USA > New York > Dutchess County > History of Duchess county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 88
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Our neighbor's, our friend's whole family, whom we awaited with so much pleasure and anticipated so much enjoyment from having them with us, have all perished in the ' Atlantic.' On the 2d of April, a year ago, I went to the city to assist at the marriage of William H. Merritt with Miss Louisa Scrymser. The scene is as fresh to my memory as if it had occurred but yesterday. On the 2d of April this year he and his lovely wife, his own sister and his wife's sister lay dead in their cabins or were floating about among the rocks near Hali- fax. Mr. Merritt lived near us for the greater part of the year, was very wealthy, and his hospitality was most genial. His little entertainments, fre- quently given, were of that peculiar exquisiteness, so often distinctive of such tasteful and refined bachelors. He was in every way a most kind- hearted and friendly gentleman."
Caroline married Samuel T. Keese, of New York, a son of Peter and Mary (Thorne) Keese, of Peru, N. Y.
Rodman married Amanda Maria Lanning, of Wilkes Barre, Pa., who is now the wife of Wm. J. Harvey, and is residing at the last named place.
The Merritts of that branch of the family to which our subject belongs, were generally mem- bers of the Society of Friends or Quakers ; consci- entiously performing all duties, social and religious, in a way that left but little for the historian to chronicle. Certain it is they never did anything to dishonor the name. With them " a good name " was more to be desired than great riches. Always believing in an inward light to guide them in the right, and which, if followed, would make them truer and better men and women, and help to build them up in honesty and integrity.
And now our venerable subject, the only living member of his own immediate family, in the quiet autumn of his life, surrounded with the comforts of a pleasant home, with friends ready to minister to his every wish, finds his greatest pleasure and com- fort in remembering the unfortunate and in deeds of charity; modestly and unostentatiously using the means at his command, as one who has to answer as a steward for their right use. May his days be lengthened that he may be enabled to do more good and receive the blessings of those who have, and may continue to be, recipients of his bounty and kindness.
HON. JOHN THOMPSON.
John Thompson was born in the town of Rhine- beck, Duchess County, July 4, 1809 ; his father, Robert Thompson, then living on a farm about a mile south of the village of Rhinebeck. His mother was the eldest daughter of the Rev. Robert Scott, who for many years kept a boarding school for boys. It was at this school that the subject of our sketch received the rudiments of his education, with such lads as the Stokes, the Colgates, the
Ine Thompson
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Dubois, of Hudson, the Schells,-Richard, Augus- tus, and Edward, of Rhinebeck, and others who have since become well and widely known. The school was discontinued when Mr. Thompson was about thirteen years old; at which time his grandfather gathered the Baptist Society of Rhine- beck into a church, and becoming their pastor, and doing himself much of the work upon the new church edifice erected by them. For the next four years Mr. Thompson spent most of his time in establishing his health, always extremely delicate, in the light work about the farm, in horse-back riding, in reading and study.
On October 26, 1816, he entered the office of Francis A. Livingston, Esq., then District Attor- ney of Duchess County. There, at the age of seventeen he began in earnest, not only the study of law, but of general literature. Within the first year of his clerkship he acquired a perfect knowl- edge of the routine of the duties of the District At- torney's office and attended with Mr. Livingston every term of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and of the County Court, drew the indictments, issued subpoenas for witnesses and prepared import- ant cases for trial. Mr. Livingston was a man of elegant personal appearance, with a smooth flowing style of oratory, and a most winning and melodious voice. He was not fond of detail, and could try a case with great ability which he found it very irk- some to prepare. Mr. Thompson soon became indispensable to him in these respects ; while he had ample time to pursue his studies in English literature, history and philosophy. His school- master was himself, aided. by a good library, both of law and general literature, and stimulated by the counsel and advice of the Rev. George W. Bethune, a man of ripe scholarship.
Mr. Bethune was warmly interested in the progress of his young friend and admirer; an inter- est which continued through his life, and exerted no small influence upon the life of Mr. Thompson.
On the removal of Mr. Livingston to New York, in 1829, Mr. Thompson, then about twenty years of age, went into the office of Hooker & Tallmadge, in the then village of Poughkeepsie, and upon receiv- ing his license as an attorney was taken into part- nership by James Hooker, Esq., then Surrogate of the county. It is not surprising that in such asso- ciations Mr. Thompson became a Democratic politician and was soon foremost in all the machin- ery of caucus, speech-making, and the appliances of political campaigns.
In the year 1834, he was married to Mary Smith, youngest daughter of Judge Isaac Smith of Lithgow, in the town of Washington. Mrs. Thompson owned a farm received from her father's estate and much of her husband's time was taken up in its management, but farming not being much to his taste he gave it up in 1840 and devoted himself almost exclusively to his profession. The late Seward Barculo was then at the bar with several of the lawyers of earlier days who still linger in prac- tice: Stephen Cleveland, Henry Swift, Robert Wil- kinson, Charles Johnson and Gen. John Brush, men
of acute minds and well versed in all the technical learning of the old school of lawyers and who gave the young members enough to sharpen their wits and bring all their resources into play. Besides Judge Barculo, the late William Wilkinson, Joseph Jackson and several others, and a little later Hon. Joseph T. Barnard, Charles W. Swift and Judge Emott, made the bar of Duchess County no arena for indolence or presumption. It is but just to say that in this array of legal talent Mr. Thompson held his own place and was engaged in the trial of almost every important case from 1845 to the present time.
One of the most arduous as well as important labors of his professional life was his employment by the Hudson River R. R. Co., in the condemna- tion of land for the use of the road from Pough- keepsie to Albany, a large part of which had to be taken and appraised by commissioners ; and after the road was completed the trial of a great many cases with contractors and persons sueing for dam- ages by reason of injuries on the road by collisions and otherwise. This labor continued until the road passed into the hands of Commodore Vanderbilt.
In the summer and autumn of 1856 the Repub- lican party was organized, the great slavery fight in Kansas was coming on, Buchanan was nomi- nated for President and his efforts to aid the slave power were pledged beforehand. New York from one end to the other was electing members to Congress to cope with the trained members from the South. Some of the ablest lawyers in the state were elected and Mr. Thompson was ten- dered the nomination from Columbia and Duchess Counties. The last member from this Congres- sional district was the Hon. Gilbert Dean, elected on the Democratic ticket by 1, 200 majority. The present nominee was William Chamberlain of Red Hook, a man of large wealth and extended influ- ence. With such a Democratic majority in the district the chances seemed dubious, but Mr. Thompson was finally induced to accept the nom- ination and at once organized a series of meetings in the two counties, and by a thorough discussion of the momentous issues then pending so aroused public sentiment that he was elected by over 1,200 majority on the side of the Republican ticket.
During the sessions of '57-'58, Mr. Thompson entered into the debates on the floor of the House of Representatives; a number of his speeches be- ing circulated throughout the district and county. One upon the exciting topic of the hour "The Admission of Kansas," and another on the " Mor- mon question" were warmly received; thousands of copies being circulated by members all over the Southern as well as the Northern States.
A second nomination was tendered Mr. Thomp- son but declined by him in a letter saying, that on account of pressing business duties, and because he believed the district was sure to elect a Repub- lican in his place, he should be obliged to decline.
Since his Congressional career, Mr. Thompson has held no public office of a political nature, but has beside professional duties, given his efforts to the benevolent and philanthropic movements of
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society and in the church, with which he was united while a student at law.
For some ten years in the earlier history of the organization of Lyceums and Young Men's Asso- ciations he was called upon to lecture in aid of these struggling institutions, often without expecta- tion or demand of pay, and on these occasions from ten to fifteen times per season, he furnished some of the most finished performances of his life; lecturing frequently at Troy, Albany and through the western cities as far as Buffalo. In later years since lyceums have become well established, he has generally declined such invitations.
He has twice delivered the oration before the literary societies at Union College on commence- ment day -- at New Brunswick and at Williamstown -was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa at Union, and received the degree of A. M. from Union and Yale.
Mr. Thompson has been a student all his life, devoting his leisure to the cultivation of general literature, especially of theology. He delivered a course of Sunday evening lectures on topics out of the range of pulpit performances, to crowded houses ; and also published several essays, one on "Inspiration," another on the "Atonement," and another the "Inner Kingdom." He also published an article vindicating the miracles of the New Testament.
When Matthew Vassar had settled upon devot- ing his wealth to an institution to promote the higher education of woman, Mr. Thompson was among the first persons consulted by him, and chosen one of the trustees of Vassar College, which position he still holds, giving the aid of his time and counsel, and also acting as a member of some of its most important committees.
He built his residence at the corner of Market and Church streets, in 1835, and has lived there since, a period of 46 years, except that for four or five years past his family have spent the summer at a cottage owned by Mrs. Thompson, his present wife, at New Hamburgh, on Wappingers Creek. Mrs. Thompson was formerly Caroline Bailey, youngest daughter of James Bailey, Esq., of Pratts- burg, now deceased.
Mr. Thompson spent a year in Europe not long since, both for his health and mental improvement. He was for many years Vice- President of the Fall- kill National Bank, of Poughkeepsie, but is now President of that institution.
Thus, has the public enjoyed not only his ability in his profession, but, also, his superior business capacities. By a life of strict integrity and perse- vering application, he has built himself in the affections and confidence of the people who resort to him for legal knowledge and judicious advice.
Mr. Thompson has rare forensic and rhetorical gifts, which give grace to his pen, and beauty and strength to his utterances. His style is ornate without weakness, and philosophical without ob- scurity ; on the platform or at the bar, he is one of the most effective speakers in the land. Felicitous both in manner and matter he compels attention
and carries conviction. A diligent student, and indefatigable worker, he has thought, written and spoken more than most men of his profession in the several departments of learning, and has drawn his sword to good purpose in theological discussion. Quick and clear in his perceptions, thoroughly æsthetic in his nature, with a broad and generous culture, he has been, and is, a recognized power among men ; having an influence that has gone far and wide from the city and county in which he has lived. His kindness of heart,cheerful tempera- ment, abundant humor and quick repartee, make him an agreeable companion and the best of friends.
The weight of his character from early man- hood has been on the side of Christian principle ; in this regard he has been of vast benefit to the moral and philanthropic movements of his times. Altogether, in his history, growth and attainments, we consider Mr. Thompson as a model man, of whom his city and county may well be proud. While we write as a friend we are sure that our es- timate is not foreign to that of those who have known him from the beginning, and we trust he may long be spared to give to his fellow citizens the ripened fruits of a long and rich experience.
CEDAR HILL.
These grounds, which are the residence of R. M. Taggart, Esquire, are situated within one mile of the Court House. Until 1857, they remained an unbroken wild of thickets, rocks, hills and lowlands, and were the property of eight different owners, being a middle "common" between the inhabi- tants of "Bicetown" and the village of Pough- keepsie. Their beauty, which to a casual observer was hidden beneath the rough exterior, had long been perceived by John P. H. Tallman of Pough- kepsie, who in that year gradually obtained the various titles and soon thereafter began to reclaim them, bringing out their latent qualities and ad- hering to nature in their development, until they have become unrivalled.
In 1860 the dwelling and other buildings were erected, and the place continued to be the resi- dence of Mr. Tallman until 1869. In that year their many attractions induced Robert M. Taggart, the present proprietor, to purchase the buildings and ten of the fourteen acres embraced in the original purchases of Mr. Tallman. The grounds abound in fruit and ornamental trees, having thir- teen varieties of evergreen trees. The drives and walks are of the most enduring and ornamental character. The present stable was erected in 1881, and in arrangement and finish is excelled by none in the county, being supplied throughout with city water and gas.
Mr. Taggart was a native of Paterson, N. J., and resolving to select for a home that which would combine health and all that makes home desirable,
CEDARHILL.
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ENTRANCE AND GROUNDS OF R. M. TAGGART, POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.
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his decision finally and fortunately fell upon "Cedar Hill" with its undulating lawns, hills, dales, trees, overhanging rocks, mountain scenery and city and rural views. The symmetrical cedar at the base of the hill opposite the front entrance, suggested to Mr. Tallman the name "Cedar Hill."
Mr. Taggart is grandson of Charles Danforth the founder of the "Danforth Locomotive and Machine Company," of Paterson, N. J., who spent his boyhood in Matteawan, where he acquired the rudiments of that power which led to his eminent success.
SAMUEL TUTHILL, M. D.
Samuel Tuthill was born in Blooming Grove, Orange County, N. Y., April 2, 1811. He was next to the youngest of the ten children of Samuel and Eunice Youngs Tuthill. His father, who was a farmer by occupation and originally from Long Island, died when he was but twelve years of age. He remained on the farm with his mother and elder brother Hiram until his eigh- teenth year, with no other educational ad- vantages than those afforded by the com- mon district schools of the time. He was brought up in the Methodist Episcopal Church in which his father and mother had long been consistent members.
In 1837, Mr. Tuthill commenced the study of inedicine with Dr. Thomas Lap- ham a well-known "Thomsonian " physician in Poughkeepsie, and entered upon his pro- fessional career in Kingston, N. Y., in 1840. In 1848, he returned to Poughkeepsie where he has since successfully practiced in what is known as the " Eclectic School of Medi- cine," and in which he has risen to a high rank ; having been licensed and honored as an M. D., by the Syracuse Medical Col- lege, and the Medical College of the City of New York. Since the organization of the District Eclectic Society he has been its President. He is treasurer of the New York State Eclectic Society, and has been its President.
Although never identified with the " Old School" of medicine, he has uniformly enjoyed the confi- dence and respect of its members. In addition to a large city practice, he has an extensive country ride, and probably no physician in the county is more generally known than he.
Dr. Tuthill is a man of unusually fine physique, dignified and courteous in manner and a general favorite with all, on account of his kindness of heart and good sense.
For years he has represented a respectable con- stituency in the common council of the city as an alderman, and in the "County Legislature" as a supervisor, where he is known as a ready, witty and direct speaker.
He married Sarah M. Kelley in 1833. Five of their six children are now living, two of whom are
prominent physicians; Robert K. Tuthill, M. D., of Poughkeepsie, and James Y. Tuthill, M. D., of Brooklyn, N. Y. "Doctor Robert" was a surgeon in the Union Army.
For many years he and his family have been in the communion of the Cannon St. M. E. Church of Poughkeepsie, and for many consecutive years Dr. Tuthill has been one of the District Stewards and Lay delegates in the New York Annual Con- ference and is one of the present Board of Trustees of the Poughkeepsie district.
ALITTLE
(SAMUEL TUTHILL, M. D.)
It may be truly said of him that he is a repre- sentative man, in medicine, in politics and in the church.
CYRUS SWAN.
Cyrus Swan was born of thorough New England ancestry, in Sharon, Litchfield Co., Conn., March 15, 1820. His early education was obtained in Burr's Seminary at Bernardston, Vermont, and at the Amenia Seminary, until in 1838 when he entered the class of '41 in Yale College. After leaving col- lege he followed the profession of his father, who had been one of the Judges of his native county, and commenced the study of law in Poughkeepsie. He was admitted to the Supreme and Chancery Courts of this State in 1843.
In 1845, in company with Matthew Vassar, the founder of Vassar College, Mr. Swan spent a year of travel in Europe. On his return he opened an
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office, and began the practice of his profession. During the year prior to the founding of the col- lege he was intimately connected with Mr. Vassar, and deeply interested in aiding him confidentially and professionally in the formation and execution of his plan for the higher education of woman. He was appointed one of the original trustees of Vassar College, and was the General Superintend- ent and Secretary for several years preceding and after the completion of the institution.
During the existence of the national bankruptcy law he was extensively employed in cases before the District, Circuit, and Supreme Courts of the United States. He was married in 1855 to Miss Frances S. Walker of Lenox, Massachusetts, and has two daughters and one son. In the Greeley campaign of 1872, and for a few years subsequent- ly he took an active part in local and state politics. He was never a candidate for public office, and never held one. In 1874-'75-'76, in connection with his law business, he edited the Poughkeepsie News, then under the proprietorship of the Hon. John O. Whitehouse. On his withdrawal from editorial responsibility he devoted himself entirely to his profession, which involved large interests of municipal, corporate, and individual character.
For many years he was the Secretary of the Poughkeepsie Lyceum, and afterward he held the office of President for a long time. He has al- ways been recognized as one of the leading literary men of the county, and is one of the most prominent members of the Literary Section of the Vassar Brothers' Institute. During a business career of nearly forty years passed entirely in Poughkeepsie, his reputation as a citizen and a professional man has been honorable and without just reproach.
JOHN P. H. TALLMAN.
It is only now and then that enough of unusual interest and action can be found to make the life of any one prominent above the restless surging of the present age. But some there are who catching the first flood of the tide of our modern life have so well understood its direction and so industri- ously and successfully kept abreast of it, that they fairly epitomize the movement and become its ex- ponents. To such a life the subject of the present sketch introduces us.
For several generations the ancestry of John P. H. Tallman were inhabitants of Duchess County, New York. He was born in the town of Wash- ington in that county on the 19th day of March, 1820. His great-grandfather Darius Tallman emigrated from Nantucket, married a Miss South- worth, and settled on Chestnut Ridge near the present residence of Benson J. Lossing. His father's maternal grandfather was Capt. Harris of the British army in the Revolution and his wife was a Miss Velie, both of LaGrange. His mater- nal grandfather was a Deacon Benham, of New Haven, Conn., an American soldier in the Revo-
lutionary war, who became a resident of Wash- ington, and married Miss Comstock, of Connecti- cut. His father, Darius Tallman, Jr., and his mother Almira Benham were united in marriage in 1817, both of whom became octogenarians, and there were four children of this union, a daughter who died in infancy, and three sons, of whom John P. H. Tallman was the eldest. His occupation was farming until his fifteenth year, when he en- tered Amenia Seminary-a flourishing Academy in Amenia, Duchess County. His life at the Sem- inary affords a glimpse of the resolution and strength of character which have stood him so well in stead on many occasions-for we find that he remained there the three years required to ful- fill his course, in considerable part upon moneys borrowed for that purpose, and that out of the first moneys earned subsequently in his profession as a lawyer he discharged the debt thus incurred in his minority. On leaving the Seminary he began read- ing law in the office of James Hooker and Virgil D. Bonesteel, in Poughkeepsie. He now had four years reading before him to attain his profession, having been allowed three years for " classical study." Mr. Hooker was at that time Surrogate of the County. Mr. Tallman's industry in ac- quiring a knowledge of the duties of that office was early rewarded by his promotion to the posi- tion of the first clerkship of the office, and upon the appointment of Robert Wilkinson, Esq., to the Surrogacy in 1840, he became his managing clerk, still reading law.
In 1843, he was at the General Term in Utica admitted to practice in the State Courts, and was also admitted in the District and Circuit Courts of the United States. The next year he was appointed Master in Chancery for Duchess County by the Governor of the State, on the recommendation of a County Convention of delegates ; Owen T. Coffin, the present well esteemed Surrogate of Westchester County, being his competitor, as was also the late Gilbert Dean. In May, 1847, Mr. Tallman was by the Democratic party unanimously nominated to the office of Surrogate of the County; his elec- tion followed. His opponent was the Hon. John Thompson, the nominee of the Whig party, who was afterwards a distinguished Member of Con- gress. During this canvass and especially subse- quently during the administration of Mr. Tallman's first term, he was assailed most violently by the editor of the Whig organ, and so wanton and un- merited were the attacks deemed to be that at the close of that term his friends, quite independent of party, insisted that he should become a candidate for a second term. He consented, and was re- elected by an increased majority, the nominee of the opposite party then being Richard Peck, Esq., of Pine Plains. Aside from the considerations then urged another term was not desired.
Prior to the constitution of 1846, which made the office of Surrogate elective, that office had been regarded as a political one given as a reward for party services, and naturally the people were dis- posed to consider its occupant a political, perhaps
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a party representative. This disposition of the people was one of the weapons used in the editor's vain attack. While no one ever deemed Mr. Tall- man influenced by party bias in his official action or determination, he was nevertheless efficient in the leadership then thrown upon him-his rare tact in party management rendering him almost without a peer in that department. This was ac- knowledged and attested by his prolonged chair- manship of the County Central Committee and the various party compliments bestowed upon him from time to time, and the successful strifes through which his party and friends were lead under his guidance. Public favor was manifest towards him and for him the partiality of friends had marked out a more enlarged sphere of political activity ; congressional, judicial, and other honors were at his apparent command. But the primary consideration moving him to office was business rather than politics, and while possessing in a marked degree qualifications and adaptations to public life, he had no desire for office, and as soon as an opportunity for manly retirement was presented he embraced it-having tested the truth that it is sometimes more difficult to resign than to obtain office, and at a comparatively early period of life he cast off the responsibility of party service and leadership to resume the practice of the profession to which in boyhood he had aspired. The prospects before him were those which indus- try, probity and fair talent warranted when accom- panied by a cheerful resolution. His first business co-partnership was formed under the title of Tallman & Dean, a firm which soon became well and favorably known. Other co-partnerships have followed, but not for most of the intervening years.
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