History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 89

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 89

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George Clark

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NEW BURGH.

n the State Legislature in 1851, and was also a mem- ' ber of the Common Council of that city. He was warm supporter of the war, strongly devoted to Union principles, and during the war exerted himself actively in raising and equipping the necessary troops from his city, and gave them all God-speed as they wended their way southward to encounter the perils of the battle-field. As the Republican candidate for senator from the Tenth District of New York he was defeated by Hon. Wm. M. Graham.

Mr. Clark was identified in a prominent way with the administration of public affairs from the time of his return to Newburgh until his death. He was elected the first mayor of the city in 1866, when Newburgh was incorporated as a city, and, in the face of much opposition and an inadequate supply of funds, so successfully conducted the affairs of the new municipality as to secure his re-election in 1868. He retired in 1870, and was succeeded by his brother-in- law, Robert Sterling. In 1868 he was the delegate from his congressional district to the Chicago Republican Convention which nominated Gen. Grant to the Presi- dency, of whom he was always a warm friend and admirer. Upon the occasion of President Grant's visit to Newburgh, on Aug. 7, 1869, he was the special guest of Mayor Clark, at whose hospitable home he was entertained, and the address of welcome was delivered by Mr. Clark at " Washington's Head- quarters," in that city.

On Jan. 5, 1857, Mr. Clark was elected a trustee of the Newburgh Savings-Bank, but resigned on Jan- uary 4th of the following year. At the time of his death he was persident of the Board of Water Com- missioners of the city, president of the Newburgh Midland Railway Company, a member of the Board of Managers of the Hudson River State Hospital, and occupied various other positions of honor and trust. He was the virtual founder of Woodlawn Cemetery on the southerly borders of the city, selected the site for it, purchased the land, had it surveyed and laid out and adorned with trees, and at the time of his demise owned a large part of it. One of the most successful enterprises of its kind in the county, it must ever stand as a monument to his business judg- ment and tact.

The integrity of George Clark was never ques- tioned. To the discharge of the various duties of life he brought a straightforward, honorable spirit that was actuated and controlled by deep-seated religious convictions. During his residence in New York City he was a member and trustce of the Presbyterian Church on Twenty-third Street, of which Rev. Dun- lap Smith, D.D., was pastor, and after his removal to Newburgh he united with the First Presbyterian Church of that city, and remained a devoted and faithful member until his death. He was a member of the building committee of the church, and per- formed other valuable functions in connection with his membership thereof. At the time of his demise

appropriate resolutions were passed by the various institutions with which Mr. Clark was connected, among which were the following by the Common Council of the city, on June 3, 1871 :

"Resolved, As we have received intelligence of the death of our friend and citizen, Hon. George Clark, with the most profound sorrow, we deem it appropriate that this Council should make a record of the high esteem in which he was held by us, and of our grief at his unexpected decease.

" Resolved, That his faithful discharge of the duties of the various offi- cial positions he has filled, his unswerving integrity as a man, his enter- prise and energy as a citizen, were the admiration of all who koew him. He was a devoted friend, a true gentleman, a kind and loving husband and father.

"Resolved, That with these convictions of the qualities of our deceased friend, we can but regard his death as a calamity to the public and a source of profound grief to his family.

"Resolred, That we willingly bear testimony to his being a most esti- mable and valuable citizen. So diligent was he in his duties, so sincere of purpose, and so moved by the spirit of public enterprise, we can but feel that our city has sustained an almost irreparable loss. Most sin- cerely do we deplore bis death."

Mr. Clark was married on Jan. 27, 1840, to Miss Augusta, daughter of Jason W. and Martha (Grif- fith) Rogers, of the town of Montgomery, and grand- daughter of Daniel Rogers, one of the first settlers on the Wallkill, in that town. Her father served as a captain in the war of 1812. Her maternal great- grandfather was Robert Griffith, a sea captain and a native of Wales, who married Miss Peck, daughter of the gentleman after whom "Peck's Slip" was named. Crissy, his daughter, married Cadwallader Colden, and lived at Coldenham. Robert, his son, grand- father of Mrs. Clark, settled in Orange County, two miles beyond Walden, about 1795, and was twice married. His first wife was Rebecca Barnes, of whom were born six children, among them Martha, wife of Jason W. Rogers.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Clark were Mary Augusta, wife of T. Powell Townsend, of Newburgh ; George H., a graduate of the College of New Jersey, Princeton, in 1864, and a practicing lawyer at New- burgh ; Martha Louisa, who married Jonas Williams, of Newburgh, Nov. 8, 1876, and died July 15, 1877 ; and Robert Sterling, who graduated at Princeton in 1874, and died Aug. 20, 1876.

WILLIAM WRIGHT.

William Wright was born near Newark, Wayne Co., N. Y., on the 17th day of May, 1818, and was the third of a family of four children who reached ma- ture years. His parents were Jacob and Mary (Drake) Wright, and the other members of the family, Mary E., who married Watson Clark ; Sarah, who married James D. Ford ; and John D., who married Catharine Brower.

Born in humble circumstances in life, Mr. Wright enjoyed such educational advantages alone as the common schools of his locality afforded. But while still a mere youth the bent of his mind manifested itself in the direction of mechanical investigation and experiment, and gave evidence thus early in life of the

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

possession by him of an original cast of mind and a tion of several large engines similar to the one built for Brown Brothers, besides the large pumping-engines for the Brooklyn Water-Works, which he patented, to- gether with another automatic cut-off engine, exten- sively built and used in all parts of the country. This genius for invention. Before he was eighteen years of age he built a small steam-engine out of erude mate- rials, with a stove-pipe for a boiler, doing all the work alone in the cellar of his father's house, and when he had only seen one small engine before. This quite . cut-off engine was one of the first of that kind made. unusual feat by a lad of his age attracted the attention 1 During the time that Mr. Wright was employed by Messrs. Woodruff & Beach he superintended the build- ing and erection of the machinery of the " Kearsarge," and other gunboats used in the late war. In 1863 he resigned his position with the firm and became a member of the New York Steam-Engine Company, remaining as such until 1866, and building during that period many engines for government gunboats. In 1866 he became supervising engineer for the Wash- ington Iron-Works, of Newburgh, N. Y., for the pur- pose of building his patented steam-engines, Mr. Wright receiving a salary and royalty on his patents. In 1870 he organized, in connection with several part- ners, the firm of William Wright & Co., doing busi- ness in the shop formerly occupied by the Washington Iron-Works. On the dissolution of the firm, in 1876, Mr. Wright continued the business, and is still engaged in manufacturing engines and general machinery. He is now extensively engaged in the manufacture of a new style of engine, under a patent issued in May, 1880, as well as under his original patents of 1866 and 1873. These engines are extensively used in all parts of the country, and enter into successful competition with the best engines in the market. Besides these, Mr. Wright has lately built several of his patented manufacturers of steam-engines, as superintendent of . pumping-engines, greatly improved by applying the principle of compound engines, which perform a duty heretofore unprecedented and which are a credit to his mechanical genius. of many people in his native place, and among others of John Daggett, with whom he soon after associated himself, and commenced to learn the trade of a me- chanic. He remained with Mr. Daggett for two and a half years, being foreman of his shop a portion of the time, and exercising a general oversight over his business. At the end of that time he removed to Ni- agara Falls, and worked in the repair-shops of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad, with the inten- tion of becoming an engineer of that road, but ill- health prevented the consummation of this plan. He soon after engaged in the construction of steam- engines at Palmyra, N. Y., where he continued until 1842. In that year he removed to Rochester, N. Y., where he also engaged in engine-building, in con- neetion with John Bush, until 1845. In that year he invented a rotary steam-engine, and soon after removed to Providence, R. 1., where, in partnership with Mr. F. Church, he engaged in building the engine that he had invented. This business enterprise continued for one year, at the expiration of which time Mr. Wright worked for a short period in the employ of the Providence Tool Company, and finally engaged with Corliss, Nightingale & Co., of that city, their works, with whom he remained until 1850. At that time what is now known as the "Corliss engine" was deficient in several points necessary to make it a snecessful mechanical engine. The rotative valve which is now used by Corliss and others in the con- struction of their engines was designed at that time by Mr. Wright, and tended greatly to give the Corliss engine the success it afterwards attained. The original sketch drawn by him, verified by a fellow-workman, and adopted at that time by Corliss, is still in the pos- session of Mr. Wright. To those who are familiar with mechanics, and especially with the mechanical construction of steam-engines, the value of this dis- covery becomes apparent. By it Mr. Corliss was enabled to perfect his own engine, and he has ever since continued to use it. At a later period Mr. Cor- liss attempted to enjoin Mr. Wright and others, in the United States Circuit Court, from employing the prin- ciple of automatic cut-off, but failed to maintain a case.

In the year 1850, Mr. Wright withdrew from the employ of Corliss, Nightingale & Co., and built a large condensing engine for Brown Brothers, of Waterbury, Conn., which is still in use by that firm. Soon after he was employed as general superintendent by Messrs. Woodruff & Beach, of Hartford, Conn., and superintended the designing, building, and erec-

Owing to his long experience and his natural me- chanical talents, Mr. Wright stands at the head of his profession as a steam-engine builder, and has a wide reputation throughout the country in that regard. Although his life has not been free from difficulties and trials, and although he has had many obstacles to surmount, his mechanical genius, his patient assiduity in his profession, and his industrious habits, have advanced him to a prominent place among the in- ventors of the age. It has been well said that "he who creates anything is a benefactor to mankind," and among those who have proved themselves worthy of this encomium his name must ever be placed. Of simple habits, courteous and dignified in bearing, kind-hearted and benevolent, industrious and earnest, devoted to family and friends, abreast with the dis- coveries and inventions of the age, and in sympathy with every good work, he enjoys in the community in which he resides the reputation of an honorable and upright man, and of a substantial and worthy citizen. He was married, in 1841, to Miss Elizabeth G. Taft, and has one daughter living.

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365

NEWBURGH.

PETER VAN BENSCHOTEN FOWLER.

The Fowler family is of English extraction, and has been identified with the pioneer history of several portions of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Representatives of the family resided in the neighborhood of Islington, England, at as carly a date as the year 1538. Sir Thomas Fowler, knight and baronet, dwelt at Islington in 1630. Philip Fow- ler was admitted a freeman of Massachusetts colony in 1634, and settled at Ipswich. William Fowler emigrated to America in 1637, and located at New Haven, Conn., becoming the first magistrate of that place. He is supposed to have been the ancestor of the Connecticut and New York Fowlers, but what re- lation he was to Philip Fowler is not known.

The Newburgh branch of the family trace their descent from Joseph Fowler, who is said to have been an early settler near Mespat Kills, L. I., in 1665, and the son of William, Jr., of New Haven. William, son of Joseph Fowler, had two sons, John and Jere- miah. John was born at Flushing, L. I., in 1686, and his sons were Samuel, Isaac, John, James, and Nehemiah. Samuel and John having purchased a portion of the Harrison Patent, he removed with his family to Newburgh, where he resided until his death in 1768. Jeremiah, his brother, settled at Rye, West- chester Co., and died in 1766.

Catharine Sebring, granddaughter of Catharine Se- bring and Isaac Van Benschoten. The other children were Caroline, who married James E. Slater; Dr. Gilbert S., born April 11, 1804, died April 30, 1832; Ann Catharine, born 1806, died 1833; Amelia, mar- ried Wm. D. Weygant, died Dec. 30, 1834; Martha B., who died in infancy ; Margaret, who died young ; Matthew V. B .; Jacob V. B .; Elizabeth, born 1819, died 1836; and Isaac Sebring.

Peter V. B. Fowler passed his entire life on the home farm with the exception of a few years im- mediately following his marriage in 1826, during which he resided at Shawangunk, Ulster Co. He was a man of plain habits, retiring in disposition, and confined himself closely to his chosen avocation of a farmer. He participated in political matters only so far as it was necessary to secure a successful adminis- tration of public affairs at home, and ever manifested a deep interest in the prosperity of his native town, and in the maintenance of the institutions of his locality. Hle was an ardent supporter of the temper- ance cause, and contributed liberally to church and kindred institutions. For many years he was con- nected with the First Presbyterian Church of Marl- borough, of which he was a trustee and elder. He subsequently united, with the First Presbyterian Church of Newburgh, where he filled the office of elder at the time of his death. In connection with

Isaac Fowler, son of John, settled on the lands now occupied by Henry D. Fowler and M. W. Du- Capt. N. T. Hawkins, he gave the land whereon the Bois in the town of Newburgh, his property extend- Presbyterian church of Middlehope stands, and near it laid out the Highland Cemetery, of which he re- mained president and treasurer until his death. He was the oldest director of the Highland National Bank of Newburgh, at the time of his demise, and appropriate resolutions were passed by that institution at the time, testifying that his "fidelity to the right, purity of character, kindness and generosity of heart, safe counsel and uniform courtesy have won for him during a long and eminently useful life the affection and esteem of all who knew him." He died on April 21, 1875. ing to the Hudson River. He was an industrious and thrifty agriculturist, and the progenitor of the branch of the family to which the subject of this sketch be- longed. His dwelling-house, a portion of which is now embraced in the residence of Henry D. Fowler, was built prior to the Revolutionary war. He mar- ried Margaret Theall, and had one son, who bore his name. Isaac, Jr., was born April 3, 1746, and mar- ried for his first wife, Martha, daughter of Charles Tooker, of Dans Kammer Point. She died in March, 1771, and was buried with her only child at Marl- borough. In 1773, Isaac Fowler, Jr., married Glori- Mr. Fowler was married on Oct. 4, 1826, to Eliza, daughter of Garrett DuBois and of his wife, Hannah Cooper, sister of Capt. Elias Cooper, of Sussex Co., N. J. She was born Aug. 21, 1801, and died April 12, 1866. The children were Henry D., born July 26, 1827 ; Abram D. B., born July 17, 1830, died Oct. 7, 1854; Caleb Gilbert, born Oct. 27, 1835, a prominent farmer in Newburgh for many years, died Jan. 29, 1879; and Peter D. B., born July 20, 1844, died Feb. 17, 1855. The second wife of Peter V. B. Fowler was Anna, widow of Peter II. Fowler, of Montgomery, to whom he was united on June 23, 1868. anna, daughter of Caleb Merritt, of Marlborough, the children being Caleb, born Feb. 8, 1775, died March 8, 1826; Martha ; Charles, a physician, who lived and died at Montgomery ; Gilbert, who died in early life ; Nehemiah, who passed his days in Platte- kill, Ulster Co .; David, who resided in Genesee and Livingston counties ; Francis, also a physician, who died in Ohio; and Isaac, who was also a practitioner of medicine, and who died in Ohio in early life. The third wife of Isaac Fowler, Jr., was a Mrs. Owen, of whom were born two children. Mr. Fowler died in 1823. During the trying scenes of the American Revolution he warmly espoused the cause of the col- onies, and served as an officer in the patriot army.

Henry D. Fowler is the only living child of Peter V. B. Fowler. He was born in Shawangunk, but has resided on the old homestead of his ancestors since l'eter V. B. Fowler was born on the family home- stead in Newburgh, on Feb. 20, 1800, and was the 1833, being the fifth generation of his family on the place. He is one of the leading farmers of his section, oldest of the children of Caleb Fowler, and his wife, . a director in the Highland National Bank of New-

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

burgh, and a man of probity and moral worth. He was married on Oct. 20, 1853, to Anna, daughter of M. W. Du Bois, of Newburgh, and has five children, viz. : Eliza D., Abram D., Wm. Jennings, Charles D., and Weygant D. Fowler.

DANIEL MERRITT.

The ancestor of the Merritt family of Newburgh was George Merritt, who was born in the year 1702, and died Feb. 2, 1750. He is presumed to have been the son of John Merritt, Sr., a native of England, who settled at Rye, Westchester County, as early as 1680, and who was one of its proprietors in 1715. He mar- ried Glorianna Purdy, and removed to Newburgh about the year 1747, in company with the Purdy and Fowler families, with whom he was connected by marriage. His wife died on Sept. 13, 1765, aged fifty- one years, five months, and thirteen days. Their chil- dren were George, Samuel, Caleb, Gabriel, David, Josiah, Humphrey, Elizabeth, who married Thomas Merritt; Jane, who married first, Morris Flewwelling, and second, Elnathan Foster; and Glorianna, who married Joseph Morey.

Humphrey, born May 17, 1737, purchased in 1758 a part of the farm upon which his grandson, the sub- ject of this sketch, resided at Middlehope. His chil- dren were Glorianna, Mary, Underhill, Caleb, Char- lotte, and Moses. Underhill was born Feb. 7, 1769, and was suddenly killed by being run over by his wagon on Nov. 19, 1804. Both he and his father, Humphrey, were successful farmers at Middlehope, ' in 1758. The children of Underhill and Mary Mer- ritt were Martha, born July 8, 1794, married Gilbert Holmes, settled in Newburgh, died Sept. 14, 1848; Josiah, born Aug. 21, 1796; Daniel, born March 10, 1799; Elizabeth, twin-sister of Daniel, born March 12, 1799, married John Goodsell, died Dee. 28, 1824; Charlotte, born Sept. 19, 1801, married Joseph Fur- man, settled in Plattekill, died Aug. 24, 1824; and Maria, born April 21, 1804, who married Robert Phil- lips, of Newburgh.

Daniel Merritt was born upon the old family home- stead at Middlehope, at the date indieated above, and passed his entire life thereon. He enjoyed the bene- fits of a common-school education only. By the sud- den death of his father the farm of his ancestors was left to his mother, and at an early age its care and

was frequently honored by his fellow-townsmen by election to local offices of importance. For many years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Middlehope, with which he was officially connected throughout his life, and of which he was one of the pillars. He was an earnest temperance man, and contributed liberally to worthy objeets around him. ITis integrity, personal lionor, kindness of heart, gen- erosity and frank nature, and fine social qualities won for him the respect and esteem of his friends and neighbors. He died on May 7, 1867.

Daniel Merritt was married on Feb. 22, 1826, to Eliza Hait, of Latintown, Ulster County. She was born April 26, 1805. The children were Mary Jane, wife of Daniel T. MaeFarlan, of Yonkers, N. Y .; Hiram, a real estate broker in New York City ; Daniel HI .; and Theodore, a leading druggist of Newburgh. Hiram and Daniel H. Merritt reside on the family homestead with their mother, the place being handsomely fitted up, and being one of the most picturesque and attractive in the town of New- burgh. They are the fourth generation of the family who have resided on the farm.

DR. JOHN L. FOSTER.

Dr. John L. Foster was born at Stamford, Fairfield Co., Conn., on March 7, 1804. His grandfather, Jesse Foster, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and resided at Danbury, Conn. David Foster, his father, was a cooper by trade, although he passed the greater part of his life as a farmer. He was born at Danbury, tilling the soil upon which Humphrey Merritt settled : Conn. His wife was Sarah Weed. In the spring of 1810, David Foster removed with his wife and six chil- dren to the town of Warwick, Orange County, where he lived for eighteen years, engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1828 he removed to Newburgh and pur- chased the farm where the subject of this sketch re- sides, where he died on Aug. 8, 1854, aged eighty-one years and six days. His wife died in June, 1848, aged about seventy-eight years. David Foster was a quiet, unpretentious man, and a member of the Society of Friends at Canterbury. His children were Wil- liam, Alvah, Henry, John L., George, Mary, James, and Elizabeth. All are dead save our subject. Mary married for her first husband Charles Cox, and for her second Isaae N. Lester.

Dr. John L. Foster passed the earlier years of his life on the farm in Warwick, and received his educa- management devolved upon Daniel. Hesubsequently : tion in the common schools of the town. In 1826-29 became the owner of the place.by purchase from the ' he taught in one of the district schools of Warwick. heirs. Throughout a long life he was one of the rep- resentative farmers of Newburgh, taking an active interest in events transpiring around him, and being closely identified with the progressive and evangelical enterprises of the day. He was formerly an Old-Line Whig, but subsequently an ardent Republican, and was one of the influential politicians of his locality. Although averse to the holding of publie office, he He pursued the study of medicine under Dr. James P. Young, of Edenville, N. Y., and attended lectures under the Rutgers Medical Faculty in the city of New York, graduating with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the spring of 1830. The year following he located in practice at Deckertown, N. J., where he remained until his removal to the town of New- burgh in 1836. Preferring the life of a farmer to that

Daniel Muito

alshn. L. Foster

367

NEWBURGH.

of a physician, he purchased the Washington Wood farm at West Coldenham, and engaged in tilling the soil for fourteen years. After the death of his father he purchased the family homestead near the city of Newburgh, whereon he has continued to reside since 1865. Dr. Foster has led a quiet and uneventful life, and confined himself closely to his chosen avocation of a farmer. Naturally of a retiring and modest ten- perament, he has avoided public life, and sought his highest enjoyment in the performance of home duties and in the bosom of his family. IIe takes an active interest in the benevolent and evangelical movements of the day, and is a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church of Newburgh. He enjoys the re- spect of a large cirele of friends and acquaintances.

Dr. Foster was married on Dec. 17, 1834, to Har- riet, daughter of the late John Scott and Abigail (Chichester) Scott, of Coldenham. The Scott family was originally from Long Island, but settled at the close of the Revolutionary war in Orange County. John Scott gave the land for the Reformed Pres- byterian Church at Coldenham, and for the cemetery and school-house, and led an active, earnest Christian life, filling numerous positions of influence and prom- inence. He died July 21, 1840, and his wife on Feb. 14, 1826. Mrs. John L. Foster is the last survivor of a family of ten children.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 89

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