USA > New York > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 47
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
Robert Howes is known to have had three sons: John, who died in 1663; another, the eldest, whose son married in England, Tabitha, only daugliter of John Roope, of Morning Thorpe, near Norwich, Norfolk. This union proved to be of great ad- vantage as it brought into the hands of John, a son of the mar- riage, the beautiful manor and residence of Morning Thorpe. This estate remained in the hands of his descendants until 1883, when it passed out of the family as a consequence of the marriage of the present heiress, Louisa Howes, to Mr. Samuel Holmes. Thomas, the trace of whose life in England has been unfortunately lost, emigrated to America about 1635, together with his family, consisting of his wife, and three young sons, Thomas, Joseph and Jeremiah. He landed at Plymouth, was at Salem in 1635, and subsequently settled on Cape Cod at Yar- mouth, which name he and his associates gave to their settle- ment, in honor of the town of that name in England, from which port they set sail for this country.
Thomas Howes being one of the original grantees of the town, took up land and became a farmer. The old town of Yarmouth was divided in 1794, and the portion where Thomas Howes had
502
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
settled was thereafter called Dennis. Thomas Howes and his immediate descendants exercised a weighty influence in the affairs of the town for many years, and became active and prosperous citizens, some of them following the sea as a pro- fession. As recently as 1841, in a great gale off the George's Bank, of twenty men lost from the town of Dennis, twelve bore the name of Howes. Among those who have achieved distino- tion, as seafaring men, is Captain Thomas Prince Howes, at present pilot commissioner of Boston, and to whom we are in- debted for valuable information.
From Thomas Howes the elder and his wife, Mary, sprang the numerous American family so well known for their extensive business operations, both here and abroad, the members of which in 1836, honored the memory of their hardy ancestor by the erection, in the Howes' Cemetery, at Dennis, Cape Cod, of a granite monument, eight feet in height and inscribed with the following simple but suggestive lines:
" 'Twas from the central part of Briton's Isle he came,
" And on Columbia's soil did propagate a name;
" We, his descendants, the patriarch own,
" And to the first Howes do dedicate this stone."
" THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED IN 1836. OF THOMAS HOWES' DESCENDANTS THERE ARE NOW LIVING IN' DENNIS-345-CHATHAM-133- OTHER PLACES-396.
Among the descendants of Jeremiah (son of the original Thomas Howes) was Moody Howes, the grandfather of Mr. Seth B. Howes of Southeast, the present proprietor of "Stonehenge," a cut of which we present.
Moody Howes came to the (now) town of Southeast, with others, about the year 1750, prominent among whom were the Paddocks, the Halls and Sears, in search of more fertile land than that of the sandy hillocks and plains of Cape Cod. Mr. Howes took up a large tract of land and immediately became engaged in farming and clearing the space which is now known as Southeast. He died in 1806. He had fourteen children, eight sons and six daughters.
Of these, Daniel Howes, the seventh child and father of the present owner of "Stonehenge," inherited a large portion of his father's possessions, and for some time continued the farming operations to which he had been early bred. He also carried on
Seth 13 Howes Jen
Eng by HB Hal's Sons New York.
.
Joshua Barnum
Eng by H.B Falls Sous N.Y
.
.
"STONEHENGE." RESIDENCE OF S. B. HOWES, BREWSTER PUTNAM CO., N. Y.
503
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
a general country store business which was among the first in this section. He was a justice of the peace of the town, and was for many years an honored and conservative resident of Putnam county. In early life he married Miss Ruhamah Reed, by whom he had twelve children. In 1824, he died, his widow and eleven children surviving. Mrs. Howes died in 1864, at the ripe age of ninety-one years. A monument in the Milltown Cemetery, in Southeast, erected by his sons, "bears silent wit- ness," as the inscription fittingly says, "to their appreciation of their departed parents' worth." Six of Mr. Daniel Howes' children were sons.
The eldest, Malchus Reed Howes, bearing his mother's name, left the homestead in 1823, and journeyed to Mobile, where he became a well-to do merchant.
The second, Nathan A. Howes, early became engaged in the exhibition business in partnership with Gerard Crane of Somers, Westchester county, N. Y. They crossed the Alleghany Moun- tains in 1831, with a managerie. Going south and arriving at Mobile, they were fortunate enough to possess themselves of a lion, lioness and two cubs, which, being the first infant lions ever exhibited in America, created a sensation, and formed the nucleus of the zoological department of the great exhibition with which Mr. Howes' name afterward became prominently identified. He died in June, 1878, aged 82 years.
The third was Daniel Morgan Howes. He also journeyed to Mobile, where he became engaged as a contractor and builder, carrying on an extensive and lucrative business. He died in New York.
The fourth, Jacob Orson Howes, also a builder, for some time carried on a business in New York city, afterward giving it up to engage in farming at Southeast Center, where he died.
The fifth, Reuben W. Howes, went to New York, where he engaged as a clerk in a shoe store, with his uncle, Mr. L. B. Reed. He afterward became a wholesale dealer, and eventually a ban- ker. He was the originator of the Park Bank, in that city, and of which he was for some time the president.
The sixth, Seth Benedict Howes. whose portrait we subjoin, was born at Southeast, August 15th, 1815, and at the age of fifteen he began to serve as an apprentice to his brother, Jacob O., as a carpenter and builder. After some years he proceeded to Chicago, where, together with Mr. Paul Cornell, he engaged
504
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
in the real estate business. It was during this period that he and his partner purchased of James Crane, of Southeast, who was at that time a merchant in Chicago-a tract of land in what is now known as Hyde Park, a suburban part of that city. By the profitable selling of a portion of this, he was enabled to purchase lands within the bounds of the city proper. This last plot is now covered with stores and dwellings of all descrip- tions, over seventy of which are still in his possession, and di- vested of all incumbrances, producing a large income.
Mr. Howes' investinents having proved successful, he early indulged a taste for travelling abroad. In 1852, he journeyed through England and France, remaining some time in Paris. It was here that he became acquainted with Henry Franconi, pro- prietor of the great Hippodrome. Being ever ready to engage in an enterprise of that kind, having already conducted an ex- tensive and successful experiment in the exhibition business in America, Mr. Howes conceived the idea of bringing a Hippo- drome to America, where such an exhibition would be novel. He consequently succeeded in engaging Mr. Franconi and a por- tion of his company for a like undertaking in New York city, and while in London he was successful in adding a sufficient number of novelties to render his enterprise the largest of the kind ever exhibited either in Europe or America. When thoroughly organized for the voyage, one of his partners, Mr. Richard Sands, proceeded to Paris, where of the agent he char- tered the steamer " Washington "(Captain Fitch), and brought the French portion of the establishment from Havre to New York. On the first of May, 1853, the great exhibition opened. James M. Nixon was assistant manager and E. C. Yale of Southeast, treasurer. This was the first Roman Hippodrome ever exhibited in America. It was situated on the ground now occupied by the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and was an immense suc- cess from the start. Some trouble was experienced in obtaining a suitable location, but at that time nearly the whole block, with the exception of a small cottage, which was kept by Cor- poral Thompson, as a road house, where the drivers of fast horses were wont to regale themselves, being vacant, the owners of the exhibition, by purchasing some of the ground and se- curing a lease of the cottage, were enabled to obtain it. This was done after securing the consent of Mr. Eno, the present proprietor, and Mr. Arnot, who at that time kept the New York
505
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
Hotel and owned a portion of the ground. Thus upon the site of that great hostelry, thousands of persons sought amuse. ment years ago. This is the history of the introduction of the old Roman Hippodrome in America, as given by its originators.
Mr. Howes was afterward engaged for a short time in the banking business, in New York city, in partnership with Thomas Smull, of Sing Sing, N. Y., and his brother, Reuben W. Howes, of Yonkers, N. Y. The profits of this undertak- ing were applied to the purchase of property in Williamsburg, N. Y. The bulk of Mr. Howes' wealth has been made in real estate, and his life has been one of remarkable activity. Twenty years spent in travelling from place to place in Europe, especi- ally in England and France, and also many years in his native conntry, could hardly have failed to yield a rich store of ex- perience, from which a person of intelligence must derive much benefit. He has met and conversed with many of the crowned heads abroad, has viewed the works of art and treasures of literature which adorn their palaces; and has compared, in their daily life, monarch and subject.
Some years ago Mr. Howes retired from active life, and he now occupies at times a charming villa called "Stonehenge," near Brewster, which he has taken pains to enlarge and beautify. He is generally respected throughout the community, and the connty at large for his liberality in bestowing help to the un- fortunate and needy.
A cut of Morning Thorpe, England, and the family tree of the American branch of the Howes family, and also the original will and description of the lands of the first Thomas Howes, which are now in the possession of Mr. S. B. Howes, will be found of great interest to historians and historical readers, generally.
JOSHUA BARNUM .- The Barnum family, which is one of the oldest and which has been among the most respected families in Pntnam county for the last century, is of English origin. Joshua Barnum, of whom we write, was the second child of the well known physician, Dr. Stephen C. Barnum, and a grand- son of Joshua Barnum, the story of whose capture and confine- ment in the "Old Sugar House" by the British, during this country's struggle for independence, will be received with inter- est by all readers of history.
506
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
Mr. Barnum was born on the old homestead at Southeast, Sep- tember 3d, 1818. It was his privilege till his fifteenth year to attend the then excellent North Salem Academy after leaving which he went to New York city and began the business career which ended in the establishment of the great clothing house whose reputation will keep his name before the public as long as it continues to exist. Mr. Barnum first engaged as a clerk in the wholesale and retail clothing store of H. &. D. H. Brooks, who were then doing business on the corner of Catharine and Cherry streets. With them he remained during three years, after which he spent about the same length of time with the newly estab- lished firm of Brooks & Horton.
At the close of this period, he married Miss Catherine A. Dusenbury, daughter of D. O. Dusenbury who was at that time engaged in the provision business in New York city. At his solicitation Mr. Barnum left his former position to assume a partnership in the concern. After one year his father-in-law died and by the time another passed he had given up the pro- vision and re-engaged in the clothing business. This time he formed a partnership with one of his former employers, Mr. Charles Horton, and they together, under the firm name of Horton & Barnum, started a store within a few doors of the present stand on Chatham Square, supplementing it two years later with another under the charge of Mr. Barnum's brother, Mr. P. C. Barnum, who was at the same time admitted to the firm.
The second store being much larger and the more attractive of the two immediately proved very successful, and Horton & Barnum soon threw all their energies into the management of that, allowing the original to be closed. The history of the firm since that time is well known. The business gradually grew until enlargement became necessary and from time to time new stores were added; finally, the ground having been purchased by the concern, the present building was erected, it being at the time by far the largest clothing establishment in the city. Mr. Horton retired on the 1st of January, 1875, nine years previous to the death of Mr. Barnum, which took place at his home in Southeast, March 26th, 1884. The business is now in the hands of Mr. Stephen C. Barnum, his only child; Mr. P. C. Barnum, having retired from the firm in 1879.
Mr. Barnum was a member of the Presbyterian Church at
507
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
Southeast for many years. At the time of the erection of the new edifice he served upon the building committee, and his liberality aided largely in support of the movement. He was also one of the church trustees and was deeply beloved by its members.
Careful in the management of his business, straightforward and honest in his dealings with creditors and patrons alike, Mr. Barnum won for himself the respect of his friends and acquaint- ances and the esteem of all who knew him. His cordial dis- position and unassuming manner won for him the friendship of all with whom he came in contact, and made his loss more deeply felt throughout the community in which he lived.
MORGAN HORTON was born in the town of Southeast. April 24th, 1819, and removed with his father in the following year to the place now owned and occupied by him. He attended the district school for several seasons and finished his education at the select school of Russell J. Minor, near Doansburg.
At the age of eighteen he began teaching school in the ad- joining town of Patterson, where he remained one season. He afterward taught for three succcessive winters in what is now known as Lewisboro' (formerly South Salem) Westchester county, and at Southeast Center the winter following. In the winters of 1842 and 1843 he taught the district school of Doans- burg. He was then called, by the appointing power, to take charge of the schools of Putnam county which he continued to do for four years, when he protested against a reappointment. In the winter of 1847-8 he again taught the Doansburg school.
In 1841 he was elected one of the inspectors of common schools for the town of Southeast. In 1845 he was elected a justice of the peace to fill a vacancy, and served one and a half years. He also served three or four terms of three years each as assessor. In 1853 he was elected commissioner of highways to serve out the unexpired term of Capt. Orrin B. Crane. In 1854 he was elected supervisor, and again in 1855, 1859, and 1860. During the last year he was chairman of the board. In 1859 he was nominated for member of Assembly by the demo- cratic party, but was defeated by about 50 majority. In 1868 he was again nominated for Assemblyman, and was elected by about 150 majority. In 1869 he was reelected by nearly 500 majority. During his first term in the Legislature he served
508
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
on the committees on engrossed bills and on expenditures of the House, and on the joint committee of the House and Senate on the State Library, besides various conference committees.
During his second term he was chairman of the committee on agriculture, and was also a member of the committee on banks.
In 1870 he was chosen as one of the charter members of the Pawlings Savings Bank, and served one year as a trustee of said bank. In 1871 he was instrumental in organizing the Put- nam County Savings Bank, and at its first meeting was elected its president, which office he has continued to hold. For the last 40 years he has been, almost continuously, overseer of highways and a school trustee of his district.
During the last 25 years he has had much to do with the set- tlement of estates, and at the present time has several on hand in process of settlement. He has repeatedly been a delegate to State and other conventions; was a delegate to the State Con- vention that nominated Samuel J. Tilden for governor. Dur- ing his second term in the Legislature he suffered from ill health and declined a re-election. £ Although repeatedly urged to accept nominations to the same office he has repeatedly de- clined.
Mr. Horton was married December 19th, 1848, to Jane A. Northrop, of Sherman, Conn., by whom he has four children, all living and all married: Inez A., Franklin N., George Wil- liam, and Ira D. His father's name was Daniel and his mother's Susan.
In 1850 he commenced building on the site now occupied by him, and in 1852 stocked the farm and began the milk business which he has since continued, sending his milk to New York. His farm consists of 300 acres, about one half of which is in Connecticut. It was originally owned by Isaac Crosby who sold it to one Godfrey and he to Reuben Rockwell. The latter sold it to Joseph Banks, of whom it was purchased by the father of the present owner. He has surrounded his home with orchards of choice fruit and gives abundant space to the various species of horticulture.
Mr. Horton is a thorough student and a great reader, and his home is abundantly supplied with the current literature of the day. His children have all received a liberal education. He has ever been the friend and adviser of all who sought his aid, and he is widely and deservedly esteemed.
Morgan Acoloce
509
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
JOHN T. WARING .- The brain and nerve that first achieve brilliant success in enterprise, then bear up bravely under sweeping reverses, and finally against very great disadvantages, regain a solid business footing with assured prospect of a busi- ness triumph, are by universal consent entitled to high respect and honorable mention. The career of Mr. John T. Waring, known in Yonkers as boy and man for more than half a cen- tury, and as one of its leading manufacturers for thirty years, has furnished a distinguished example of capacity and courage, and seems, in despite of trying reverses in recent years, about to be crowned, after all, with high success. A brief sketch of his life and business history will be in place and acceptable to his fellow citizens.
The Waring family is of English descent, and it is believed to have migrated to this country from Liverpool. Its first loca- tion here, as far as known, was within the present South Nor- walk, Conn., in the vicinity of which families of the name still exist. John Waring, grandfather of John T. Waring, removed to Southeast about 1750, accompanied by two brothers, Thad- deus and Samuel. John Waring was married twice. His first wife was Catharine Tuthill, and his second was Mary Elwell. He had nine children: Lewis, Charles, John, Peter, Isaac, Sam- uel, Polly (married George Gregory), Joanna (married Col. Williams), and Susannah (married Jonathan Smith). These chil- dren were the parents of large families, now widely scattered through the country. Peter, the fourth of them (born in 1782, died in 1849) and his wife Esther, danghter of Thomas Crosby and Hannah Snow, worthy people of Putnam county, became the parents of the following children, named in order of their ages: Jarvis A., William C., Aurelia (married Isaac V. Pad- dock), Jane (married Robert W Newman), Laura (married Sel- den Hubbel), Hannah (married David Underwood), John T., Marietta (married David H. Ketchum), Charles E. and Catherine (married Levi Roberts). Most of these children have passed many years as residents of Yonkers, and the four sons, through all their adult lives have been prominent among Yonkers busi- ness men. But one death has occurred among the ten chil- dren. It was that of Mr. Jarvis A. Waring, who died in October, 1872.
John T. Waring was born in Southeast, November 7th, 1820, and passed his boyhood till 1834, with but little experience of
510
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
change, at his parents' home. Meanwhile, in 1828, his brother, William C., and Hezekiah Nichols had begun the hatting busi- ness at Yonkers in the " Glen," on the spot now taken up by Copcutt's silk factory. Reverses and changes came over this firm and its business during the next six years, which it would be foreign to the the object of this article to recount. In the spring of 1834, however, Mr. William C. Waring started, upon the same spot in the "Glen", the new firm of Paddock & War- ing. It was at or about the opening of this new firm's experi- ence that John T. Waring entered its employ and began to learn the hatting business. The new firm ran on till 1837, when, feel- ing the effects of the then widely prevailing financial depression, it strengthened itself by a reorganization, and took on the name of William C. Waring & Co. In this name it did business till 1844, when the building in the "Glen" was burned. In the same year a new building was erected for it on what is now de- signated as Elm street. The building still stands, being part of the property occupied by the Elm street and Palisade avenue carpet factory.
Through all the business changes of his brother from 1834 to 1844, Mr. Waring had continued with him, devoting himself to the mastery of the trade. From 1844 to 1849 he had a business interest in the firm. In 1849, he began hatting on his own ac- count, in an old building on the site in the Nepperhan River, then and still known as "Chicken Island." From this time till 1876, a period of twenty-seven years, his business career was a continuously growing success. In 1857, he bought the factory of William C. Waring & Co. (on the present Elm street) en- larged it, and carried on business in it for the next five years. In 1862, he built his large hat factory on the opposite side of the since opened street, and at once entered upon a fourteen year period of the greatest prosperity. With his increased fa- cilities in this building, his business grew until he had over 800 men in his employ, and was making hats at the rate of 800 dozen a day. By 1876, a capital of $4,500, with which he had begun in the new building in 1862, had grown to a capital of nearly a million. It was at this point that he was struck with reverses.
In 1868, under the stimulus of his great success, he had pur- chased the splendid site, and begun to develope the magnificent property in the northern part of Yonkers, which has since be-
Engaby A H Ritchie
John & training
511
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
come famous under the name of "Greystone," intending it for his own future home. The grounds, buildings and total im- provements are said to have cost him nearly half a million dol- lars. Being visited in 1876 with overwhelming reverses in his business, he lost all he had previously gained. His beautiful mansion and grounds were sold for $150,000 to Hon. Samuel J. Tilden.
Upon this experience Mr. Waring, with his eldest son, Arthur Baldwin, who was through his whole period of trial, and has been through all his effort at recovery his father's devoted helper and efficient support, entered into a large contract with the State of Massachusetts for the employment of its convict labor, left Yonkers, settled near Boston and, nothing daunted, began business anew. His energy in his new field was crowned with deserved success. In 1884, having filled out his contract, he returned to Yonkers, and has recently bought the large property on Varick street, built during the late war for the manufacture of arms, and originally known as the " Starr Arms Works." This property he has thoroughly renovated, and stocked with abundant machinery of the most improved kind. Operations have now been begun in it, and under Mr. Waring's energetic business management the works promise to take their place among the largest and most vigorous works of this manu- facturing city. Possessing a perfect knowledge of the hatting trade in all its branches, Mr. Waring has become the inventor of several important processes in hat making, and especially of a hat sizing machine, from which lie derives a large income.
He was connected with the republican party from its organi- zation, and was a firm supporter of the Union cause during the Civil War. In 1861, he was elected president of the village of Yonkers. During that year war meetings were held in the town and a large number of men enlisted for the army. The faith of the town was pledged by resolutions passed at these meetings for the support of the families of the enlisted men while they might be away from home, and they were about moving to the field when it occurred to them to doubt whether the pledge of the popular meetings was a sufficient security for the care of those they were about to leave behind. At once they declared their unwillingness to proceed unless the president of the village would personally become security for the fulfilment of the popular pledge. This Mr. War-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.