History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 137

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 137

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By his second wife, Mrs. Van Court, a sister of Governor John Wilcox, who owns Merrit's Island, he had children,-Julia, Harriet, Mary (wife of Alfred Carling), Almeda (wife of Chaun- cey Millspaugh), and Henry C.

After returning from Cincinnati, Francis Walling engaged in the tanning and currying business at Amity, Orange Co., N. Y., and during the latter part of bis life became a large farmer.

Although bis father acquired considerable property, through complications in business matters little was received by bis children, and consequently they started out in life with little pecuniary assistance.

Francis Walling was a thorough-going business man, be- longed to the Old-Line Whig party, but was no seeker after po- litical place. He furnished a substitute for the war of 1812, was patriotic, and a strong supporter of the government.

Of his children, Joseph, born at Amity, in 1809, is father of John C. Walling; in early life learned the trade of a tander of his father, which he worked at for a short time after his mar- riage, at Hamburg, N. J. Ile then purchased a farm of ninety- two acres in Vernon township, Sussex Co., N. J., upon which he resided until 1852, when be purchased two hundred and six- teen acres of land in the town of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., upon which he has resided since.

Ilis wife was Margaret, daughter of John Campbell and Hannah Tompkins, of Vernon, and granddaughter of William Campbell, of Monmouth County, N. J., who was of Scotch de- scent. She was born in 1810, and died in October, 1880, leav- ing an only child.

Jobn C. Walling, subject of this sketch, who was born at Hamburg. N. J., April 10, 1830, remained at home, and re- moved with his father to Orange County, where he resides, having purchased one hundred acres of the property settled on by his father in 1852, to which he has added some forty-five acres more. Ile built bis present brick residence in 1859, which, with his commodious barns and the well-ordered appointments of his farm, make his place one of the most desirable in the town of Goshen. Mr. Walling is one of the intelligent farmers and thorough-going business men of the county. The products of his dairy are marketed direct to New York in the form of milk and cream, although for a few years he was engaged in butter-making.

Ile married, Oct. 22, 1851, Sarah, daughter of William and Catherine (Lyons) Thompson, of Vernon township, N. J. She was born Nov. 10, 1829, and died in January, 1858, leaving the following children : George T. and Albert T.

His second wife was Sarah, daughter of Jonas and Abhy Durland, of Goshen, whom he married Dec. 21, 1859, who was born April 6, 1837, and died March 28, 1866, leaving no chil- dren.

llis present wife, whom he married Jan. 1, 1867, is Anna, daughter of Samuel T. and Phebe P. (Pearsall) Seaman, of Cornwall, N. Y., who was born April 22, 1837. The children born of this union are Joseph, Maggie C., Carrie T., and John.

Halter A Payer

Thomas, Joseph, and James Sayer, brothers, were natives of Wales, and emigrated to Ameriea. Thomas resided at Elizabethtown, N. J., as a deed, dated 1704, was given by Benjamin Parkhurst to him, conveying six acres of land there, which is now in the posses- sion of the subject of this sketeh.

Joseph, great-grandfather of Walter H. Sayer, was the first settler of the family in Orange County, and had children, -- James, John, Daniel, and Jona- than. James, grandfather of Walter H. Sayer, was William Sayer resided on a part of the homestead -ninety acres -- during his life, and carried on farm- ing. Ile also was largely engaged as a dealer in cat- tle, which he marketed at Newburgh and New York. Ile was widely and favorably known in Orange County as a strietly honest man and a good citizen. He was an attendant of the Presbyterian Church at Florida, of which his wife was a devoted member, and a liberal supporter of all that makes up morality and order in 1840. born in 1731, and died in 1821. Hle settled on four hundred acres of land in the southern part of the town of Goshen, on the main road leading from Ches- ter to Florida, then a wilderness tract, upon which he resided the remainder of his life, and there died. He built the central part of the house now standing, and at his death the property was divided among his children. By his first wife (Mary Mapes) he had one daughter, Mary, who married Daniel Poppino. | society. Ile died suddenly, of sunstroke, in June, By his second wife, Mary Goldsmith, of Long Island, he had three children, -- James, William, and Ruth, who became the wife of Egbert Jessup, of Goshen. James was never married, and died at the age of sixty. He was a captain in the war of 1812.

William, born Nov. 28, 1789, married, in 1811, Martha, daughter of Richard Jackson, of Goshen, who was born Nov. 12, 1789, and died in January, 1869. His children are Augusta L., Walter HI., George M., Jane S., Mary G., Harriet T. (wife of John Jessup, a farmer), Sarah E. (wife of Wil- liam L. Vail, a merchant of Warwiek), Ilelen A. (widow of James S. Seely, of Warwick), and Wil- liam HI.

Walter II. Sayer, born Sept. 15, 1814, is numar- ried, has resided on the homestead during his life, is a plain, unassuming man, and seeks to fulfill the full duties of the good eitizen.

John & Heures

559

GOSHEN.

lowing children : William; Nathaniel ; Phebe, wife of John Taylor, of Amboy; Sarah, wife of James Smith, of Woodbridge; and Mary, wife of Cyrenins Van Mater, of Middletown Point. Of these children, William was grandfather of our subject, and reared a family of five sons-John, James, Samuel, Capt. Phineas, William-and one danghter,-Delia,-and resided at Woodbridge. Capt. Phineas Heard com- manded a company of light-horse cavalry in the Rev- olutionary war. Nathaniel, son of the emigrant John Heard, was a general in the Revolutionary war, and had two sons also in the war, viz .: Gen. John Heard and James.

Phineas IHeard, fourth son of William, removed to Orange County, and owned some 200 aeres of land in the town of Blooming-Grove, where he carried on farm- ing, and where he died about 1812, leaving by his see- ond marriage one child, John J. Heard, the subject of this sketch. By his first marriage he had several sons and daughters, of whom Charles was a large cattle-dealer, and well known in this and other States among stock-men. He was the keeper of the famous " Heard Cattle Stand," in the town of Hamptonburgh. His second wife was Hester, daughter of James Board, eldest of three brothers (others, David and Joseph), who came from England and settled in Ringwood, N. J., and whose wife was Ann Schuyler. His house was the welcome and hospitable stopping-place for officers and soldiers in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war.

After the death of her husband Mrs. Heard re- moved to Goshen, and took up her residence with An- thony Dobbin, who married her sister, Ann Board. The Board children were four sons and three daugh- ters.

Mr. Dobbin's house was made in those days the popular stopping-place of the Governor of the State on occasions of a review of the State troops, and also of judges and other men of note. Mrs. Heard resided here until her death, on May 17, 1857, being ninety- two years of age. Her sister, Mrs. Dobbin, died March 4th the same year, aged ninety years.

Young Heard was five years old when his mother came to Goshen, having been born July 5, 1807, on the homestead in Blooming-Grove. During his boy- hood he received a good education in the public schools of Goshen, but early decided to lead a busi- ness life. His uncle died, leaving no children, before John reached his majority, and thus he was looked upon by his aunt as the only inale representative to take charge of the farm after the death of her hus- band. A portion of this farm is in the corporate lim- its of Goshen, and now forms a part of the village, upon which substantial residences have been built since its ownership by Mr. Heard. Mr. Heard has spent his entire life upon this farm since his first settlement there in 1812, the property coming to him from his aunt and mother. In 1877 he remodeled the old residence, adding a brick structure, and now

has one of the most substantial and pleasant resi- dences in Goshen.

Although his life has been spent as a farmer, he has been interested and taken an active part in most local worthy enterprises tending to the prosperity of Goshen and the welfare of its citizens. Ife was an influential member for many years of the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian Church, until the build- ing of the present church edifice, when he resigned, and has been a member of that church for thirty years. For several years he was a trustee of the Far- mers' Hall Academy at Goshen, and he has always been a promoter of educational and religious inter- ests in the community. For upwards of twenty years Mr. Heard has been one of the State Loan Commissioners for Orange County, and his judicious investment of funds has reflected much eredit upon himself for his integrity and safe counsel in these business relations. In 1855 he was appointed by the court, with Hon. James G. Graham and Beverly" Johnston, Esq., of Newburgh, as commissioners to assess the damages to land-owners by the laying out of the Short-Cut Railway in Orange County. Also, in 1869, with Hon. Homer A. Nelson, then Secretary of State, and Hon. Charles Wheaton, both of Pough- keepsie, N. Y., to assess like damages on the Port Jervis and Monticello Railroad. Also, in 1870-71, with Hon. S. W. Fullerton and David A. Scott, Esq., both of Newburgh, to assess like damages on the Pough- keepsie and Eastern Railroad in Duchess County. Also, in 1869, with D. A. Scott, Esq., of Orange, and Hon. Saxton Smith, of Putnam County, to equalize the taxes of Duchess County ; and also, in 1869-70, he was appointed, with D. A. Scott, Esq., and others, to assess damages by laying out and other street matters in Newburgh. He was assistant United States rev- enue assessor, 1866-69, president of the Orange County Agricultural Society one term, and one of its mana- ging members for many years ; has been appointed by the court as commissioner and referee in every town in the county in highway matters; has acted as ex- eentor and administrator for several estates, and in all these places of trust and responsibility his integrity has remained unquestioned.

He married, Ang. 20, 1833, Mary, daughter of Isaac and Keturah (Reeve) Van Duzer, of Cornwall, sister of the late Isaac R. Van Duzer, a well-known and prominent attorney of Goshen. She was born Aug. 12, 1812.

Their children are Isaac, an ex-State senator of Minnesota, and prominent lawyer of St. Paul, in that State; Eliza A. F .; James B., a merchant of Pitts- burgh, Pa. ; Jennie, wife of N. K. Delevan, of Pitts- burgh, Pa .; Emma; Julia W .; Catharine, wife of A. DuBois Staats, a lawyer of Goshen; and Fanny Benton Heard.

560

HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

GARRET THEW.

The progenitor of the Thew family in Rockland County was of Welsh origin, was a sea-captain, and settled in New York. One of his descendants, Daniel Thew, was a lawyer, praetieing his profession here in 1791. The grandfather of Garret Thew was John, who resided in Rockland County, and by his first marriage with Alehe Cooper, who was born in 1720, had the following children : Gilbert, born in 1756; Garret, born in 1758; John, born in 1760, died in 1822; and Tunis, born in 1763. For his second wife he married a Miss Blauvelt, who bore him one son, James, who was the father of our subject.

James Thew married Sarah Snedeker, who bore him three sons, viz. : Garret; John, died in 1822, aged twenty-two; James, died before reaching his majority. She died in 1836. James Thew resided at Rockland Lake, in Rockland Co., N. Y., for a while after his marriage, but removed to Hohokus, N. J., where he carried on a eard and eloth-dressing mill, and was a elothier. He died at the age of thirty-two, in 1804.

Garret, only surviving son of James and Sarah Thew, was born at Rockland Lake, Oct. 27, 1798. Upon the death of his father, when Garret was only six years old, the family was left almost to depend upon their own resources for existence. From eleven to fourteen years of age he worked on a farm. At the latter age he went to New York and apprentieed himself to learn the carpenter's trade. After com- pleting this, he worked at the trade for eleven years as journeyman. In 1826 he married Abigail, daughter of John and Hannah (Gurnee) Thew, of Hampton- burgh, Orange Co. John Thew was son of John and Alche Thew, before spoken of in this sketch. After his marriage Mr. Thew settled on the old homestead of his father-in-law, in Hamptonburgh, where he re- sided for ten years. He then purchased a farm in Warwick, near Florida, of 170 acres, npon which he resided until 1849, when he purchased the Gen. Sawyer place in the town of Goshen, containing 220 acres.

By economy and judicious management he had accumulated sufficient means, so that he soon paid . Orange Co. Judge Bodle was in the battle of Fort for this property, upon which he resided until 1866. His wife died in 1864, aged sixty-nine years and eleven months, leaving an only child, Elizabeth T., . who became the wife of Dr. William P. Townsend, for many years a prominent physician in Goshen, and who died leaving five children, viz. : Garret Thew, Mattie Wilder, Aliee, Charles Emerson, and Edith.

Upon retiring from the active duties of life, in 1866, Mr. Thew took up his residence with his daughter, Mrs. Townsend, in Goshen, where, in 1881, he resides, and retains in a remarkable degree the vigor of body and mind common to men mneh yonnger in years. He was a member of the Florida Presbyterian Church while a resident in Warwick, and has been a member of the Presbyterian Church in Goshen since his residence here, and for a part of

the time he has acted as one of the trustees of the church. Mr. Thew was known as a representative agriculturist, a man of sound judgment, a judicious finaneier, and an honest man.

Both of his grandfathers were soldiers in the Revo- lutionary war, and he was in the service for a short time in the war of 1812.

WILLIAM B. TUTHILL.

William B. Tuthill is a half-brother of Oliver B. Tuthill, whose sketch gives an outline history of the ancestors of the Tuthill family, and will he found on another page of this work. For his second wife Wil-

um B Juthule

liam B. Tuthill's father married Mary, eldest of twelve children of Judge William Bodle, of Hamptonburgh, Montgomery, was judge of the county, justice of the peace, first elder in the Presbyterian Church at Goshen, was a farmer by occupation, and died in Tompkins Co., N. Y., at the age of ninety-two. Mrs. Tuthill was born Aug. 6, 1771, was married March 24, 1810, and died May 12, 1861. He was born in Feb- ruary, 1768, and died March 28, 1846.

William B., son of Nathaniel and Mary Tuthill, was born on the homestead, April 21, 1811, married, Jan. 31, 1833, Mary, daughter of Abimael and Mary (Harlow) Young, of Blooming-Grove, who was born Sept. 9, 1810. Their children are as follows : Charles Bodle; William Young; Mary Vashti, died young ; James ; Sarah Frances, wife of Jewett M. Ashman, of Goshen ; Nathaniel B. and Harvey Wickham, died young.

G. Thew

The Hoyt family is mentioned among the first settlers of New Eng- land, and Simon Hoyt ( Hoyte) is mentioned with other names in the enrliest records in the settlement of Charlestown, Mass., in 1628, and is supposed to be the progenitor of the family in New England. Joseph, grandfather of James W. Hoyt, resided on Norodon Hill, near Stam- ford, Conn., where he reared two sons, Joseph and Hezekiah, and two daughters, Sarah and Hannah.

Hezekiah, son of Joseph, born on Norodon Hill, April 1, 1776, married Esther Sellick, of Stamford, Conn., who was born Nov. 10, 1780. Ile settled with his family in the town of Wallkill, Orange Co., alwont the year 1808, where he carried on farming until the death of his wife, Dec. 24, 1824, when he took up his residence with his daughter, Mrs. Miller, of Middletown, and there remained until his death, Feb. 17, 1835. He served in the war of 1812. ILis wife was a devoted woman to her family, and a member of the Congregational Church.

Their children were Isaac; Hezekiah ; William ; Caroline, wife of John Arnold, who died in Inzerne County, Pa. ; Harriet, widow of the late Ly- man B. Miller, of Middletown ; Maria, wife of Edward Seward, of Arlington, N. J. ; James W., subject of this sketch ; Henry W., died in 1824; and Gilbert F., who died the same year.

James W. Hoyt was born April 5, 1816, and at the age of ten years became a clerk in the store of his brother William, at Bloomingburgh. In 1836 he started a store at Amity, Orange Co., with his brother Ileze- kiah, where he remained in business only two years, and was then in mercantile business with Albert Millspangh for two years at Bloom- ingburgh, and sold out the business, unfortunately losing all in the sale.

lle then settled in Burlingham, Sullivan Co., where his name first came before the public as constable and collector, which offices he filled for two years. For two years following he was a merchant at Middle- town, and for one year thereafter took charge of a store for his brother Isaac, at Newport, on the Wallkill. He was proprietor of the Frankiin House, at Middletown, in 1855, and in 1859 he purchased the Union House at that place, which he conducted until the close of the war, During the civil war he esponsed the Union cause, and was zealous and liberal, more than commensurate with his means, in giving his time and money and making his house the welcome and free home of the needy soldier and the homeless patriot. His house was the headquarters for recruiting and filling the ranks with new men. Not only did he do this, but he gave two of his sons to serve in their country's canse.

In 1867 he settled on a farm in the town of Goshen. In 1871 he was

appointed under sheriff by Sheriff Weygant, and, after serving three years, he was elected, in the fall of 1874, sheriff of Orange County, which oflice he creditally filled for one term. Upon the expiration of his term as sheriff he purchased and settled on the farm where he now resides, commanding a view of the village of Goshen. In the fall of 1877 he was elected from the Second Assembly District of Orange County, and served one term in the State Legislature. Although Mr. Hoyt had limited opportunities while young for education from books, his native energy and active business capacity, with a good knowledge of men and things, have given him a place among the widely-known men of Orange County.

lle married, Sept. 20, 1838, Loretta A., daughter of Mahar W. and Rachel (Norris) Horton, of Bloomingburgh, Sullivan Co., N. Y. Her father, born May 15, 1787, died Ang. 5, 1866; her mother, born April 5, 1796, died Feb. 26, 1859 The children of Mahar W. Horton were Harman N. ; Loretta A., born July 20, 1817; Harriet, wife of Thomas K. Beyea, of Fair Oaks, Orange Co .; and Napoleon. Mahar W. Horton was an in- fluential man in Sullivan County, and served as sheriff of the county fur three terms, and for several terms as under sheriff. Mahar W. Horton was son of Elihu, grandson of Silas, and great-grandson of Bar- mabas Horton, a native of Long Island, who became one of the early settlers of Goshen in 1732.

The children of James W. Hoyt are Mahar Henry; Isaac, enlisted in the beginning of the late civil war in the Eighteenth Regiment, was in the battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, West Point, Va., Gaines' Mills, Seven Days' Fight at Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Chancel- lorsville, and Antietam. Upon the expiration of his term of service- two years-he became dispatcher under Gen. MeCollum during Sher- man's march to Atlanta, and remained in service until the close of the war; Hezekiah W., enlisted in the Nineteenth Regiment, and served for three months, guarding Baltimore. He then re-enlisted for nine months, and at the end of that time was transferred to the One Hun- dred and Twenty-first Regiment, and was in the Unitles of Fredoricks- burg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Gettysburg, and was with the memorable bloody Sixth Corps, under Sheridan, in the Shenandoat: Valley at the battle of Winchester. He was honorably discharged about one month before the close of the war by President Lincoln ; James W., born Nov. 25, 1848, died June 1, 1853; Mary Louisa, wife of Charles W. Coleman; James W. (2), born Nov. 12, 1855, died Dec. 20, 185G; Hattie A., born April 14, 1858, died Sept. 22, 1858 ; and Winfield S. Hoyt.

Stephen Smith

His great-grandfather, Henry Smith, was born in England, and settled in Goshen, Orange Co., about 1743, where he pur- chased one hundred and seven acres of land, for which he paid forty pounds. Ile subsequently bought another parcel of land in the same town, upon which he resided until his death. Ilis wife's name was Joanna.

His children were Ilenry, Stephen, Caleb, Abigail, Phebe. Joanna, Elizabeth, and Hlanoah, of whom Caleb was grand- father of our subject, and resided on the homestead or first purchase by his father, to which he added other land during his life. He died in 1784, leaving the following children : lleury C., Stephen, Caleb, John, Joshua, and Abby, wife of Major Tusten.

Stephen, born on the homestead in 1765, married Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Conkling, whose ancestors settled on Long Island during the early history of this country. Ben- jamin Conkling first removed to Connecticut, and subsequently settled in Closhen.

Stephen Smith resided on the homestead of his father, then comprising about one hundred and fifty acres, to which he suc- ceeded partly by purchase, from 1800 until his death, which occurred May 31, 1824, and was known as a man of sound judgment, a good farmer, and an upright man.

lle was a member of the Presbyterian Church at Goshen when the church edifice was located where the court-house now stands, and was a liberal contributor to early church and school interests. Ile belonged to the school of Jeffersonian Demo- crats, but took no very active part in political matters outside of his own town.

His wife was born in 1765, and died April 27, ISIS. Their children were Elizabeth, wife of James Van Duzer; Abigail, wife of Henry Smith; Benjamin C., who was in the war of 1812; Sarah, wife of Joshua Stuith; Stephen, subject of this sketch; Joseph R .; and John A. ; all of whom are deceased in 1881 except Stephen, who was born on the homestead. June 16, 1799.

Ilis early education from books was limited to a short attendance at the district school, but he became familiar during his minority with what makes a practical business education, as his successful business carrer has in after life developed.

Ile married, Dec. 19, 1822, Matilda, daughter of Timothy Wood and Dolly Carpenter. Her grandmother Wood was one of the six daughters of Henry Smith, before alluded to. She was born Dec. 15, 1804, was devoted to her family, her friends, of whom she had many, and to the church of which she was a member nearly ber whole life, and died Jan. 28, ISSI. The children born of this union are Sarah E., widow of O B. Vail, of Middletown, and Stephen Augustus, whose wife is Ilarriet A., daughter of John B. and letta A. ( Ilorton) Hulse, of Wall- kill.

After the death of his father, Mr. Smith rented the homestead for a few years, but in 1830 came into possession of it partly by purchase and partly by inheritance. He built his present resi- dence in 1837. Mr. Smith has spent his life on this place, the homestead of his forefathers, and has well kept up the reputa- tion of the family for thrift, industry, and good management in agricultural pursuits. Even at the age of eighty-two years his activity of body, his apparent healthy and vigorous consti- tution, and his retentive memory are wonderful, and not often found common to men of even threescore years.

Hle has been a meruber of the Presbyterian Church since 1815, and a part of the time deacon.

For fifty- nine years Mr. and Mrs. Smith were spared to live together, and their home was always the welcome resting-place for the weary traveler, and their hospitality was ever extended to their many friends.

Mr. Smith has been a trustec of the Presbyterian Church for forty-five years ; was assessor of his town for nine years, and has often been selected to act as guardian, executor, and admin- istrator of estates, in all of which official trusts he has had the full confidence of all interested.

The progenitor of the Ryerson family on Long Islan ] was Martin Ryerson, who came from Amsterdam, and settled first at Flatbush, and afterwards at the Wallabout, Long Island. Of his five sons, Joris, with two of his brothers, Ryer and Francis, settled in New York, and subsequently removed, about 1701, to Bergen County, N. J., and were the first settlers of Paequanac. Joris married Sarah Schouten, who died in 1743, by whom he had fonr sons and four daughters,-John, Martin, George, Lucas, Mary, Blandina, Elizabeth, and Ann. Martin, son of Joris, married Catherine Coxe, and settled in Hunterdon County. N. J., near Flemington, on the south branch of the Raritan. He was a surveyor and one of the king's jadges, also a colonel of the militia. He had five sons and four daughters. Of these children, Martin, John, and William A., with their widowed mother, removed to Sussex County, N. J., in the year 1770, where cach reared families.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 137

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