USA > New York > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 23
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In 1854, he was appointed postmaster at Carmel, under Presi- dent Pierce's administration. June 12th, 1858, he founded the " Putnam Free Press," the first republican newspaper estab- lished in Putnam county, edited and published it until October 17th, 1868, when he sold it to A. J. Hicks. February 14th, 1880, a member of his family purchased the office and paper
William J. Blake.
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from Mr. Hicks, and changed the name of the paper from "Gleneida Monitor," to "Putnam County Republican." He again became its political and literary editor, and Ida M., his daughter, its publisher and proprietor, and junior editor.
He married Miss Emelinda Minor, daughter of the late Charles Minor, of Carmel, and has three daughters.
On an adjoining page will be found Mr. Blake's portrait, taken at the age of thirty-two years.
HON. JACKSON O. DYKMAN was born in the town of Patter- son in Putnam county. His great- grandfather, Joseph Dykman, settled in what is now the town of Southeast, in Putnam county, and beeame a captain in the Continental Army of the Revo- lutionary War.
His early life was the uneventful career of a boy in the county attending the common school of the neighborhood and working on a farm. In this manner he obtained sufficient education to enable him to teach a common school at a very early age. He pursued this occupation until he commenced the study of the law in the office of the Hon. William Nelson then a prominent lawyer at Peekskill, Westchester county, who manifested a lively interest in his advancement and gave him generous aid and assistance.
After his admission to the Bar he settled in Cold Spring, Put- nam county, where he was shortly after elected to the office of school commissioner, and afterward to the office of district at- torney of the county.
In the spring of 1866 Mr. Dykman removed to White Plains, in Westchester county, where he has since resided.
In the fall of 1868 he was elected by a very handsome ma- jority to the office of district attorney of Westchester county, then a very responsible position, which he filled to the entire satisfaction of the people. He particularly distinguished him- self by the energy, skill and success with which he prosecuted the famous Buckhout murder case, one of the celebrated cases in the history of the county.
In the fall of 1875 Mr. Dykman was elected to the high office of justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the Second Judicial District by a union of both political par- ties. He was nominated and supported as the regular candidate of the republican party and elected by the people by a majority exceeding ten thousand.
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That nomination made by a party with which he had never acted was a splendid tribute to his ability, and the result has_ shown that the confidence of the people was not misplaced. In the performance of his judicial duties Judge Dykman is ever patient, affable and courteous. He is kind and obliging to the members of the bar, especially to the younger lawyers.
Judge Dykman has been a member of the general term of the Supreme Court from the time he took his seat on the bench, and his opinions in that court in the numerous cases on appeal evince laborious research, sound judgment and discretion, and absolute fairness and impartiality, and demonstrate the pro- priety of his elevation to the high judicial position he occupies. At the circuit for the trial of cases lie is a favorite with both lawyers and suitors for his patience and impartiality. He manifests great love for justice and right and deep abhorrence for wrong and oppression.
Judge Dykman is emphatically a man of the people, with whom he has always mingled freely and sympathized fully, and whose interests he has ever been ready to maintain and defend; and he listens with willingness to the petitions and complaints of all, and the people love him and place reliance upon him. He is a man of simple habits and modest deportment, but studi- ously observes the quality of amenity and propriety, and treats all with whom he comes in contact with great consideration and politeness. In many ways he is an illustration of what may be accomplished under our Republican institutions where the highest positions are within the grasp of all. By energy and perseverance he has risen to a high position without the aid of wealth or influence. The people have found him a man on whom they could rely and have accordingly bestowed on him their confidence and raised him to eminence, and it is not too much to say that he has fulfilled all their expectations. There never was a stain on his private character nor on his public record, and the breath of suspicion has never reached him.
In his domestic and private life he has been exemplary and fortunate. He was early married to Miss Emily L. Trowbridge, of Peekskill, a descendant of the New Haven family of that name, a most excellent and domestic lady who aided and encouraged him in all his struggles, and he never hesitated to declare that he owed his success and advancement to her untiring energy and zeal, her wise counsel and advice, and her laudable ambi.
Y ODyrman ?
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tion. In many dark days she showed him the silver lining of the dark cloud and gave him new hope and energy. She still lives to share his honors and his prosperity as she would his adversity, a noble example of a faithful wife, a devoted mother and a benevolent Christian woman.
They have two sons, both of whom are lawyers. The elder, William N. Dykman, married Miss Bell Annan, and is prac- ticing his profession very successfully in Brooklyn. The younger, Henry T. Dykman, married Miss Ella B. Clyne, of Dutchess county, and is practicing law in White Plains, where he has accumulated a very good practice.
Such is the Honorable Jackson O. Dykman, the subject of this sketch, and his example may well be imitated by the young men of the county.
He is a democrat in the broadest sense of the term, but not a partisan, and a consistent member of the Episcopal Church.
GEORGE WILLIAM HORTON, son of Morgan Horton, was born in Southeast, January 21st, 1857. He graduated at the State Normal School, Albany, in 1875. He studied law with Close & Robertson at White Plains, and graduated at the New York University Law School in 1878, with the degree of LL. B. He practiced law in New York city and at Brewster, in Putnam county. He is not at present in active practice.
The following are at the present time in practice in Putnam county:
AMBROSE RYDER. Among the members of the legal profes- sion, a prominent place must be given to Hon. Ambrose Ryder, who has been for many years closely identified with its in- terests and is at the present time the oldest practicing lawyer in the county.
Judge Ryder was born in Southeast, on the old family home- stead near Peach Pond, March 5th, 1826; being the eldest child of Stephen and Betsy (Nichols) Ryder; a more extended account of whom will be found in the article on the "Ryder family," in another portion of this work. He was prepared for college at the North Salem Academy, then under the care of Prof. John F. Jenkins. At this institution he was a fellow pupil of Gen. Darius N. Couch, and D. O. Mills, the noted millionaire. He entered Williams College and graduated from that institution in 1846. After leaving college Judge Ryder
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studied law in the office of Charles Ga Nun, Esq., of Carmel, and continued it with Henry B. Cowles. Having been admitted to the bar in 1849, he began the practice of his profession in the village of Carmel, where he has continued it till the present time. In the fall of 1851 he was elected to the office of county judge and was twice re-elected, holding the position for a period of twelve years. In February, 1873, Judge Ryder was ap- pointed county treasurer, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Jolin Cornish. In 1882, he was elected supervisor of Carmel and in the campaign of 1868, he was the republican candidate for the position of presidential elector. From the founding of the Putnam County Bank, he has been closely connected with its interests, and has held the offices of director, cashier, vice-president, and president, in which last position he still remains.
Judge Ryder was married, October 22d, 1849, to Miss Mary Miranda, daughter of Rev. Shaler J. and Catharine Hillyer. The children of this marriage are Hillyer, the present treasurer of Putnam county; Clayton, a practicing lawyer in Carmel; Mary Grace, and Stephen. All the sons are gradnates of Cornell University. Mrs. Ryder died April 23d, 1870.
HON. EDWARD WRIGHT. Among the men of Putnam county who have risen by their own unaided efforts to positions of trust and honor, a prominent place should be given to Edward Wright, who was for twenty years judge of Putnam county. Robert Wright, the ancestor of this family, was a resident of that portion of Fredericksburg Precinct which afterward be- came the town of Carmel, before the Revolution, and his son, Robert, was a citizen of the same place till the time of his death, which occurred April 19th, 1852, at the age of 78. Robert Wright, jr., married Marian Cunningham, and they were the pa- rents of eight children: John, Robert, Edward, Ebenezer, Mary A., wife of Abel Ganong, Elizabeth, wife of Eleazar Ferguson, Phebe, and Delilah, wife of Smith Dean.
John Wright is now living at Lake Mahopac, at the advanced age of 84. He married Sarah A., daughter of Ezra Frost, who was the brother of Joel Frost, the first surrogate of the county. The children of this marriage were Ebenezer, who died in 1848, unmarried, and Edward, the subject of this sketch.
Judge Wright was born May 15th, 1826, on the old home- stead in Union Valley now owned by the heirs of Bailey Ga-
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Ambrose Ryder
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nong. During his boyhood he attended the village school, and after some experience as a teacher entered the Normal School at Albany, from which he graduated in 1848. After graduating he followed the business of teaching for several years, but his tastes and inclinations being for political affairs he soon became a candidate for local office. April 2d, 1850, he was elected town superintendent of schools, which office he held by successive re elections until the system was abolished by the Legislature in 1856. In 1851 he was elected justice of the peace, holding that position until March, 1861, when he resigned, having been elected county clerk in November, 1860. The latter office he held for the term of three years. He was elected inspector of election April 3d, 1855, and town clerk April 7th, 1857. He was appointed census marshall and took the United States census of Putnam county in 1860. He was clerk of the Board of Supervisors from 1853 to 1856, and from 1858 to 1861. During his term as county clerk he engaged in the study of the law, and previous to his admission to the bar he was elected county judge, taking his seat in January, 1864. This responsible position Judge Wright continued to fill with ability and integ- rity till January, 1884.
Having completed his law studies he was admitted to the Bar, May 16th, 1866, and his time not employed in the perform- ance of judicial duties has been devoted to the practice of his profession, in which he holds an honorable rank among the members of the Putnam County Bar.
January 1st, 1850, he was married to Phebe E., daughter of Job C. Austin, a prominent citizen of the county. Their chil- dren are Lillie A., wife of Henry A. Gahn, and Mattie, wife of Willis A. Ganong.
The home of Judge Wright is situated on the road to Croton Falls, a short distance from Lake Mahopac, being a portion of the farm of Benjamin Townsend, at whose house the first Methodist meetings in that section were held. This place he bought of John Beyea in 1850 and it has since been his home.
A prominent member of the democratic party, Judge Wright has been a frequent delegate to State and judicial conventions, and his well merited success in official as well as financial matters is the natural result of steady perseverance and unceas- ing labor.
16
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
CHARLES H. FERRIS was born in Matteawan, Dutchess county, New York, in December, 1834. About two years after, he re- moved with his parents to Cold Spring, where he still resides. His parents, Philander and Mary A. (Lockwood) Ferris, were born in Connecticut. Soon after their marriage they located at Matteawan, N. Y., where two children, Elethea and Charles H., were born. His father was a mason and builder, and built many of the early buildings erected in Cold Spring, Nelson- ville and vicinity. His mother died in October, 1877. His father is still living, at Cold Spring, at the age of eighty. He has one brother and two sisters now living, viz., Elethea, wife of Smith Forman, Josiah and Amy J.
Charles H. first attended school in the brick school house in Nelsonville, and afterward in some of the adjoining districts. About the year 1848 he was placed in a private school in Cold Spring, of which Professor Daniels was principal, and in which he remained three years. After leaving this school he com- menced the study of law in the office of Hon. J. O. Dykman in Cold Spring, where he remained for one year. In 1852, he en- tered the office of Close & Robertson, at Mott Haven, West- chester county, N. Y., and remained with them until 1855. In that year he was admitted to practice as an attorney at law by the General Term of the Supreme Court, held at Brooklyn, N. Y.
After being admitted to the Bar he continued in the office of Close & Robertson about one year, then returned to Cold Spring, and commenced the practice of the law, and has been very successful in his profession.
In 1862, he was elected a justice of the peace of his town, and has continuously held this office down to this time (except for about three months), a period of nearly twenty-four years, and for a large part of the time that he was justice of the peace, he also held the office of police justice of the town of Philipstown, under annual appointments by the police commissioners of that town.
In 1865; he was appointed assistant assessor of Internal Revenue for the town of Philipstown by Andrew Johnson, president of the United States, and held this office until 1868.
In 1866, he married Miss Mary A. Carey, daughter of William and Catharine Carey of New York city. She was a graduate of the Normal School, New York, and at the time of her mar-
Sarand Higher.
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riage was, and for some years previous had been a teacher in the public schools in that city. They have two children, Katie L. and May A. Ferris, who, with an adopted son, Willie C. Ferris, are now attending the same district school that their father attended, and in which district he has resided since he came to Cold Spring in 1836.
William Carey, his wife's father, was a successful merchant in the city of New York until about 1860, when he retired from active business, built a residence in Harlem in which he has resided since that time; he is now about eighty years of age. His wife, Catharine, died in August, 1884.
In 1868, he was elected school commissioner for Putnam county, and held the office for three years, giving general satis- faction throughout the county.
In 1860 or 1861, he was initiated and became a member of Philipstown Lodge, No. 236, F. & A. M., at Cold Spring, and was thereafter elected its secretary, holding that office for six or seven successive years.
In politics, he has been a democrat since 1862, and as such has been elected to the various offices he has held in his town and county.
HON. WILLIAM WOOD. Among the men who have risen to high positions of trust and usefulness by their own unaided efforts, a prominent place should be given to Judge William Wood, who was born in County Down, near Belfast, Ireland, August 6th, 1842. His parents, Robert and Jane (Thompson) Wood, resolved to emigrate to America when he was yet a child, and a dim recollection of a spring that flowed by his father's door, and of a house that stood on an opposite hill, are the only memories that he brought from his native land. Upon coming to this country in the spring of 1847, the family settled in Cold Spring, and the son obtained his early education in the public schools of that village.
When he had reached a suitable age he was placed as an ap- prentice in the works of the West Point Foundry and learned the trade of an iron moulder and continued in that business till he reached his thirtieth year.
An accidental circumstance led him to contemplate the study of law. Meeting with Samuel Owen, Esq., who was at that time the district attorney, and a prominent lawyer, he was urged by him to enter his office as a law student, and gladly
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accepted his invitation. In his younger days he had been a member of a village debating society, and was distinguished for his ready eloquence, and it was one of the employments of his boyhood to attend Justices' Courts, and listen to the lawyers, as they examined the witnesses and made their pleas. He was clerk of the Board of Supervisors in 1873, and upon completing his term as a law student he was admitted to the Bar in Sep- tember, 1876. In November of the same year he was elected to the office of district attorney, and was twice re-elected, and after serving seven years, during which time he enjoyed an ex- tensive law practice, resigned the office to enter upon the duties of county judge, to which position he was elected in the fall of 1883. The popularity of Judge Wood was sufficiently attested by the fact that he was elected by a majority in every town in the county.
He long held high rank among the masonic fraternity, being member of the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery.
For many years he has been connected with the Presbyterian church at Cold Spring, and in all the relations of public and private life, there are few citizens who enjoy a higher degree of well merited respect and confidence.
Judge Wood was married in 1875 to Miss Ellen, daughter of Jolin and Sarah Groundwater. They are the parents of three children; Ellen C., Robert T., and Emily R.
As a political speaker, Judge Wood has few superiors, and during the last two presidential campaigns he was engaged by the State committee to deliver addresses in various portions of the State. He has also been a frequent delegate to the State and Congressional conventions, and as a life long member of the republican party his weight and influence are fully recognized in its councils.
SEYMOUR BIRDSALL NELSON, son of Elisha Nelson, was born in Cold Spring, December 18th, 1843. He was educated at the Classical Institute, Tarrytown, and the Hudson River Institute at Claverack. He graduated at the Albany Law School in 1866 with the degree of LL. B., and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. He commenced the practice of the law in the office of George Gage at Morristown, New Jersey, in 1867, remaining there about a year, then removed to New York city where he continued to practice about a year. For a few years thereafter he was not engaged in practice. In 1874 he opened an office at
William Wood
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Cold Spring, at which place he still continues in active practice. January 11th, 1870, he married Miss Georgianna Carmichael, of Cold Spring. They have five children. He has held the office of justice of the peace since 1879.
JAMES GARDINER was born at Cold Spring, Putnam county, October 4th, 1842. His parents came to Pntnam county in 1838 from Ireland. He was educated at the public schools of Cold Spring, studied law with C. H. Ferris of same place, and was admitted to the Bar in May, 1877. He has practiced in Cold Spring since that time.
ABRAM J. MILLER, third son of John G. and Phebe A. Mil- ler, was born in the town of Somers, in the adjoining county of Westchester, on the 18th day of January, 1847. His parents moved to Carmel, April 1st, following, and he has remained a resident of Putnam county since. His boyhood was passed in the village of Carmel, where he enjoyed the ordinary advan- tages of a country school, until he was about sixteen years of age, when, after a year in the public schools of New York city, he entered the College of the City of New York, at that time the Free Academy. After two years he severed his connection with that institution and matriculated at Columbia College Law School, where he graduated May 19th, 1869, with the degree of LL. B. He located at Brewster, in the summer of that year and has since been engaged in the active practice of his profes- sion. He was appointed an assistant assessor of Internal Rev- enue, in 1870, and when that office was abolished, became a deputy collector, which position he held until August, 1883. In the autumn of 1884, he was elected district attorney of the county, which office he holds at present.
WILLIAM HENRY HALDANE, who was born in the village of Cold Spring-on-Hudson, April 21st, 1851, belongs to a family prominent in Putnam county for many years. Mr. Haldane was graduated from Columbia College in 1872 and began the study of the law under direction of the distinguished advocate, Everett P. Wheeler, Esq., in New York. At the same time he attended lectures in the law school of that institution from which he received the degree of LL. B. in 1874, and was admitted to the Bar. Since then he has been entirely engaged in the general practice of his profession in New York, having stated times for attendance at his office in Cold Spring.
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
GEORGE EDWARD ANDERSON, son of Peter and Mary (Austin) Anderson, was born at German Flats, on the Anderson Home- stead in the town of Carmel, June 24th, 1853. He was edn- cated in the district school and at the State Normal School, graduating from the latter in 1873. After teaching one term, he commenced the study of law in April, 1874, with Calvin Frost, Esq., of Peekskill, N. Y. He graduated at the Albany Law School with the degree of LL. B., and was admitted to practice in May, 1876. In October of the same year he located at Car- mel, N. Y., where he has continued to practice his profes- sion ever since, having during all the time occupied an office with Hon. Ambrose Ryder. He has been the candidate of the democratic party for the offices of member of Assembly and district attorney, and was clerk of the Board of Supervisors three years. He was married September 6th, 1877, to Eliza, daughter of Jesse Agor, of the town of Carmel, and they have one son, Jesse Leslie Anderson, born April 28th, 1880.
WARD B. YEOMANS, son of Byron A. Yeomans, was born in Philipstown, April 24th, 1856. He was educated at Madison University and the State Normal School. He studied law with Hon. William Wood at Cold Spring and graduated at the Al- bany Law School in May, 1880, with the degree of LL. B., and was admitted to the Bar at the same time. In June, 1880, he commenced the practice of the law at Cold Spring and has con- tinued in practice at that place to the present time. He was married December 29th, 1882, to Miss Mary F. Morro, daughter of Julius Morro, of Brooklyn.
FREDERIC STONE BARNUM was born in Southeast, Putnam county, N. Y., June 17th, 1858. He was a son of the late Le Ray Barnum, of Southeast, and a grandson of the late Judge Stone of Patterson. At the age of thirteen he was sent to a boarding school at Redding, Conn., and went from there to the Chappaqua Institute in Westchester county, N. Y. He was prepared for college at Amenia Seminary, N. Y., and at Mr. Selleck's School, Norwalk, Conn. In 1875, at the age of seven- teen, he entered the Freshman class of Columbia College, and graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1879. He was one of the honor men of that year, and was nominated by the Faculty as: " One of the three most faithful and deserving students of the graduating class."
In the fall of 1879 he entered the Columbia Law School, and
Frederic P. Barnum
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GENERAL HISTORY.
graduated in 1881, receiving the degree of LL. B. [Cum Laude]. He was admitted to the Bar in Poughkeepsie May 21st, 1881, and continued his studies in the office of Close & Robertson, at White Plains, N. Y., until March, 1882, when he opened a law office in Brewster, N. Y. In June, 1872, he received the degree of M. A. from Columbia College. January 4th, 1884, he was appointed by Governor Cleveland, district attorney of Putnam county and held the office one year. During his term as district attorney, two important criminal trials were successfully con- ducted: one being the case of " The People vs. Chester W. Merrick," indicted for the murder of Burns, and the other the case of " The People vs. James H. Riley," indicted for the mur- der of Hannah Sunderlin. Both cases excited great interest, and the defense in each was able and vigorous. Merrick was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree, and Riley is now serving a life sentence in Sing Sing.
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