his farm by will to his son Abraham.
He married Grietie, daughter of Hendrick Harmensen, one of the first settlers on Long Island and probably the first stock raiser and pioneer farmer, having located at what has since been known as the Poor Bowery, to which he established his claim as early as 1638, thus giving the Rikers the precedence as the pioneer settlers of Long Island.
Abraham Riker by his wife Grietie had children: 1. Ryck Abramsen, who adopted the name of Lent. 2. Jacob, born 1640, died in infancy. 3. Jacob (2), born 1643. 4. Hendrick, born 1646. died young. 5. Mary, born 1649, married Sebout H. Krankheyt, afterwards of the manor of Cortlandt. 6. John,
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born 1654, married 1691, Sarah Schouten. Their son Abraham, born 1695, settled in Essex county, New Jersey. 7. Aletta, born 1653, married Capt. John Harmensen, also of the manor of Cortlandt. 8. Abraham (2), born 1655. 9. Hendrick, born 1662. adopted the name of Lent. The parents were members of the Dutch church, and most of their children were baptized in the church at Fort Amsterdam.
Abraham Riker (2), eighth ehild of Abraham (1) and Grietie (Harmensen) Riker, was born at New Amsterdam
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(Island of Manhattan) in 1655. He was taken in early child- hood to the farm which his father purchased in the town of Newtown. He was a man of superior intelligence and a capable farmer. He inherited the paternal estate and added consider- ably to the extent of his grounds. his most important purchase being that of a third of the Tudor patent. November 2, 1688. This was a patent obtained by John Tudor, March 18, 1686, which he sold two years after to Riker and two other parties.
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Abraham Riker died in 1746. He settled his estate on his sons Abraham and Andrew. November 10, 1733. His death in his ninety-first year was most singular. Deprived of sight for some years, it was his enstom to sit on the lawn under a pear tree, the sprouts and roots of which yet remain. There sitting, August 20, 1746. be suddenly recovered the use of his eves. looked upon his family, among them being grandchildren whom he never saw before. after which he walked back to his favorite seat under the pear tree and immediately expired.
IFe married Grietie, daughter of John Gerrits Van Buyten- huysen, of New York, by his intermarriage with Tryntie, dangh- ter of John Van Lnyt. of Holland. She died November 15, 1732. Their children were: 1. Catharine. 2. Margaret, married, first, Peter Braisted; second, Thomas Lynch; third, Anthony Duane, father of Hon. James Duane, afterwards mayor of New York. 3. Mary, married Haseult Van Keuren, of Kingston. 4. Abraham. 5. John. 6. Hendrick. 7. Andrew. 8. Jacob.
Andrew Riker, seventh child of Abraham (2) and Grietie (Buytenhuysen) Riker, was born at the homestead, Bowery Bay, in 1669. He inherited the homestead property, and became a man of means and influence. In 1756 detachment of the King's regulars were quartered at Newtown, and Andrew Riker's house was the ahode of the French officers for a considerable period.
He married, November 13, 1733. Jane, widow of Captain Dennis Lawrence, and daughter of John Berrien, Esq., son of Cornelius Jansen Berrien, a French Huguenot, who settled in Flatbush in 1669. and there married Jannetje, daughter of Jan Stryker, who held offices in the town government and was a leacon in the Dutch church.
Andrew Riker died February 12, 1763, in his sixty-fourth year; his widow died September 26, 1775. in her seventy-third Year. Their children were: £ 1. Margaret, died unmarried,
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April 3. 1760. 2. John Berrien. 3. Abraham. 4. Samuel. 5. Ruth, married Major Jonathan Lawrence.
Samuel Riker, fourth child of Andrew and Jane Riker, was born April 8, 1743. After receiving a fair education and hold- ing a clerkship some years in a New York mercantile house, he tired of city life and returned to the old homestead, which he subsequently purchased. He was among the first to espouse the cause of the colonists in their struggle for independence. On December 10, 1774, at a meeting of freeholders at Newtown, a series of spirited resolutions passed a few days previous by their neighbors at Jamaica were read by one of the gentlemen and unanimously responded to, after which a committee of cor- respondence was appointed, which consisted of the following: Jacob Blackwell, Richard Alsop, Daniel Rapelje, Esq., Philip Edsall, Thomas Lawrence, Daniel Lawrence, Jonathan Law- rence, Samuel Moore, William Firman, William Howard, Jere- mias Remsen, Jun., Samuel Riker, John Albertis, Abraham Brinkerhoff, James Way, Samuel Morrill and Jonathan Coe.
The Newtown Troop of Light Horse, consisting of forty-four men, was commanded by Captain Richard Lawrence, and after- wards by his brother, Captain Daniel Lawrence. Samuel Riker was second lieutenant; Jonathan Coe, cornet; Peter Rapelje, quartermaster. After the resignation of Captain Lawrence, Riker and Coe were promoted.
Captain Abraham Riker, of the New York Continental Line, who the previous fall was at the storming of Quebec, recruited a company, which was attached to the regiment of Colonel Reitz- man, which formed a part of the brigade of Major General Lord Stirling. Lieutenant Samuel Riker was active in guarding the outposts of the American army until compelled to flee before the approach of the British troops. He escaped with others after the battle of Long Island, and subsequently returned with
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the intention of rejoining the army, but was discovered and captured by the British. He returned home after the war and was elected to various public positions, among these that of supervisor. He was in the State Assembly in 1784, and the last public act of his life was to represent his district in congress in 1808-9, having also on a previous occasion held a seat in that national body.
He died May 19, 1823. He married, January 17, 1769, Anna Lawrence, horn November 27, 1749, daughter of Joseph Lawrence, son of John (3), son of Captain John (2), born about 1650, son of Major Thomas Lawrence, a descendant of Sir Robert Laurens.
Samuel Riker, by his wife, Anna (Lawrence) Riker, had children: 1. Joseph Lawrence, born March 26, 1770; adopted a seafaring life, and died at the island of Jamaica, July 20, 1796. 2. Andrew, born September 21, 1771 (see record of J. L. Riker's wife). 3. Richard, born September 9, 1773. 4. Abraham, born May 24, 1776. 5. Patience L., born May 10, 1778; married John Lawrence. 6. Samuel, born March 3, 1780. 7. Jane Margaret, born April 4, 1782; married first John Tom; second, Dr. Will- iam James Macneven. 8. Anna Elvira, born May 1, 1785; mar- ried Dr. Dow Ditmars. 9. John Lawrence, born April 9, 1787.
Richard Riker, third child of Samuel and Anna (Lawrence) Riker, was born at Newtown, September 9, 1773. He was edu- cated chiefly under Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, president of Nassau Hall, New Jersey. He entered the office of the elder Jones, and was admitted to the bar in 1795. In 1802 he was appointed dis- triet attorney of New York, which he held for ten years, and in 1815 he was made recorder of the city, which he retained with short intermissions till 1837, having discharged the arduous and responsible duties of such offices for nearly thirty years. For ten years (1802-12) he was district attorney of New York, and
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for twenty years, was recorder of New York. His polished man- ner and social prominence won for him the title of the "Amer- ican Chesterfield" from Fanny Kemble, and it clung to him through life. He was a warm friend of Alexander Hamilton, although an ardent Democrat. He served De Witt Clinton as second in his duel with John Swartwout's brother Robert. His- tory of Hudson county, says :
Mr. Riker died in the seventieth year of his age, September 26, 1842. To the celebrated law firm which he founded, his sons 1). Phoenix and John H. Riker were admitted in 1826 and in 1840 respectively, and their cousin Henry L., son of John L., in 1842.
Mr. Riker married, in March, 1807, Janette, daughter of Daniel Phoenix, Esq., treasurer of the city of New York. Their children were Daniel Phoenix, Anna E., Elizabeth P., Janette, John H. and Rebecca P.
John Lawrence Riker (1), brother of Richard Riker, and youngest child of Samuel and Anna (Lawrence) Riker, was born April 9, 1787. He was educated at Erasmus Hall in Flat- bush, and began his legal studies in the office of his brother Richard. On attaining his majority he established the law business on his own account, and soon entered upon a successful practice that continued until his death. He resided in New York until 1825, when he purchased the old homestead at Bowery Bay, where he spent the remainder of his days. He rode daily to Fulton ferry on horseback, leaving his horse on the Brooklyn side and returning in the evening. At the breaking ont of the war of 1812-15 he volunteered, and was commissioned captain of the Ninety-seventh Regiment of Infantry, August 11, 1812.
He married, first, Maria Smith; second, Lavinia Smith, daughters of Sylvans Smith, of North Hempstead, Long Is-
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land. Sylvanus was the son of Sylvanus Smith (1), son of John, and grandson or great-grandson of John Smith, the ancestor.
John Lawrence Riker (2), fifth child of John Lawrence (1) and first child of Lavinia (Smith) Riker, was born at the home- stead, Bowery Bay, November 23, 1830. After completing his studies he came to New York, and first entered the house of Lawrence & Hicks, and later that of Benjamin H. Field, dealer in drugs, dyes, chemicals, etc. His promotion was rapid, and he became a partner in 1854, which continued until December 31, 1860, when he retired to form a copartnership with his brother, Daniel S., in the same line of business, on January 1, 1861, just previous to the breaking out of the Civil war. The new firm soon acquired a reputation for upright business methods and square dealings, which has been maintained to the present time. While other members of the family have formed the firm from time to time, the name of J. L. & D. S. Riker remains the same. While other business interests of late years absorbed much of the time of Mr. Riker, he remained the senior member of the firm until 1903, although the principal management of the busi- ness devolved upon his son, John J. His business operations have brought him in close touch with large financial institutions, and he has frequently been called on to assist in the management of these, having accepted the vice-presidency of some, and a directorship in several others, notably the Bank of New York, Second National Bank, Metropolitan Trust Company, Chamber of Commerce, Atlantic Marine Insurance Company, Continental Insurance Company (fire), Laflin & Rand Powder Company, and many manufacturing companies. He is a member of the St. Nicholas Society, the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the Revolution, a trustee and vice-president of the Holland Society, and a member of the various social clubs, Union League, Metro- politan St. Nicholas, etc. He has served as vestryman, and
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now as senior warden, in the Church of the Incarnation (Epis- copal), for more than a quarter of a century. He married Mary, daughter of John C. Jackson and their children were: 1. John Jackson Riker. 2. Henry Laurens Riker, born June 20, 1860 ; died, unmarried, August 13, 1900. He was a member of the Down Town Club, New York Athletic Club, Sons of the Revolution and St. Nicholas. He was graduated at Columbia College, class of '80, and entered the counting room of his father's firm. His tastes were more literary and musical, and he spent much of his time in helping and aiding the poor and humble, and was much beloved by them and his friends. 3. Margaret Moore Riker, married J. Amory Haskell, December 9, 1901 (see record). 4. Lavinia, married James Remsen Strong, June 1, 1902. 5. Samuel Riker, Jr., married Frances Mortimer Townsend, November 18, 1896. 6. Silvanus, twin brother of Samuel; died in infancy. 7. Martha Jackson Riker, married James Howe Proctor, April 28, 1897. 8. Charles Lawrence Riker, married Selina Schroeder, October 16, 1900. 9. Mary Jackson Riker, married, April 29, 1903, Henry Ingersoll Riker, son of Daniel S. and Joanna (Field) Riker.
Major John Jackson Riker, eldest child of John Lawrence and Mary (Jackson) Riker, was born at Newtown, April 6, 1858. After completing his studies he entered his father's firm in a subordinate capacity, mastered all the details of the business, and qualified himself for the important position which he has filled for many years as managing partner of the business.
He joined the famous Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., May 26, 1878, and in August, 1879, was appointed aide-de-camp, with the rank of lieutenant, on the staff of General William G. Ward, commanding First Brigade. On April 1, 1880, he was promoted senior aide, with rank of captain, and on May 19, 1880, he was made brigade inspector of rifle practice, with rank
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of major. and on October 27, 1882, was made brigade inspector. He resigned October 25, 1883. He was elected major of the Twelfth Regiment June 9, 1884, and after bringing it up to a high state of efficiency he resigned, June 14, 1889. Major Riker has been for many years an active worker in the Society of the Sons of the Revolution. He represented the society during the Washington centennial, April 23, 1889, as their marshal. Through collateral descent from Surgeon John Berrien Riker, of the fourth New Jersey line, he is a member of the New Jersey Society of the Cincinnati. He is a member and former secretary of the St. Nicholas Club, and is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars. He was a school trustee of the Twenty-first ward for some years. He married Edith, daughter of Samuel Blackwell Bartow, of New York city, a grandson of Colonel Jacob Blackwell, of the Revolution.
Samuel Riker, sixth child of John Lawrence and second child of his second wife, Lavinia (Smith) Riker, was born at the homestead at Bowery Bay, April 10, 1832. After completing his general education he read law in the office of J. H. & H. L. Riker. and was admitted to the bar in May, 1853, and at once admitted to partnership in the law firm, which then consisted of his father, brother and cousin, John H. Riker; the first two died in 1861, and the latter retired in 1884.
Mr. Riker took up a special line of practice-the law of real property, the investigation of titles to lands, drawing of wills, marriage settlements, trust deeds, etc. He came into general prominence in 1859 in connection with his construction of the will of William Jay (a son of the eminent John Jay), who had drawn his own will. This will involved some intricate and novel points of law, but through the efforts of Mr. Riker, an understanding was arrived at withont resort to litigation. Mr. Riker never advised a client to carry a matter into court when
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it could be avoided. During his long term of practice of nearly forty years, Mr. Riker not only occupied a leading position at the New York bar, but he was recognized as an authority on the special line he had chosen. Besides his list of well known indi- vidual clients and estates, Mr. Riker has acted for large and well known institutions. He was attorney and counsel for the Sailors' Snug Harbor for upwards of thirty years, preparing all instruments relating to their large landed estate in the city of New York and on Staten Island. He acted as executor of the wills of Sarah Burr and her sisters, and distributed several mill- ions of dollars among a large number of charitable institutions in New York city. He retired from active practice in 1893, and with him the old Riker law firm, which had been in exist- ence for nearly a century, ended.
Mr. Riker married in 1865, Mary Anna, daughter of Jacob P. and Mary R. Stryker, of Newtown.
William James Riker, youngest son of John Lawrence (1) and Lavinia (Smith) Riker, was horn at Bowery Bay, in the town of Newtown. He received his knowledge of the elementary branches at the private schools of Astoria and was graduated at Flushing Institute in 1858. Not long after he entered the house of Benjamin H. Field in the same line of business which he has since followed. He remained there until 1861, and then joined his brothers in the same business, becoming a partner in the firm in 1866. He joined the Twenty-Second Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., at its inception, but owing to pressing matters that called him abroad he severed his connection with the regi- ment. Ile is a member of several societies and clubs, in some of which he takes an active interest. Among these are the St. Nicholas Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Geographical Society, American Museum of Natural History, New York Yacht Club, New York Athletic Club, Down Town
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Association, etc. He is a trustee in the Bank for Savings in New York, the oldest institution of the kind in the city.
He married, in 1865, Charlotte Lawrence, daughter of Dr. J. P. Stryker, son of Garret Stryker; and Anne Polhemns, a direct descendant of Rev. Johannus Theodorus Polhemus, a minister of the Reformed Church of Holland, who came to New Amsterdam in 1654 and became the pastor of the Flatbush church. The descendants through this line include some of the oldest and most distinguished families on Long Island. The issue of the above marriage is: 1. Andrew Lawrence Riker, born October 22, 1868. He is an electrical engineer. He mar- ried Edith Whiting, danghter of James R. and grand-daughter of Judge James R. Whiting. They have: Edith Whiting, Char- lotte Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence Riker. 2. Jennie Riker, died November 30, 1886.
PAYNE FAMILY.
John Howard Payne was born in New York city, June 9, 1792. He was destined for a business career, but early showed a predilection for literature and the stage. He edited some trifling publications while still in his teens-publications now in- teresting only as curiosities-and in 1809 made his first pro- fessional career as an actor in the old Park Theatre, New York, taking the part of Norval in Douglass' tragedy of that name, a part which used to be the starting point in the career of every budding Roscius. The play has long been relegated to the book- shelf and is never now acted, but in the early part of the past century it was a prime favorite. Payne's success in the part was most flattering and after playing it in many American cities he repeated it in Drury Lane Theatre, London, with equal com- mendation from the critics and the public. That success deter- mined his career and for some twenty years thereafter he was
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associated with the stage as actor, manager and playwright. General James Grant Wilson writes: "While living in London and Paris, where he was intimate with Washington Irving, Payne wrote a host of dramas, chiefly adaptations from the French. In one of these, 'Clari; or The Maid of Milan,' occurs his death- less song of 'Home, Sweet Home,' which made the fortunes of all concerned, except the always unfortunate author. By it alone Payne will be remembered after his multitude of poems and dramas have been forgotten, which, indeed, has almost hap- pened already. His tragedy of 'Brutus,' produced in 1818, with Edmund Kean in the principal part, is his only dramatic com- position that still holds possession of the stage, with the single exception of 'Charles the Second,' the leading character in which was a favorite with Charles Kemble." In 1832 the wanderer returned to America, as poor as when he left it, and pursued his theatrical career with varying fortunes, generally brief bits of success mingled with long periods of misfortune and poverty. Home he had none throughout his career since the death of his mother when he was a lad of thirteen years, and it was destined that he should die in exile from his native land. In 1841 he was appointed consul at Tunis and there he resided until his death, in 1852. His body was interred in a little cemetery on the shores of the Mediterranean until 1883, when it was removed to Oak Hill cemetery, Washington, and so poor Payne was home at last. His career was a sad one; poverty and he were close acquaintances; he "fattened on trouble and starvation," as he said himself, and he often in later years told a story of the bit- terness he once felt on hearing his famous song sung one night in London when he himself was unable to raise the price of a night's lodging and had to find a home in the streets. He made plenty of money but had no idea of how to keep it, and a hit. when it was made, only carried him and his friends -- partners
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