History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 141

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 141

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" At his residence, Florida, Orange County, State of New York, on Fri- day, May 30, 1834, Robert Armstrong, Esq., in the eighty-first year of his age. Ile was a man honored and respected as extensively as he was known ; and extensively known as a public man from the age of about twenty-nine years. Ile was intimately connected with the Revolutionary struggle as a member of the Committee of Vigilance for the district in which he lived, and ae taking au active part in some of its most difficult and trying scenes. In the days of George Clinton he held a seat as the youngest member in the Legislature of the State, and from that day until age rendered him desirous of retiring from public business he was inces- santly called npou to sustain public trusts in different offices, both of election and appointment : ae justice of the peace, county clerk aud treas- urer, member of the Assembly, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and many others; in all he secured the confidence of all; and was one of those rare men who are never even suspectetl of selfish or corrupt de- signs. For fifty-seven years he was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Florida, and for fifty-ibree years a ruling elder in the sume church. Within this period of more than half a century many times of trial came upon that church ; in all of which, from first to last, he stood the firm and unbending defender of the truth, and was the acknowledged and happy instrument often of suving that portion of Ziou from distrac- tion aud apparent ruin."

Of the Wood family the following facts are given

* A daughter also married a Whitney, as shown above.

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

from an obituary notice of Mr. Jesse C. Wood, who died at Parkville, L. I., aged eighty-nine years :

" Israel Wood, only son of Israel Wood, Earl of Warwick, in England, came to New York in company with the Duke of York. IIe was at that time a single man, and purchased a tract of land six miles square of a mạn who had previously received a grant from the King of Holland, in the township of Bookhaven, oo Long Island. He divided it into farms and put tenants upon them, and married and settled upon it himself. He had three sons, the first named Israel, the second Cornelius, and the other is not known. Israel Wood, his eldest son, married a lady by the name of Oldfield, in Kings County, who received as a dowry from her father a large tract of land in Flatbush. He built a house upon this land, which was the first house built upon Brooklyn lleights. He also built a tide-mill for grinding grain on what is now called Red Hook, taking ite name from the mill. Ile had four sons,-Abner, Eliphalet, George, and Daniel,-and one daughter, named Mary. He then purchased the tract of conntry now known as the Drowned Lands in Orange County, and another large tract containing what is now known as the Wickham T'ond. He also purchased a third tract, on which be settled with his four Bons, and built a mill but a few rods above Stone Bridge, supposed to be the first mill Imilt in this vicinity. Abner settled on the farm now owned by Charles A. Van Duzer; Eliphalet, where James Ackerman resides; George, on the place occupied by Col. Wm. W. Honston ; Daniel, the farm now occupied by his grandson, George W. Wood; and the daughter Mary, on the farm now occupied by Sarah and Francis Bene- dict. Daniel Wood, father of the deceased, had eight sons and one danghter. They were Israel, Daniel, John, David, Joel, William, James, Jesse C., and Betsy. The daughter died yonng. All but two of the sons passed eighty years; Joel eighty-eight and Jesse eighty-nine, at the time of their death. Jesse C. Wood, the deceased, the last one of the family, at first resided on the Martin Brooks place, near Stone Bridge, then in New York, then in Montgomery County. He returned to New York, visited England and Ireland, held several places of trust with honor. At the time of hie death he was living at l'arkville, L. I. He left but one child, a daughter, Mary E. Wood, the others having died young."

James Benedict, Sr., was the early Baptist minister. He had three sons,-James, William, Joseph. The sons of James, Jr., were James, William, and Israel. A son of William, William L. Benediet, resides now upon the old Mabie homestead, near Warwick village. William of the first family had one son, Henry, who died early, and Joseph had one son, James; one or more sons of the latter now reside in town.

Cornelius Demerest came to Warwick in 1774, and settled on the ridge near the present residence of James C. Sly. Buildings gone. His sons were David C., Samuel, Frederick, and Cornelius C. A son of the latter is Cornelius H., president of the National Bank. There was one daughter in the original family, who became Mrs. Greenwood, of Cineinnati.

Rev. Charles Cummins was born in Strasburg, Pa., July 15, 1776; he graduated at Diekinson College in 1800; he studied theology, and was licensed in 1803. His first pastorate was at Chestnut Level, Pa. In 1806 he was settled at Florida ; there he preached forty- three years, his labors terminating there in 1849. In 1852 he removed to Museatine, Iowa, where he died January, 1863. His children were Thomas A. Cum- mins and James S. L. Cummins, of New York City ; Mrs. James S. Horton, of Iowa ; Rev. John L. Cum- mins, of Keokuk, Iowa; Col. F. M. Cummins, of Goshen ; and Mrs. Jacob Butler, of Iowa. These were the children of his second marriage. By a previous marriage he had one son, John P., who died when twelve years old in consequence of a fall from a tree. 1

Dr. Elmer's homestead was the property now ocen-

pied by Nathaniel E. Conkling, of Florida. John Kennedy kept tavern about 1790 at Florida, in a house still standing : a long low building, now the Aspell property. Anthony Finn's homestead was where James Foley now lives, below Warwick village. Richard Johnson lived on the ridge. Mr. Cornelius mentions having seen among the papers of Mr. Jolin- son a memorandum of an army officer of money paid Mr. Johnson for pasturing horses during the Revolu- tionary war. John Wheeler's homestead was the present place of Ezra Sanford. The Pattersons lived near New Milford. George Vanee's place was the one now owned by James Wisner. John Sutton lived near the present place of Richard Wisner. Thomas Welling lived where his descendant, Thomas Welling, now lives. The property has been owned steadily by a Thomas Welling.

The Newberry homestead was south of Bellvale and east of Wickham Pond.

For many of these items we are indebted to Corne- lius H. Demerest, president of the National Bank, and to James Burt, Esq. The latter is the son of Hon. James Burt of Revolutionary memory and long public service, mentioned above, and who died in 1852. The present James Burt was born March 9, 1798, upon the old homestead, and has spent his life there. He has been honored with many important trusts by his fellow-citizens, and has been president of the Bank | of Chester for twenty-six years. During that long period he has been present at every monthly meeting of the directors, and at the bank every Saturday with only one or two exceptions. The bank was organized in 1845. Its first president, Edward L. Welling, and its second, James Wheeler, were Warwick men, as well as the third, Mr. Burt.

The other children of Hon. James Burt were Mrs. Nathaniel Jones, Mrs. Elias B. Coe, Benjamin Burt, of Bellvale, ancestor of Grinnell Burt, Stephen A. Burt, also of Bellvale, and Thomas M. Burt, of Kin- derhook. None of these are now living.

THE SEWARD FAMILY.

While the town of New Windsor boasts the birth- place of George and DeWitt Clinton, and Wallkill that of Commodore Silas Horton Stringham, War- wick holds in its embrace the eradling-bed of one whose life-record has not been less marked on the pages of his country's history, -- the late Hon. William Henry Seward. Without attempting a full genealogi- eal record of Governor Seward's family, we may re- mark that he was the great-grandson of Obadiah Seward, an immigrant from Wales, who settled on Larrington River, in Somerset Co., N. J., in the early part of the last century. John, son of Obadiah, was born here May 22, 1730; married Mary Swezy, March 22, 1751, and settled in Hardyston prior to 1767, at which time his name first appears as a mem- ber of the board of freeholders of that township, and where he subsequently attained the rank of colonel of

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WARWICK.

the Second Sussex Regiment of Militia, which was at that time first judge of Cayuga County. In 1824 he married Frances Adeline, Judge Miller's youngest frequently on duty on the frontiers during the Revo- lution. He died in 1799, leaving teu children, of | daughter, and settled down to the duties of life in the whom

SAMUEL SWEZY SEWARD-locally known as Dr. Seward-was born in Hardyston, Sussex Co., Dec. 5, 1768. He married Mary Jennings, of Goshen, Orange Co., in 1795, and after living for a time in Vernon removed thence to Florida, where he com- bined a large mercantile business with an exten- sive range of professional practice for about twenty years. He also served as a member of the Assembly in 1804; in 1815 as one of the judges of the county court, and subsequently as first judge of that court, a position which he held for 'seventeen years. He was noted for his wealth and for his liberality; re- tired from medical practice and from mercantile life; loaned money to his neighbors and others, and main- tained an unsullied reputation. In 1846 he estab- lished the Samuel S. Seward Institute at Florida, to | which he donated the grounds, erected the buildings, and added an endowment of $20,000. He died in 1849, leaving an estate of about $350,000, of which his son, William H. Seward, and friend, George W. Grier, of Goshen, were the exeentors. His wife, Mary Jennings, was of Irish parentage. She was a woman of clear and vigorous understanding, and a model of hospitality, charity, and self-forgetfulness. She died in 1843. His children were : 1. Benjamin J .; 2. Edwin P .; 3. William H .; 4. George W .; and (5) a daughter, who married Dr. Canfield, of Florida. The children of (1) Benjamin J. were Rev. Augustus Seward, Clarence A. Seward, and one who died in early life. The children of Edwin P. (better known by his middle name (Poladore) were Mrs. Dr. Jayne, Mrs. C. H. Schaiff, William E., Theodore W., Jasper A., and Frederick W.

WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, the third son of Dr. Samuel Seward, was born in Florida, May 16, 1801. The house in which his parents then resided is still standing. After attending the district school in his neighborhood he was sent, at the age of nine years, to Farmers' Hall Academy, at Goshen. While here he was a member of the "Classical Society" of Goshen, and of the "Goshen Club," in both of which declamations, debates, and compositions formed the leading features. At fifteen years of age he entered Union College at Schenectady, from which he with- drew when three years older, and passed six monthis as a teacher at the South. From this diversion he returned to Union College in 1820, and, after taking his degree, entered the office of John Anthon, Esq., of New York, as a student at law. Completing his legal preparation with John Duer and Ogden Hoff- man, in Goshen, he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Utica in 1822, and in January, 1823, took up his residence in Auburn, and formed a connection in business with the Hon. Elijah Miller, a distinguished member of the legal profession, and

office, and practically as the successor of his father-

WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD.

in-law. His tastes and habits of thought, however, soon led him into politics, and we find him, in 1828, presiding at a convention having for its purpose the election of John Quincy Adams as President for a second term ; and the year 1830 brought him forward as a prominent leader in the anti-Masonic movement. From that time until his death Mr. Seward's history was so intimately blended with the politics of the State and nation that one can scarcely be separated from the other, nor to either ean justice be done in the limits of a sketch of this character. The reader is therefore referred to his "Life and Works." It may be remarked, however, that the leading points in his career were, first, his election by the people as Governor of New York ; second, his election by the Legislature to a seat in the United States Senate; and, third, his appointment by President Lincoln to the post of Secretary of State. His services in these posts absorbed twenty-five years of his life, during which he exercised a direct influence over the move- ment of great events. In regard to his qualities as a statesman there are of course divergent opinions, but that he was a central figure in politics, and a man whose integrity was unquestioned, will be universally conceded. He died at Auburn, Oct. 10, 1872, in the seventy-second year of his age. His children were Frederick A., who served as Assistant Secretary of State under his father; Maj. Augustus, of the United States Army (now deceased) ; William H., of Auburn; ' and one daughter, who died unmarried.

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

EARLY RESIDENTS OF WARWICK VILLAGE.

An excellent description of Warwick village and the surrounding country, as they were occupied in 1805, is taken from the article already mentioned, written by Henry Pelton about the year 1872.

We begin with the village of Warwick, which con- sisted of only a few houses on the Main Street, and these were not only few but far between. The Cas- sidy family lived in a stone house near the bridge, where the brick store now stands. Then there was no other building until we come to where the Methodist church now stands; there stood a curry-shop owned by Samuel Smith, and about opposite was his dwelling, an old house then, where Pitts has a meat-market at the present time. Next was a new house built by Benjamin Barney, where the Benediet ladies now live. Next was Nathan Reed, who came in 1804 from Darien, Conn. This was the stone house built by Francis Baird. Next was a store kept by Edmund Raymond. Next was a small house standing where John Cowdrey now lives. On the opposite side, where Mrs. Pierson lives, was Lewis Randolph, who kept a tavern. Next was the house where June's now stands, then occupied by Thomas Geraghty as a store and tavern. Next was Nathaniel Ketchum, a carpenter. Next was Jolin Mabee, a blacksmith. Next was the Rev. Leb- bens Lathrop, in the old stone house lately demolished by Mr. Bradner. Next was William Benedict, the father of William L. Benedict. Next was James Benedict, Esq. Next was Capt. James Benedict, son of the preceding, where John Blain now lives. Next were the two Ketchum brothers, Samuel and Philip. They had a little mill and a pond from the spring on the west side of the road. The next house was owned by Daniel Wood. The next was Crines Bertholf. Next was Joseph Barrows, in the stone house, and on the south, where Durland lives, was the residence of : Gen. Wisner. Further on towards Sugar-Loaf were the Feagles families. Josiah lived back from the road, west. John lived at the present place of Ezra Holbert, and down at the head of the pond was James D. Clark.

We will now come back and take the road from June's Hotel towards Bellvale. The first place was that of Capt. Garret Post. The next was Richard Welling, Sr., near where Jacob Gaul now lives.

James Burt, Esq., was about forty rods east.

Now we go back and take the road around Chnck's Hill. John Wood lived nearly opposite the place where he afterwards died. West of him lived Richard Welling, Jr., son of John Welling. Next around the corner John Welling lived, who carried on a still. Not far from there, on the south or east side of the street, lived Annt Milly Everett, as she was called. There were no more houses until we come to that of John Magie. Further on, around the hill, was Kin- ner's house. John Palmer came the following spring. Next, on the opposite side, was Blauvelt, a son-in-law of House, the dwelling now being demolished. Next

was John Vandervoort. Next, on the corner of the Bellvale road, lived Mr. Shaler, a weaver.

Then, going towards Bellvale, was Daniel Sayer, where his son Benjamin now lives. On the opposite side were the two brothers Forshee, where John L. Sayer and James Benedict now live. Crines Bertholf came the next spring, and one of the brothers Forshee left. Next was Joel Wheeler, and further on came some tenant-houses belonging to the latter. Then over the hill, on the corner, where James C. Houston lives, was John Robinson, who carried on a blacksmith-shop for many years. Then, as we turned north, there lived Capt. William Minthorn, son of Capt. John Minthorn of Revolutionary memory.

Further north was' Nathaniel Minthorn. Then there were the heirs of Calvin Bradner, deceased, and also the heirs of William Wisner. Next was Andrew Houston, father of Col. Wisner Houston. Now we come to the main road leading from Warwick to Sugar-Loaf, etc., where stood the old stone school- house near Mr. Belcher's.

Returning now to the village, we will begin at the lower end, and the first permanent resident was Abraham Gregory, a cooper from Connecticut. Next, going west on the north side of the road, where George Ilyatt now lives, were Zachariah Hoyt and his son, a bachelor, who carried on the pottery business. Then there was a man by the name of Lafarge, where Andrew Geraghty now lives. Beyond was Corne- lius Demerest, grandfather of David D. and Corne- lius H. Demerest, where Samuel Pelton now lives. Next was Capt. George Vance and his son-in-law, Thomas Sproull. Further on, a few rods from where the road intersects that which leads from Florida by way of the Armstrong neighborhood, there stood a stone school-house, opposite where the present school- honse stands, and Gilbert Wheeler lived on the present William Green place; he traded the same season with his brother John for the farm that James B. Wheeler now owns.

Now we come to the bridge where Isaac Halstead, the miller, lived, in front of where William Sanford has since built. Beyond was John Wheeler, Esq., with several buiklings around him, including grist- mill, saw-mill, and fulling-mill; also he carried on the business of tanning and currying. Farther down the stream lived William C. Baird, who also owned a mill.

Next below was Samuel Denton, Sr. Then, down the hill, at the bridge there were a grist-mill, saw-mill, and a fulling-mill, owned by Mr. Shoemaker. Then there was no other building until you come to where the north-and-south roads leading from Warwick to New Milford intersect each other, and at that point was the residence of David C. Demerest. In what is New Milford there were at that time two or three dwellings, among which was that of Cornelius Lazear, Sr., an estimable man, and one of the founders of the Methodist Church in that village.

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WARWICK.

And now, to return, we will take the south road leading towards the village of Warwick, and the first residence we find was that of Levi Ellis. Going east, the next was William Johnson, who sold out the same season to David Fancher, of Darien, Conn. Further east, where the old saw-mill of Edward Davis now stands, was the forge for making iron owned by Gen. Hathorn. There was a log house standing near by for the workmen to live in, and in front of this, by the road, lived an aged couple by the name of Wiggins.

On the hill south from where Darius Fancher now lives was Thomas Hathorn. Next was William Hol- land, a weaver. Further on east we come to a cross- road leading to Wheelers' mill, on which lived Capt. Thomas DeKay. To follow along the main road, we find Nathaniel Blain living where Henry Pelton now resides. Further along was Robert Pelton, who came from Darien the same year. Here is that famous spring which has been known by tradition since the first settlement of this part of Warwick as Curtis Fountain, by usage shortened into "Curtafontine," which gives name to the brook issning from it. To go on further east there was John Blain, commonly known as " Uncle Johnny." Beyond were the heirs of William Blain, deceased; further on there was Bel- den Burt, Sr., and the next was Gen. John Hathorn. North of him, on the hill, was David Wiley, where James Aleock now resides, and still further north, across the fields (for there was no road at that time to the honse that stood not far from the creek), lived John Pelton, who had come from Darien, Conn., that spring.

Again we start from Hathorn's east, finding Jere- miah Morehouse, and next to him Thomas Welling, the second of the name. There was no other build- ing from there to the bridge except the old school- house that stood on the site of the one lately demol- ished. The first dwelling was where James R. Christie and his mother now live, then owned and occupied by Dr. Elisha DuBois. Nearly opposite the present Bap- tist parsonage was the residence of Dr. Benjamin S. Hoyt, a son of Zachariah Hoyt mentioned above; they were from Danbury, Conn. Next were John M. Foght and his son-in-law, Daniel Bnrt, who carried on a distillery. Next was Ananias Rogers, where the Bradner brothers own. He sold out the same year to Sylvanus Fancher, from Connecticut. On the road leading west from Rogers there lived Andrew Acker- man and Joseph Benedict. To start again from Rogers', we find Capt. Garret Ackerman where George W. San- ford now lives. Next was Conrad Sly, living on the present place of his grandson, Ross Sly. Then if we take the eastward road that leads to Florida we find Daniel Brown living where Charles Van Duzer now lives, and on the cross-road now leading over to where the late Col. Houston lived. There was a man by the name of Buskirk where James Ackerman lately lived.

Now if we go back and take the west road to Flor- ida, the first house belonged to the heirs of Abraham

Dolsen, deceased. And now we will turn west towards the Armstrong settlement, and in the first house we find Wm. Johnson, a little way from the road. Next was the place of Isaac Dolsen, who sold out the same year to Jacob Howe, from Darien, Conn. Then there was Richard Johnson, and further on Samuel John- son, where John Vandevort now lives. Then over the hill, farther west, was Wm. Armstrong, where the late Rensselaer J. Armstrong died.

Now we turn south, and the first was John Sutton, Sr., then Jeffrey Wisner, and next to him Micah Mills, where the late Gabriel Wisner lived. The road from Florida to Edenville was not laid out at that time, and consequently these inhabitants were put to a great inconvenience in getting to the village. Going on, we find a man by the name of George Bra- mer living as a tenant where James B. Wheeler now owns. This brings us to the main road leading trom Warwick north of the creek to New Milford, which we have already traced.

The school districts, as arranged July 3, 1813, throw considerable light on the localities as described nearly seventy years ago, and the families then residing iu the town.

No. I, l'ochuck District. All that part of the town the west side of Pochuck Creek, including Pine Island and Merritt's Island.

No. 2, Amity District. Beginning at the house of David Post; thence to Isaac Pound's, including Solo- mon Carpenter; thence to and including Robert Far- rier, Esq .; thence including Joseph Willcox, George Jones, Samuel and Andrew Layton, to Pochuck Bridge ; thence including William Taylor and An- drew Thompson, to the place of beginning.

No. 3, Mount Eve District. Beginning at the house ocenpied by Joseph Davis; then on to Daniel Crawl, including all that part of the town on the west side of Mount Eve; thence to and including Moses Dolen ; thence, and including John Shultz, to the place of beginning.

No. 4, Union School-House. Beginning at and including Abram Gurnee; thence, including William Decker, Nathaniel Wheeler, to and including Samuel Parkhurst; thence, including Thomas Brown and John Miller, to the nine-mile stone between Timothy Roe and John Finch ; thence, including all north of Isaac Ellison's, to the place of beginning.

No. 5, Brookland District. Beginning at the nine- mile stone between the house of John Finch and Timothy Roe; thence to and including the house of Samuel Jessup, now in possession of Mr. Gathright ; thence to and including the house of Samuel John- son ; thence to the cross-road north of the Widow Mills'; thence to the line of the lands of Jacobus Post, deceased, including all on that road ; thence to the ten- mile stone near Jacob House's; thence, including Jacob House and Timothy Roe, to the place of be- ginning.

No. 6, Purling Brook. Beginning at and including

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the distillery of Robert Ferrin; thence including John Post; thence to the house of Cornelius Jones, including Andrew Shorter, the widow of James Sly, Abraham I. Lines; thence to and including the house of Daniel C. Dusenbury ; thence to and in- cluding the house of Isaac Allison ; thence to and in- cluding John Sayre, including all on that road except Moses Dolan ; from thence to the place of beginning.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 141

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