USA > New York > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 48
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
ing promptly did, and so strong was the confidence of the men and their families in him, that the difficulty vanished and the recruits went out to the service of the country. Mr. Ethan Flagg accompanied Mr. Waring the next day in the work of looking up the families of the seventy-five men who had gone, and found that the town was left with the care of sixty-five such families upon its hands.
Mr. Waring married Jeanette P., daughter of the late Anson Baldwin, himself for many years a leading manufacturer and active citizen of Yonkers. Mr. and Mrs. Waring have had the following children: Arthur B., Grace (married Lewis Roberts), John T., Anson (not living), Ames Palmer, and Janet. The family have been prominently identified with the social life of Yonkers, and, being connected with St. John's Episcopal Church, have contributed much to the church's influence and usefulness. Energetic in all his business affairs, Mr. Waring's successes have been dne in part to his thorough grasp of all the details and needs of his business and in part to that absolute faith in himself which his whole career has so well justified. No man has done more to impress himself upon his place of residence than he. He will always be thought of as a foremost representative of Yonkers' leading business men.
LEVI H. ROBERTS .-- There are few citizens of the county of Putnam who are more extensively known or who have been longer connected with its business, social and religions interests than the subject of this article. Mr. Roberts was the son of Lemuel and Phebe Roberts, and was born in the town of Pat- terson, April 12th, 1823.
He was the youngest of a family of eleven children, having two brothers (Willis and Barzillai) and eight sisters. At the age of sixteen he began teaching, and his ability won for him steady employment. Desiring a mercantile education he went to New York and accepted a clerkship in the clothing estab- lishment of Brooks Brothers. He advanced rapidly, and re- turning to this county, he opened a store in Milltown in part- nership with his bother.
The prospective importance of the village of Brewster led him to remove to that place, where he became a large property owner. Steady application to business so affected his health that he disposed of his establishment and engaged in the insur-
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TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
ance business. In this he exhibited his usual energy and ability and built up a business which was excelled by none in the county, and gained a well-deserved reputation for honesty and strict integrity. In the affairs of the village and the town Mr. Roberts was well known as a man of progressive ideas, and in all social questions of the day.
He was a bitter opponent of slavery at a time when it was considered discreditable to be an abolitionist, and a firm op- poser of intemperance, when he had few supporters. Mr. Roberts was selected to deliver an historical address at Brewster on the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Ameri- can Independence in 1876. This address, which embraced a great amount of research in our early local history, was replete with information, and is still more valuable from the fact that many of the aged citizens of the town from whom he obtained his knowledge, have since passed away.
For many years Mr. Roberts was a most active and influen- tial member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was ever regarded as one of the pillars of the church and society. In the cause of temperance, in the societies formed to promote that work in the church and Sunday school, he was especially helpful. For nearly sixteen years he was superintendent of the M. E. Sunday school, and for twenty years was chorister and long an active member of the official board. He rarely missed a church service, and never permitted himself to be ab- sent from a Sunday school session.
Mr. Roberts married Miss Kate Waring, daughter of Peter and Esther Waring, February 3d, 1859. They had two children, Julia Waring, now living in Brewster, and Edwin Waring, deceased.
After a useful and active life, devoted to the best interests of the community, Mr. Roberts passed to a better world December 23d, 1885, and by his decease the village and the town lost one of its most respected and useful citizens. The following extract from the funeral sermon preached by Rev. W. H. Ferris, D.D., expressed the feelings of those who knew him well.
"When I heard the sad news of his death my first thought was: 'I am sorry this life has been so short,' and the next thought: 'I am glad it was so long.' But we could have wished for him a longer life. We need such men of deep con-
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
victions and manly courage and force of character, men who dare to do right and who follow their convictions. Yet, if we meas- ure life by deeds, he lived long. His was an earnest, concen- trated life; measured by its force, its activity, its intelligence, its wealth of affection, its achievements, it was long. It is far less important how long we live, than how much we live. His were crowded years, full of thought and effort for others. His ability as an author, whether of prose or poetry, was eminently creditable."
THE REED FAMILY .- John Reed, the ancestor of this family, came from Cornwall, England. He was born in 1633, and was a soldier from the age of 16, and a subaltern in Cromwell's army. On the restoration of Charles II, he fled to America and settled at Providence. He married a Miss Purdy, and removed to Norwalk, Conn., where he lived at a place called Reed's Farms, on Five-mile River. He died in 1730, at the age of 98. His children were: John, Thomas, William, Mary and Abigail.
Thomas Reed married Mary Olmstead, May 9th, 1694. His children were: Mary, Eunice, Thomas, born May 7th, 1699; John, born August 7th, 1701; Elizabeth, Ann, Temperance, Elias, born March 16th, 1711; and Nathan, born August 13th, 1713.
Nathan Reed married Mary, daughter of Samuel Peck, Nor- wich, Conn., December 22d, 1737. Their children were: Mary, Ann, Hannah, Nathan, born July 27th, 1747; David, born Sep- tember 2d, 1750; Elizabeth J., and Elias, born November 3d, 1756.
David Reed came to the town of Southeast in 1790, from Norwalk, Conn., and bought a farm, his homestead being on the site of the present residence of Mr. Edwin Reed, on the north side of the road from Brewster to the Tilly Foster Mine. He married Bethia Close March 24th, 1779. Their children were: James, born March 19th, 1780; Shadrach, born November 28th, 1781; David, born September 20th, 1783; Henry, born August 5th, 1785; and Lewis, born October 6th, 1787.
Mrs. Bethia Reed died January 17th, 1790, and Mr. Reed was married a second time to Elizabeth, daughter of Moses Fowler, October 20th, 1791. Their children were Nancy and Moses F. The latter was born February 9th, 1802. David Reed died August 11th, 1813, at the age of 63.
Edwin Reed
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TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
James Reed, the oldest son, married Clorinda, daughter of Judge John Crane, September 23d, 1802. She was born in 1787 and died in 1868. Their children were: Henry C., born Novem- ber 21st, 1803; James Harvey, born Angust 7th, 1805; Lewis A., born April 23d, 1807, died 1882.
James Harvey Reed, who is now living in the town of Carmel on the farm formerly owned by Judge Barnabas Carver, married Emily, daughter of Thomas Hazen, April 26th, 1826. His chil- dren are : Hon. Thomas H. Reed, who was member of Assembly in 1862; Henry A., James H., jr., John A., William B., Julia, Adeline A., Frances E. (deceased 1881), Ansel H., Charles A., and George E.'
Lewis Reed, son of David Reed, was born October 6th, 1787, and died April 15th, 1829. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert and Sarah Bailey, of North Salem, Westchester county, October 25th, 1810. Their children were : Bailey, who died in childhood; David, born November 25th, 1813; Sally B .; Nancy, wife of John Cable; Theodore, born April 6th, 1819; Emeline, wife of Silas Mead; and Edwin, born June 4th, 1823.
Mr. Edwin Reed, the subject of this article, was born on the homestead of his father a short distance east of his present residence. His education was received at the public schools of his native town, and agriculture has been the business of his life. The old homestead was a farm of about 130 acres, but it has been increased by judicious purchases until it now embraces more than 300 acres. Mr. Reed is generally recognized as one of the most successful farmers in the county, his farm being finely located and possessing the advantages of excellent soil and good situation.
Mr. Reed has always been a republican in politics, a strong sup- porter of the temperance cause, which he assists by his vote and influence. In addition to his property in this county he has ex- tensive real estate in the village of Sing Sing, Westchester county. The residence of Mr. Reed was built in 1852 by Bailey Howes. It stands on the site of the home of David Reed, which stood in Revolutionary times, and from its location and tasteful appear- ance is one of the finest country residences in this section of the county.
Mr. Reed married Polly A., daughter of Stephen and Martha Bloomer, November 24th, 1852. They are the parents of six children : Oscar C., Robert B. (deceased), Stella C., George E.
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
(now a student in the Medical Department of Columbia College), Mattie Elizabeth and Herbert C.
Mr. Reed has been connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Brewster for 35 years. Although taking an active interest in political affairs he has never been a seeker after office or its honors.
David Reed, oldest son of Louis Reed, married Mary, daughter of Harvey Palmer, of Westchester county, February 1st, 1847, and after her decease he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Wright Hobby, November 11th, 1857. His children are Harvey P. and Dr. Charles.
Theodore Reed married Mary, daughter of Ezra Rundle, of Westchester county, April 9th, 1839. His children are Sarah, Lewis, Elizabeth, Emma O. and Jennie M.
The farm of David Reed was left by him to his son, Moses F. Reed, who sold it to Seymour Allen February 24th, 1825. He conveyed it to Lyman Bailey, March 21st, 1825, and it was sold by him to Floyd Bailey March 30th, 1829. He in turn sold it to Bailey Howes April 6th, 1836, for $12,143. Bailey Howes sold it to Isaac Kelley, May 2d, 1856, for $26,000, and he conveyed it to Jesse and Lawrence Haviland April 1st, 1858. for $20,250. Upon a foreclosure of mortgage it was sold by Edmond Doane, sheriff, to Mr. Edwin Reed, the present owner, January 27th, 1879, for $11,800.
The farm of David Reed was sold by the commissioners of forfeiture to Edmond Mead in December, 1781. Edmond Mead sold it to Ebenezer Waring January 1st, 1788, and he sold it to David Reed January 17th, 1788, and from him it descended as above.
CHARLES E. EVERETT, so well known as the proprietor of the "Hotel Everett " on Chatham street, New York city, is of Eng- lish descent. His grandfather, Abram Everett, came from Eng- land early in the history of the Republic and settled upon a farm in Putnam county where his son Charles, father of Charles E. Everett, was born.
Mr. Everett was the youngest son among twelve children. His birth took place September 13th, 1841, at Brewster, where he was also educated in the public schools. Leaving Brewster at the age of fourteen he went to New York city, where he en- gaged in the milk business with the Hon. Samuel H. Everett,
11.
Charles Ecornett
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TOWN OF SOUTHEAST.
now proprietor of the well-known hotel at the foot of Vesey street. Mr. Everett remained thus occupied during the space of four years, after which he became a clerk in the Vesey Street Hotel, afterward becoming a partner in its management.
For fifteen years Mr. Everett continued thus, when he retired, at the same time purchasing from his brother, into whose hands it had fallen, the homestead property, his birthplace. After two years spent in farming and improvement of his place in the country, Mr. Everett returned to New York and opened the hotel, Nos. 84, 86, 88 and 90 Chatham street, well known as the Hotel Everett.
This concern was formerly Crook's Hotel and Dining Rooms. It is one of the best regulated and ventilated houses in New York city and contains two hundred and fifty well lighted and neatly furnished rooms. It has well arranged suites of apart- ments for families and contains the very best of accommoda- tions for single boarders. The entire house is open day and night and occasional sojourners in New York city will find in its proprietor that genial and accommodating disposition so nec- essary for the successful management of a large hotel. It is a notable fact that the "Hotel Everett " was the first building of the kind in New York lighted by the Edison (system) electric light.
Mr. Everett, by his untiring energy and careful management, has succeeded in possessing himself of an ample fortune with the proceeds of which he is ever on the alert to do a good deed. He is still in possession of the Valley View farm at Brewster, and continnes to be well known throughout Putnam county, where, like his ancestor before him, he has maintained a repu- tation for spotless integrity.
CHAPTER XXIV.
TOWN OF PHILIPSTOWN.
REVISED BY COL. THOMAS B. ARDEN.
Erection and Boundaries .- The River Lots .- Beverly Robinson .- William Den- ning .- Beverly Farm .- Beverly House .- Arnold's Treason .- Garrison's- South Highlands Methodist Church .- The Hopper Mine .- Continental Vil- lage .- Highland Chemical Works .- St. Philip's Church in the Highlands .- Methodist Church at Garrison's .- Philipse Lot No. 2 .- Settlers .- Early Town Records .- Revolutionary.
T HIS town is bounded on the west by the Hudson River, on the north by the line of Dutchess county, on the east by the town of Putnam Valley, and on the south by the line of Westchester county. It embraces within its limits the grandest of the Highland scenery, and the traveller who ascends the Hudson is never weary of gazing on the vista of lofty moun- tains that bound the horizon on either side.
This was one of the original towns into which the Philipse Patent was divided in 1788. By the terms of the Act, "All that part of the County of Dutchess bounded southerly by the County of Westchester, westerly by Hudson River, northerly by the north bounds of the land granted to Adolph Philipse, and easterly by the east bounds of the Long Lot Number Four, formerly belonging to Beverly Robinson: shall be and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Philipstown."
The first change in the boundaries of the town was made March 14th, 1806, when by an Act of the Legislature, " All such part of the town of Philipstown as lies north of the west line begin- ning by the north river at the southwestermost end of Break neck hill, and running from thence North 52 degrees east to the division line between the same towns, is hereby annexed to the town of Fishkill, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.
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TOWN OF PHILIPSTOWN.
It is this change that causes the northwest corner of Putnam county to appear to be cut off as it really is.
The next change in the limits of the town was March 14th, 1839, when the present town of Putnam Valley was established, which embraced the greater part of Beverly Robinson's Long Lot. From these changes the present limits of the town em- brace the three River Lots of Philipse Patent (with the excep- tion of the northwest part of Lot No. 3) and that portion of Lot No. 4 which lies north of the Philipstown Turnpike, and west of the present boundary of the town of Kent.
As the three River Lots have a distinct and separate history, they will be considered in succession.
Lot No. 1, or "Beverly Robinson's river lot," as it was termed, is the southern extremity of the town When sur- veyed in 1753, the south line was described as "Beginning at a red cedar tree marked, on the north side of the hill commonly called Anthony's Nose, which is likewise the north bounds of Col. Stephen Van Cortlandt's land or Manor of Cortlandt, and running east along the line of said Manor 360 chains to a white oak marked with P. 1753."
In a petition of Stephen Van Cortlandt, the red cedar tree is mentioned as " standing at the south end of the marsh by the river," but of course this landmark has long since disappeared. The east line of the lot began at the white oak mentioned and "ran north 10 degrees east, 340 chains to a chestnut tree marked P. R. 1753, on the west side, standing on the east side of a steep rocky mountain." This chestnut tree had decayed and fallen to the ground in 1802. and in its place was a chestnut sapling, which sprang from the root and was marked for the corner. This sapling, now grown to be a large tree, is standing on the east side of the mountain (sometimes called Hog Hill) near the top, and is the northeast corner of the land of John Travis, and on the line between his land and that of Henry Post, on the north and east. The north line of the lot began at this chestnut tree and "ran south 75 degrees, west 174 chains to a heap of stones, on a high hill, then north 65 degrees west 83 chains to a pine tree standing by Hudson's River marked P. R., by a heap of stones 22 chains below a rock called and known by the name of the Old Wife lying in the mouth of the brook." This point on the river is about a quarter of a mile north of the
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
ferry at Garrison's, and a stone wall marks the line which runs across the middle of the railroad tunnel.
Previous to the Revolution the inhabitants on this tract were very few in numbers, and it will be noticed that on Erskine's map the only houses that appear are those of Beverly Robinson and John Mandeville, the latter being a short distance north of Garrison's. A few tenants were scattered on farms, but the rugged and mountainous nature of a large portion of the lot rendered it less desirable as a place of settlement than the fer- tile valleys in the eastern part of Philipse Patent, and the number of inhabitants of the Philipse Precinct in 1777 was small compared with the precincts of Fredericksburg and Southeast.
Col. Beverly Robinson, whose name is so intimately connected with the history of this portion of the country, was a son of Hon. John Robinson of Virginia, who was president of that colony. In early manhood he came to New York, where he en- gaged in business. His marriage with Susannah Philipse mnade him son-in-law of one of the wealthiest citizens of the colony and greatly advanced his pecuniary prospects. For some time before the Revolution he made his home in the mansion near Garrison's which, from its connection with one of the most im- portant episodes in the nation's history, has ever been an object of interest and curiosity. Col. Robinson and his wife were the only members of the Philipse family who made their home on the patent, and he was frequently elected supervisor of the precinct, and was prominent in the business affairs of the county.
The Revolution found him quietly settled on his estate, en- joying the confidence and good will of his tenant neighbors. At first his sympathies appeared to be with the colonies and in op- position to the rash measures of the British Ministry, and like many others at that time, he illustrated his views by giving up the use of imported merchandise, and clothed himself and family in domestic goods. He was led to relinquish these views by the importunity of friends, and entered the military service of the Crown. His standing in society entitled him to a high rank, and he was made colonel of the "Loyal American Legion," raised principally by himself, and he also commanded the "Corps of Guides and Pioneers," and of the former his son, Beverly, was lientenant-colonel. During the war he was
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very prominent in cases of defection from the Whig cause, and is generally believed to have been privy to Arnold's treason, and was on the British man of war "Vulture," at the time when Major Andre left the vessel to begin the fatal journey which ended when he was laid to rest on the hillside at Tappan. After the conviction and sentence of André, an unavailing at- tempt was made to save him, and Col. Robinson, as a witness. accompanied the three commissioners who were sent by Gen. Clinton, and he also forwarded to Washington a letter in which he recalled their former acquaintance.
At the close of the Revolution, Col. Robinson, with a portion of his family, went to England, and his name appears as a member of the first Council of New Brunswick, but he never took his seat. Upon the establishment of the State Govern- ment. Col. Robinson and his wife, with a multitude of others, were by Act of Attainder, passed October 22d, 1779, banished from the State under pain of death if they ever returned, and their estates were confiscated and sold by the commissioners of forfeiture, appointed for that purpose. From the time of his arrival in England, he seems to have passed a peaceful and quiet life, at Mort Lake. He died about 1792. The British govern- ment allowed him and his wife, £17,000 for the loss of their estate.
Of the children of Colonel Robinson, Mary, the second daughter, died in England, July 9th, 1833, aged 72. Beverly Robinson, jr., who, as "Beverly Robinson the younger," was attainted with his parents, was a graduate of Columbia College, and studied law with James Duane. Previous to the Revolu- tion he appears to have occupied a farm near the present vil- lage of Patterson. At the evacuation of New York he was placed in command of a large number of loyalists, who em- barked for Shelburne, N. S., and laid out that place. He after- ward removed to New Brunswick and resided at St. John's. He was a member of His Majesty's Council, and at first suffered much from reduced circumstances, but finally received half pay, as an officer. He died in New York in 1816. He was buried in St. Paul's Church yard, New York. His grave stone, which stands on the west side of the yard, near the southwest corner, bears the following inscription:
"Sacred to the Memory of the Hon. Beverly Robinson, late of Frederickton, in the Province of New Brunswick. Born the 8th of March, 1751, and died on the 6th of October, 1816."
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HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, 2d, son of Colonel Beverly Robinson, entered the King's service during the Revolution, and went to England with his father. He was knighted and made lieutenant-general, and was wounded at the storming of St. Sebastian, while fighting under the command of Wellington. In the War of 1812, he was employed in Canada, and com- manded the British forces at the attack on Plattsburg. At the conclusion of hostilities, he returned to England, and on the way he stopped at the Highlands, to visit the estate which had been the home of his childhood, and it is said that he shed bitter tears as he trod once more the spot he never was to see again. He survived all the rest of the family, and was living at Brighton, Eng., in 1846. He left a daughter, Maria Susan- nah, wife of Hamilton C. J. Hamilton, H. B. M., Minister to Rio Janeiro.
Morris Robinson, the third son, was captain in the Queen's Rangers, and was kept in commission after the war. He was lieutenant colonel and assistant barracks master in the British Army. He died at Gibraltar, in 1815, at the age of 56. He married a sister of Captain Waring of the British Navy. Their children were: Margaret Ann, wife of Rev. J. Cross, who died in 1837, aged 43; Beverly, who was a captain in the Royal Ar- tillery; Frederick, John and Oliver (all of whom were officers in the Royal service); Susan, wife of Hon. Robert Parker; and Joanna, wife of Robert F. Hazen, Esq., of New Bruns- wick.
John Robinson, the fourth son, was lieutenant in the "Loyal American Regiment," and settled in New Brunswick. He was deputy paymaster of the forces in Canada, and mayor of St. John's, where he died in 1828, at the age of 67. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Hon. George D. Ludlow. Their children were: Frances Maria, wife of Col. John Wilson; William Henry, who was deputy commissary general; Beverly, who was treas- urer of New Brunswick; Daniel L., a barrister at law; and John M., who was master in chancery, in 1846.
Sir William Henry Robinson, the youngest son, went to Eng- land with his father and was at the head of the Commissariat Department, and was knighted for his services. He died at Bath, in 1836, aged 71. His wife was Catharine, daughter of Cortlandt Skinner, who was attorney general of New Jersey. Their children were: William Henry, a captain in the British
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TOWN OF PHILIPSTOWN.
Army; Catharine, wife of Major General Smelt, and Elizabeth, who married her cousin, Sir William Henry Robinson.
Susannah Philipse, wife of Col. Beverly Robinson, survived her husband, and died in 1822, at the advanced age of 94.
Among the Philipse papers are preserved several letters writ- ten by Beverly Robinson, and containing many items of inter- est. We present two of them to the reader. The first was written previous to the Revolution, and while he was living at the Highlands. The other was written from England, after his banishment.
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