History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 123

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > New York > Orange County > History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 123

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She was granddaughter of Benjamin Booth, son of Charles Booth, who was son of Charles Booth, who was son of John Booth, of Southhold, L. I., to whom, with one Sylvester, Shelter Island was granted by the Indians in 1652.

The children of Joseph Slaughter and Amelia Booth were Alanson, born Aug. 31, 1818; Mary Louisa, born July 5, 1826, wife of John T. Coleman, of Hamptonburgh ; and Helen, died young.

For some four years Joseph Slaughter resided upon the home farm in Hamptonburgh, and about two years after his marriage settled on the purchase of his father at Wallkill, where he erected a part of the present residence in 1823, and where he carried on agricultural pursuits the remainder of his life. He was a man of high social position in his town, and influential in his town and county.

For many years he served as justice of the peace, and frequently held his courts in his own house. He was appointed judge of Orange County, represented his Assembly district in the State Legislature for one term in 1839, and for twenty years was an elder in

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the Presbyterian Church at Scotchtown, of which both himself and wife were members.

He was originally a member of the Democratic party, was a Free-Soiler, and upon the breaking out of the Rebellion joined the Republican party.

Joseph Slaughter was a kind-hearted, sympathetic. faithful, and patriotic citizen, and a man of correct habits and sterling honesty.

Alanson, only son of Joseph Slaughter, received his early education in the district school at home, and in select schools at Goshen and Middletown. He succeeded to the homestead in Wallkill by in- heritance, and has there followed agricultural pur- suits during his life. He is interested in all matters pertaining to the prosperity of the town in which he resides, is well read in the current topics of the times, and a promoter of religious work and educational interests. He has officiated as elder in the Scotch- town Presbyterian Church for some eight years, and both he and his wife have been members of that church for some twenty-five years.

He has been one of the directors and stockholders of the First National Bank of Middletown since its organization, assessor of his town for several years, and represented it in the board of supervisors of the county for one termn.

His wife is Mary Ann, only daughter of Nathaniel Bailey and Jennet White, of Wallkill, and grand- daughter of Daniel Bailey, who came from Long Island, and was the progenitor of this branch of the Bailey family in Orange County.

She was born Oct. 15, 1817, was married to Alanson Slaughter Oct. 11, 1843, of which union they have three daughters, viz .: ITelen Jane (wife of George W. Ackerly, of Montgomery ), Jennet Bailey (wife of Robert G. Young, of Goshen), and Ann Amelia.

JOHN B. HULSE.

John B. Hulse, son of Thomas Hulse and Phebe Everson, mentioned in the sketch of Capt. Thomas E. Hulse, and brother of Capt. Thomas, was born on the homestead in Wallkill, March 8, 1809. lle re- mained at home until the age of twenty-five, working upon his father's farm, and received during his minor- ity a fair common-school education.

With little pecuniary assistance. but with a deter- mination to succeed and carve out a property for him- self, after his marriage, Feb. 22, 1834, to Hetta Ann, daughter of Barney Horton and Anna Hawkins, who was born Ang. 14, 1811, he settled on the farm, where he has since resided, containing 120 aeres of land, in the southeastern part of the town of Wallkill, near the Wallkill River.

By industry, economy, and judicious management, Mr. and Mrs. Hulse, in due course of time, paid in full for their farm, and to it subsequently added 37 aeres more. Upon this property Mr. ITulse has ereeted commodious and substantial buildings, and

has brought the farm into a high state of cultiva- tion. The products of his dairy were sold in the form of butter until the completion of the Erie Railway, since which time he sends the milk of his dairy direet to a New York market daily.

Mr. Hulse may safely be classed among the active, thrifty, and enterprising farmers of Orange County, and in all his business relations he is known for his integrity, good judgment, and business ability. For many years he has been a stockholder in the Middle- town National Bank, and for seven years past he has served his town as one of its commissioners of high- ways. His wife, a devoted mother, died Dee. 10, 1877.

Their children are Hudson E., a farmer in Wawa- yanda ; Harriet Amelia, wife of Augustus Smith, a farmer in the town of Goshen ; Theodore, born Feb. 9, 1838, was for several years in business in New York, and died April 5, 1875; Barney H., born July 24, 1839, was also a business man in New York, and died Dec. 22, 1873, leaving a widow ; John Edgar, a farmer in Wallkill; Thomas E., born Sept. 16, 1847, died April 18, 1862; and Silas, connected with the Erie Railway, located at Jersey City.

HIRAM S. WILKISON.

His paternal grandfather, Jonathan, a cooper by trade, removed with his family from Rahway, N. J., in 1791, and settled first at Bloomingburgh, N. Y., and after two years settled on the farm now owned by William Kirk, near Cireleville, in the town of Wall- kill. He died in that vicinity. Both himself and wife were members of the Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

His wife, Phebe Barber, bore him ten children: Sally and Edward, died young; Samuel, a cooper by trade, died at sea of yellow fever, on his way to the West Indies ; Polly, wife of Robert Osborne, resided at Circleville; Phebe, wife of Samnel Wisner, of the same place; Katy, wife of John Winfield, died in Wisconsin; Betsey, wife of Peter Rede- ner, died at Cold Spring, N. Y .; Richard, never married ; Jonathan, died Feb. 9, 1872, aged eighty- nine ; Sally, was the wife of John Douglass, and after his death married a Mr. Buck, of Western New York, whose son, Charles W. Douglass, is a promi- nent superintendent of railroads.

Of these children, Jonathan, father of our subject, married, in 1806, Hannah, daughter of John Puff, of Wallkill, who died March 1, 1866, aged seventy-two. He was a cooper by trade, and followed that business most of his active life. He resided at Circleville after his marriage until 1831 ; in Goshen for two years fol- lowing; near the asylum for one year; in Shaw- anguuk, Ulster Co., for twelve years; and returned to Circleville, where he died. Both himself and wife were first members of the Scotchtown Presbyterian Church, but afterwards became members of the

Virgil Thompson

His paternal grandfather came from France, and John I., who was born in Orange County, was his son. By occupation he was a farmer, and as such was a successful business man and a good manager. He lived in the town of Wall- kill for many years, but subsequently moved to Goshen, where he died in 1861.

Virgil Thompson, the subject of this sketch, was the son of John, and was born in Mont- gomery, Orange Co., N. Y., Oct. 5, 1806. There his early days were spent, and the Montgomery Academy gave him his education. When a young man he learned the blacksmith's trade of Charles Buchanan, of Montgomery, and subse- quently carried on a blacksmith's business there for ten years. In 1839 he settled in the town of Wallkill, upon about three hundred aeres of land, the place where his father had pre- viously resided. Here Mr. Thompson has since lived, and until within a few years has been an active, energetic, industrious man. Of late his poor health has made him lead a retired life. He has been a member of the Orange County Agricultural Society for many years, was a director in its board, and is now an hon-

orary vice-president. He is a stockholder in the Goshen National Bank, in the Middletown National Bank, and also in the Walden National Bank. His judgment has always been esteemed in matters of business and agriculture, and he is fearless and outspoken in his convictions. He has never been active in political matters, although he was a delegate from Orange County to the Republican State Convention held at Utica, N. Y., in 1864. For many years he has been a member of the Presbyterian Church at Goshen, and contributed towards the building of the same.

Mr. Thompson married Mary Ann, daughter of Jonathan and Susanna (Youngblood) Decker, of Montgomery, on Jan. 11, 1837, and of this union were born Virgil, who lives at home; Anna, married Hudson E. Hulse, of Wawayanda; Mary, died in infancy; Horace D., who married Sarah M., daughter of Dr. G. M. Millspaugh, of Walden, and is a farmer on the homestead. Mary Ann Thompson died on April 10, 1850. On Jan. 18, 1855, he married Ophelia, daughter of Peter A. Millspaugh, of Montgomery.

Smacco H. Wickham

JOSEPH WICKHAM is supposed to have been the progenitor of the family on Long Island, and his account-book shows that he did Imsiness at Sag Harbor in 1681, and remained on the island until 1689. His wife was Sarab. ITe bad a son, Joseph Wickham, Jr., who succeeded him, aud was cogaged there in business in 1720.

The will of Joseph Wickham, Jr., dated in 1734, names a son Samuel, who was great-grandfather of our subject, married, in 1738, Abigail 1Towell, and settled in the east division of the town of Goshen, Orange Co., in 1740. He was a tailor by trade, and his account-book shows charges for medical services in attending the sick.

Ilis children were Samuel, Israel, William, Matthew, Jerusha (who married a Wells), Elizabeth (married a Jackson), Abigail (married a Smith), Margaret (married a Bailey), Mary (married a Corwin), and Julia (married first a Moore, and after his death a Gale).

Samuel Wickham was followed from Long Island by his nephews, who also settled in Orange Conuty, and one of them, William, became judge of the county, and was the father of Gen. George D. Wickham. Prior to the Revolutionary war, Samuel Wickham, with David Moore, purchased lot No. 35, in the Minisink Angle, npon which he settled two sons and one daughter, viz. : Samuel, where Mrs. Linns B. Babcock now resides in Middletown ; Israel, where John W. Baird uow resides in Mid- dietown; and Jerusha (Mrs. Wells), where John Gardiner now resides.

Israel, born in 1711, was a tailor by trade, married Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Joseph Carpenter, of Goshen, and granddaughter of Rev. John Bradner, the first settled Presbyterian clergyman at Goshen, who came from Scotland. The deed of the land upon which his father settled him, given by his father to him, is dated 1769. He did militia duty at home during the Revolutionary war, and served for some time in the French- and-Indian war at Fort Edward. Ile was known as a man of independent thought and action, and possessed strong force of character. He owner slaves, and thought it his anty to liberate the girls at the age of eighteen and the boys at the age of twenty-one, giving each with his or her free- dom the same as an apprenticed child. When he manumitted his slave Abel, who was so favorably known on account of his Christian zoal, he kept him as long as he lived, thus showing that his charity and generosity were only measured by bis means to bestow. Hle died in April, 1817.

His ouly daughter, Abigail, died unmarried, and his only son who grew to manhood was Israel, father of our subject, who was born in 1773, and being left motherless was reared until thirteen years of age by his grandfather Carpenter. He married Mary, daughter of David Moore, who bore him children as follows : Benjamin C., settled in the West and there died; Col. Israel H. ; Joseph and George, died young ; and Abigail, became first the wife of Oscar Welch, of Michigan, and after his death the wife of Mr. Kilpatrick.

After his marriage Israel Wickham settled in one hundred and twenty-five acres of land in the town of Wallkill, about two miles from Middletown, and after five years soll the property and bought a farm at Middletown, a part of which is now the " Hillside Cemetery," upon which he resided until 1813.

In 1817, upon the death of his father, he removed to the homestead, where John W. Baird now resides, and there resided until his death, in March, 1821. His son, Col. Israel HI. Wickham, was born May 25, 1801; married, March 4, 1828, Sally, daughter of Henry B. Wisner, who was born April 2, 1803.

After his marriage he resided until 1831 upon the farm now owned by David Miller, and then purchased of his sister Abigail forty acres, which was a part of the original purchase of Samuel Wickham. To this he added some sixty acres. ITere he remained until 1863, when he Jeft the farm in charge of his son and removed to Middletown. He was appointed justice of the peace after removing to the village ; was after- wards elected to the same office, which he held at the time of his death, March 12, 1868. llis wife died August 26th of the same year, both deaths being caused by poison received in the flour from which their bread was made.

Col. Wickhanı was a man of conservative opinions, correct habits, and a decided advocate of the principles of temperance. Ile was esteemed for his frankness of manner and for his sterling integrity in all the relations of life. He took an active interest in all worthy local enter- prises tending to the prosperity of the pace and the welfare of its citizens. He had a retentive memory and a fondness for reading aml research, and was an active participant in the lyceum which was suc- cessfully continued at Middletown for some time, of which he served several years as president. He was one of the organizers of the Middle- town Bank, one of its directors, and one of the founders of the Wallkill Academy, of which he served several years as trustre.

Col. Wickham was widely known throughout Orange County, was in- trrested in its material resources, and was chosen president of the Orange County Agricultural Society.

On account of his strong temperance proclivities and able exposition of its principles he was made the nominee on the Temperance ticket for member of Assembly, and received a very respectable vote in the county. Ile received his title of colonel from his connection with the old State militia.

His children living are Maria, who became the wife of John N. Dun- ning, and after his death was married to her present hnsbind, Herman B. Young ; and George, who succeeded to the homestead property and married Mary A., daughter of Col. Morgan 1 .. and Juliette (Conkling) Sproat, of Middletown.

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WALLKILL.

Methodist Episcopal Church. Their children were Samuel, a mechanic, resided in Wallkill ; John P., a cooper, resided in Brooklyn, N. Y ; Fanny Jane, wife of James Wooden, died in 1843; Hannah P., wife of George A. Foster, of Cireleville; James B., a cooper, resides near Towanda, Pa. ; Hiram S., horn

and both himself and wife are members of the Old- School Baptist Church at Middletown. He married, Oct. 24. 1840, Clarissa, daughter of Ebenezer Mowrey and Chloe Merchant, who was born Jan. 30, 1816. Her mother was a native of Connecticut, and her maternal grandfather, John Merchant, was one of Washington's Life Guard; her maternal grand- mother was Tabitha Hamilton, a cousin of Alexander Hamilton ; her father, Ebenezer Mowrey, was a na- tive of Rhode Island, and resided most of his life in Sullivan County.

The surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Wilkison are Sarah E., a teacher of several years' experience, who possesses a natural fondness for historical re- search, and Cornelia A. Wilkison.

HIRAM B. WEBB.

His father, Samuel Webb, a farmer in the town of Wallkill, married Mary Bennett, who bore him the following children : Hiram B., Cynthia (wife of Cor- nelius Van Scoy), Esther (wife of William Shaw), Abby Maria (wife of Solomon Crane), and Hannah Jane (wife of Bailey Crane). They were attendants of the Congregational Church in Middletown. Jehial,

A. S. Mathison

April 27, 1816; Washington, a carpenter, at New- hurgh ; Matthew MI., died in Tennessee, was a mason by trade ; Zaecheus, was swallowed by a whale at sea in 1844; Margaret M., widow of John S. Mance, of Middletown ; Phehe, wife of William Maulthy, of Pennsylvania; and Walter W., of Bridgeport, Conn. Of these twelve children, all were married except Zaccheus, and most of them reared families.

Hiram S. Wilkison, while young, served an ap- prenticeship to the mason's trade; afterwards, being | of a naturally ingenious turn of mind, took up the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 1856, and built many of the substantial residences and other buildings in the vicinity of Cireleville, where he has re- sided. During the last twenty years he has been en- gaged in manufacturing churning-powers, well-curbs, iron post-fences, ete. He made the first endless-chain churning-power in Orange County, and introduced the first in the State of Virginia. Mr. Wilkison was un- fortunate, and lost his shop by fire in 1846, two years after he had settled where he now resides ; and again, in 1870, his house, shop, and other buildings, cov- ering an area of 3870 feet, were destroyed by lire. He has always been a promoter of all worthy local objects,

M.S

Kiram B With

his eldest son, was a farmer in Wallkill, and died in Ellenville, Ulster Co .. N. Y .; had two sons and two daughters, one of whom, William B., was sheriff of Ulster County. The other children are Harriet (wife of Edwin Bartholf, of Warwick), Ira, and Mary (wife of Harvey Brodhead, of Ellenville).

Hiram B. Webb was born Dec. 31, 1799, and until

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

1866, after his marriage, was a farmer on the Bloom- ingburgh plank-road, about one mile out of Middle- town, at which date he removed to Middletown, where he resided until his death, which occurred Dec. 10, 1869. He was well known as a man of sterling integ- rity and honesty of purpose, and although not a mem- ber of any church, his sentiments were with the Old- School Baptists, of which society at Middletown his wife became a member in 1872. In his middle life he was active in local politics, but never sought any | place for himself.

His wife, Hephzibah, born Oct. 5, 1803, married Jan. 23, 1838, survives in 1881, and is a woman of good' mind, retentive memory, and esteemed by all who know her for her womanly virtues and Christian excellence. Her father, Jonas Hulse, born Nov. 29, 1759, died March 23, 1845. In the early part of his life he worked at his trade, making spinning-wheels, but during his latter years was a farmer near Middle- town. He was a son of Silas Hulse, born on Long Island, March 5, 1726, and was the progenitor of the family in Orange County. He was in the French and Indian. war of 1755, and died June 18, 1770. His wife was Charity Smith, born May 9, 1734, and died Oct. 30, 1814. Jonas Hulse's wife was Hephzi- bah, daughter of Deacon James Reeve, who settled in Wawayanda from Long Island, and was one of the founders of the Congregational Church at Middle- town; and Deacon James Reeve's wife was Mary, daughter of David Moore, born Nov. 25, 1713, who was the first settler on lot 35, Minisink Angle, with Samuel and Israel Wickham, where Middletown is now located, and died June 18, 1789.

The children of .Jonas and Hephzibah Hulse were Mary (wife of David Murray), James R., Silas, Hephzibah, Israel, Ambrose, Lewis, and Wil- liam.

ULYSSES F. P. BLIVEN.

Ulysses F. P. Bliven was born in De Ruyter, Mad- ison Co., N. Y., Oct. 7, 1817. His father, Isaac B. Bliven, and two brothers came from England while young men. Isaac B., after his marriage, settled in Rhode Island ; afterwards purchased a farm in De Ruyter, where he resided for a time. He then settled in Scott, Cortland Co., N. Y. ; subsequently removed to Spafford, Onondaga Co., N. Y., where, after re- maining a few years, he retired from business life and settled in Auburn, N. Y.

Accustomed to active life, he soon became restless under too much leisure, traded his property there for a farm in the town of Litchfield, Bradford Co., Pa., where he resided until his death, at the age of sev- enty-four years. Ilis wife, Lavina Snow, died at the age of sixty-four years. Her great-grandfather Snow ; came from France, and settled in Connecticut, where she was born.

Their children are Daniel S., resides on the home-

stead in Litchfield, Pa .; Cranston V. S., of Nichols, N. Y .; Eliza, wife of Jedediah Smith, of Skaneateles, N. Y. ; Emily Dumont, wife of Elijah Miller, of Au- burn, N. Y .; Elijah F., of Steuben Co., N. Y .; Ulysses F. Plummer, subject of this sketch ; Cordelia L., deceased, was the wife of Lorenzo Sweet, of Skan- eateles, N. Y.

Mr. F. 5Bliver

Ulysses F. P. Bliven remained at home until the Martha (wife of John Anderson), Effa, Jonas, Isaiah, | age of sixteen, and then went to learn carriage-mak-

ing with his brother Cranston. He married, Dec. 13, 1838, Clementina, daughter of James Haight (her mother was a Miss Goldsmith), who died July 20, 1860, aged forty-eight, leaving children,-Amelia Louisa, widow of Harvey L. Angell, of New York; Joseph Alanson, of Wallkill.

He married for his second wife, Oct. 3, 1861, Caro- line, widow of Harrison Harding, and daughter of Nathaniel Beyea and Durenda King, prominent citi- zens of New Vernon, Sullivan Co., N. Y. Nathaniel Beyea was influential in his town and county, and an ardent supporter of the Union cause to suppress the slave-holders' rebellion. Caroline Beyea was born July 13, 1827, and died June 26, 1880, leaving chil- dren,-Clementina I., Thomas K., Minnie C., and Ulysses F. P., Jr.

After his first marriage Mr. Bliven went to. Towanda to assist his brother Elijah F. in carriage-making, where he remained until 1842, and that year settled at Mechanictown, Orange Co., where he remained only one year, when he bought a shop, house and lot, where he now resides, in the town of Wallkill, and | established a carriage and blacksmith-shop. Here he

HARRISON BULL is a descendant in direct line from William Bull and Sarah Wells, whose history is given in detail in other parts of this work, and belongs to the Wallkill branch of the family, Thomas and William, sons of William Bull and Sarah Wells, whom their father settled on five hundred acres of land lying on the Wallkill River.

Samuel, grandfather of Harrison Bull, born Nov. 12, 1758, resided in the neighborhood of Circleville, was a blacksmith by trade, but was mostly engaged in farm- ing. Ile served in the Revolutionary war, and helped to forge the chain that was stretched across the Hudson to prevent the British from ascending the river. His wife, Margaret Gale, born March 28, 1762, bore him children, who grew to manhood and womanhood, as follows : Benjamin, Sarah, Margaret, William, Sam- uel, Phebe, George, and Oscar. Both himself and wife were buried in the Bull burying-ground at Hampton- burgh.

Like their first ancestor in this country, the boys were all stone-masons by trade, and followed it more or less during their lives.

Samuel, Jr., was born Nov. 28, 1793, and died April 13, 1857. His wife, Mary Osborne, was born in 1795, and died May 4, 1875. He was a drummer in the war of 1812. He was a man of much enterprise and a master mason. Most of his active life was spent in the con- struetion of buildings and other structures, among which were the following: Stony Ford bridge, across the Wall- kill; Cocheeton bridge, across the Neversink ; Orange County poor-house, Hopewell Presbyterian church, Sul- livan County court-house, and Phillipsburgh factories. He also contracted for and built the Middletown and Bloomingburgh Plank-road, and the plank-road from Port Jervis to Forestburgh.

He owned a farm of one hundred and twenty-five

acres where Circleville is now located, besides other real estate, and on it built a stone house in 1832, now occu- pied by his oldest son, John Bull. He gave the land upon which to build the Presbyterian church at Cirele- ville, was the leading man in its construction, and a member and elder in the church from its founding until his death.

His children were John, a merchant at Circleville ; William II., a farmer at Circleville; Mary, wife of Charles H. Stringham, of City Island, N. Y. ; Daniel, a merchant at Burlingham, Sullivan Co., N. Y. ; Rob- ert, a farmer and stone-mason at Cireleville ; Harrison ; Catharine, deceased, was the wife of James H. Van Fleet, of Jersey City ; Elizabeth, wife of George M. Beakes, M.D., of Bloomingburgh, N. Y.

Harrison, son of Samuel and Mary (Osborne) Bull, was born on the homestead at Circleville, Jan. 20, 1832. Ilis early edneation was received in the school at home and at Wallkill Academy, and for four years after reach- ing his majority he assisted his father on the public works on which he was engaged. In 1856 he bought out his brother Daniel, a merchant at Circleville, and successfully continued the mercantile business there until 1874. lle was appointed postmaster at Circleville in 1856, and has filled the position since. In 1870, Mr. Bull was elected justice of the peace, and by re-election is serving his third term of four years each. In this posi- tion he tries as few causes as possible, always advising settlement, and generally brings it about without litiga- tion. Mr. Bull was active in the establishment and construction of the Middletown and Crawford Railroad, has been a director since 1874, and agent for the road at Circleville since its building, in 1872.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 123

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1336

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336