USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 50
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John (probably a son of Mattheus) and Maria Swaim had a daughter baptized July 3, 1726. John (son of Pieter) and Nancy, or Anna Merrell, had a son Johannes, baptized April
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19, 1743. and a son Richard, April 26, 1748. Charles (above mentioned) and Lena Swaim had a son Matthys, baptized April 5, 1730, died in infancy; a son Mattheus, baptized March 16, 1733; and a daughter, January 8, 1738.
Richard, known as " colonel," born May 15, 1747, died May 26, 1817; his mother was a Merrill (see above), and his wife was Wynchie Merrill. They had a son Richard, baptized October 26, 1788. Matthew (son of Charles), and Merrian, his wife, had a son Israel, baptized August 28, 1763, and Israel had a dangh- ter baptized February, 1788. John (son of John, above) and Elizabeth, his wife, had a son Reuben, born August 6, 1766, and Reuben and Mary Swaim were married July 25, 1790. Abra- ham and Phebe, his wife, had a son Noah, born March 26, 1773, and a son Charles, born April 10, 1775. Moses and Elizabeth Wood were married in April, 1769. Matthias and Lidde (Lydia) Milburn were married in November, 1775. Isaac and Margaret Jones were married August 7, 1791. Jacob and Leah Depue were married June 5, 1796. Sylvanus and Sarah Parker were married October 24, 1800. Isaac and Elizabetlı Christopher were married October 13, 1804.
Matthew made his will April 26, 1787, proved September 15, 1787, in which he mentions his wife Catharine, son Mat- thew, a minor, and daughters Margaret, Elsie. Elizabeth, Ann and Catharine, who was lame.
Hon. John Decker, of Port Richmond, represents one branch of this family; his brothers were Matthias, Benjamin and David, the two first deceased. Their father was David, and their mother Catharine Decker; David's brothers were John, Benjamin and Abraham; they were the sons of Benja- min and Mary Egbert.
DE GROOT .- This family, though originally French, and known as Le Grand, for centuries past has been regarded as Dutch, the name by which it is now known being simply a translation of the French name. The eminent scholar and ad- vocate, Hugo de Groot, otherwise known as Grotius, was a member of this family. Motley, in his life of Jolin of Barne- veld, says of him: "He was then (June 5th, 1619) just 36 years old. Althongh comparatively so young, he had been long regarded as one of the great luminaries of Europe for learning and genius. Of an ancient and knightly race, his immediate ancestors had been as famous for literature, sci-
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ence and municipal abilities, as their more distant progen- itors had been for deeds of arms in the feudal struggles of Holland in the middle ages. His father and grandfather had alike been eminent for Hebrew, Greek and Latin scholarship. and both had occupied high position in the University of Leyden from the beginning. Hugo, born and nurtured under such quickening influences, had been a scholar and poet almost from his cradle. He wrote respectable Latin verses at the age of seven; he was matriculated at Leyden at the age of eleven. When fourteen, he took his bachelor's degree. On leaving the University, he was attached to the embassy of Bar- neveld, and Justinus van Nassau to the conrt of Henry IV. In France, before he was fifteen, he received from the University of Orleans the degree of Doctor of Laws. At seventeen he was an Advocate in full practice before the Supreme tribunals of the Hague, and when twenty-three years old he was selected by Prince Maurice from a list of three candidates for the im- portant post of fiscal or attorney-general of Holland. At twenty-six he published Mare Liberum-a little later, his work on the antiquity of the Batavian Republic. At twenty-nine he had completed his Latin History of the Netherlands. IIis great work on the Rights of War and Peace was afterward written."
There were two emigrants of this name to America, viz., Willem Pietersen de Groot, wife and five children, came over in April, 1662, in the ship called the "Hope;" and Staes de Groot, who came over in the "Spotted Cow," the succeeding April.
The name is not found in any of the old state documents, ex- cept on Staten Island and in Albany county. The emigrants settled in these places, the latter on Staten Island. The earli- est notice in local records is as follows : Johannes (a son of Staes) and Elizabeth Seckkels, his wife, had the following children : Peter, baptized April 2, 1729; Robert, baptized Oc- tober 10, 1731; Johannes, baptized February 1, 1735. Peter married Claartje (Clare) Post, and had the following children : Garret, baptized August 25, 1751; John, baptized May 2, 1753; Katrina, baptized July 27, 1755; Gertrude, baptized July 17, 1758.
John, son of Peter, married Mary Wood, and they were the parents of Jacob de Groot, who died March 11, 1875, aged 86
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years, and grandparents of Alfred de Groot, the present rep- resentative of the family in this county.
DE HART .- Of the ancestors of this family on the island, there is but little to be learned from the local records. What we have been able to glean is as follows: Daniel had a son Daniel, baptized October 22, 1707; a daughter, April 17, 1711 ; a son Matthias, baptized in 1715; a son Samuel, baptized in 1717, died May 17, 1798. Baltus and Mary Phillipse had daughter Catalyn, baptized 1746-'7. Matthias, born August 21, 1749, died October 20, 1840. Edward had a son Jacob, baptized October 24, 1790. Stephen married Margaret Ryers in September, 1792.
DEPUY .- At the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, there was a Protestant family of this name in Languedoc. Two brothers of this family, Philip and David, then fled to Holland, and be- came officers in the army of William of Orange; they accom- panied him to England, and were both killed at the battle of the Boyne. Another brother, Samuel, was an officer in the British army, and served in the Low Countries. But some of the name were in America before the revocation. In 1662, Nicolas du Pui, with his wife and three children, came to this country in the ship called the "Purmerland Church;" he prob- ably settled on Staten Island, and was the progenitor of the family here, as we find his baptismal name perpetuated among them. If this assumption is correct, then the names of two of the three children were John and Francis, for we find them mentioned in the public records as early as 1680; John as de- fendant in a suit in March of that year, and Francis as owning a tract of woodland near Fresh kill, in December of that year. We do not meet with the name of Francis after that date, but find the name of John again, in the church record, as having a daughter Elizabeth baptized October 22, 1707, and a son Moses, July 22, 1714.
Nicolas, perhaps a grandson of the original, and Neeltje (Cornelia) Dekker had the following children : A daughter, baptized April 6, 1724 ; and sons John, baptized June 27, 1725 ; Matthew, baptized October 8, 1726 ; Nicholas, baptized June 4, 1730; Moses, baptized October 27, 1732 ; Aaron, baptized Au- gust 26, 1739. Nicholas, last mentioned, was supervisor of Westfield in 1766. John, last mentioned, and his wife Sarah, had a son Nicholas, baptized in 1757. Moses, last mentioned,
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and his wife Leah, had the following children : John, born January 10, 1759 ; Nicholas, born June 3, 1766; Moses, born January 17, 1769. Barent, who probably was another son of Nicolas and Neeltje, and his wife Elsie Poillon, had the follow- ing children : Martha, baptized May 20, 1750, and Elsie, bap- tized December 9, 1739.
There was a Barent, who made his will June 4, 1792. which was probated August 17, 1792, in which he speaks of his wife Mary, and the following children : Nicholas, Barent, Daniel, Abraham, Mary, Elsie, Sallie and Elizabeth. These two named Barent may be identical, but if so, he was twice married, and his daughter Martha was dead when he made his will.
DISOSWAY .- Marc du Sauchay, the progenitor of the Disos- way family, was a native of Picardy, from the valley of the Somme. The lords dn Sauchay came from the House of Cler- mont, in the Beauvaisis ; one of them is known to have been with the Duke of Normandy at the conquest of Britain. Many Huguenots of Picardy were sentenced to banishment or im- prisonment. Among this number was Marc du Sanchay. The nearness of the low countries offered facilities of escape, and thirty families made their home in Harlem, and from Holland, subsequently crossing the ocean, founded the new Harlem, on Manhattan island, then a wilderness.
In 1655 Marc made his first voyage to New Netherland; suf- ficiently pleased with the country, he decided to make it his future home. He returned to Leyden, and married, March 11, 1657, Elizabeth, daughter of Guilliame Rossignil, and on April 2, again sailed from Amsterdam for Manhattan in the ship "Draetaat," Captain Bestevaer, taking with him his bride, two laboring mnen, and two boys over twelve years of age. The names of the men were Johannes Swedes, of Gelderland, and Jean Guenon, of Leyden. In 1657 he bought a farm in Brook- lyn, and April 10, 1661, transferred his church connection from New Amsterdam to this place. July 2, 1675, we find his name as purchaser of a "book of martyrs and others," from the estate of Jean le Comte for eighty gilders. In November, 1679, he bought lots on Haarn's hook, but sold them "presently." June 7, 1683, he and his wife took letters from the Dutch to the French church newly formed under Rev. Pierre Daillé. He moved to Staten Island April 5, 1684, and was still living Oc- toher 1, 1706. Ilis children, so far as known, were: Madeline,
34
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who married Martin Hardewyn; Marcus, Jeanne, who married Conrad Hendricks, of Harlem ; Jean and Marie. His son Mar- cus inherited his father's lands and died in 1714, leaving each child a farm ranging from eighty-eight to ninety-five acres. Three sons were then living-Job, Israel and Gabriel. His daughters were Elizabeth, wife of Peter Barbarie ; Susanne, wife of Daniel Hendricks ; Mary, wife of Thomas Eyres; Diane, wife of Hendrick Brees ; and Sarah, unmarried. Part of the old stone house, built by their ancestor, is still owned by a de- scendant. In the county records, often copied by careless or illiterate clerks, the name has received many curious changes from the original. In the Dutch baptismal records it was al- ways written Du Secoy or Dn Secay. The late Gabriel P. Dis- osway was a descendant of Israel du Sauchay, the son of Mar- cus, who died in 1714. He was well known as a philanthropist and writer, and was especially interested in anything relating to the history of Staten Island and the Huguenots, from whom he had descended. He died July 9, 1868, leaving five sons and seven daughters. IIe married Diana F. Riddick, daughter of Col. Mills Riddick, of Suffolk, Va. His eldest son, Wilbur Fisk, is living, from whom the genealogy is traced. Wilbur Fisk, son of Gabriel Poillon and Diana Riddick, son of Israel and Anne Doty, son of Israel and Judith Poillon, son of Israel and Gertrude Van Deventer, son of Marcus du Sauchay, son of Marcus du Sauchay, of Amiers, Picardy, France.
Sons of Gabriel Poillon and Diana T. Riddick, born 1798 : Wilbur Fisk, Clement. Israel, Cornelius Doty, Mills Riddick, Richard Henly. Sons of Israel and Anne Doty, born in 1773 : Israel Doty, Mark, Gabriel Poillon, Cornelius Ryers, William Phœbus.
Sons of Israel and Judith Poillon were Israel and Mark. Sons of Israel and Gertrude Van de Venter were Israel (died 1738), Mark, Cornelius, Gabriel (died 1753) ; a daughter Annoitie. Sons of Marcus du Sanchay were Job, Israel, Gabriel ; the daughters were Elizabeth, Susanne, Marie and Diana. Sons of Cornelius, the son of Israel and Gertrude Van de Venter, left six daughters and two sons, a mansion on Staten Island, slaves, plate, gold watch, sleeve buttons, a riding chair, with particular instructions regarding the education of his children, believing it to be of the highest importance in life. He died in 1786. Israel, his brother, left fonr sons-Israel, Mark, Cornelius and
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Gabriel, and one daughter. He left property in slaves, plate, furniture, and land in Middlesex, N. J.
The late Gabriel Poillon Disosway was his direct descendant. The name remained little changed until after the revolution, at that time it was spelled Dusocay in the county records. The grave of Judith Poillon is one of the oldest in the Moravian cemetery, the date being 1776, She was twice married, her first husband was Israel Dusocay, her second Judge Ryers, who built and lived in the hotel now known as the "St. James " hotel at Port Richmond. Tradition says that she was frightened to death by the arrival of the British troops on Staten Island.
The descendants of Cornelius Dusocay remained in the stone mansion built by the ancestor, Marcus du Sauchay, for many years. It still stands, a substantial, comfortable home, the oak timbers bidding fair to out-last many modern structures. The independent spirit of the Picard and Huguenot blood of their ancestors clung to them during the American war for free- dom, and the Disosway's names were found among the list of patriots in times that tried men's souls.
Du BOIS .- This was a large family, some of them residing in Brittany, and some in French Flanders. Antoine Dubois, and some of his relatives, fled to England as early as 1583, to escape persecution for their religious opinions. It is not known when the family first came on the island, nor who was the first of the name; the earliest name mentioned in the church record is that of Louis du Bois, Jr., whose wife's name was Catharine Van Brunt; they had a son Samuel who was baptized December 11, 1737. They had also a son Benjamin, and a son John. Ben- jamin became a minister of the Reformed Dutch church in 1764, and was immediately settled over the churches of Free- hold and Middletown, N. J., where he remained sixty-three years.
John and Hester his wife had a daughter Mary, born June 27, 1766; he made his will January 17, 1793, which was proved Feb- ruary 1, 1794, in which he speaks of his wife Hester; his daughters, Hester, wife of Lewis Prall; Martha, wife of Daniel Winants; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Laforge; and Mary, wife of James Laforge, and his son Richard.
There was another John who had a son, Nathaniel R., and died at the age of 87; his son, Nathaniel, died in May, 1874, aged 85 years; his wife was Frances Butler.
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Lewis and Jane Merserean were married January 12, 1804.
The family, once tolerably numerous and highly respectable, are almost extinct in the county. A family by the name, to which Mr. Eugene Dn Bois belongs, purchased the old Walter Dongan farm at Castleton Corners in 1859, and still occupy it. No connection between this family and the first is known. The ancestors of the latter came from Artois, France, in 1675, and settled in Ulster and Dutchess counties.
DUSTAN .-- This family has for many years been identified with the island. William and Peter were natives of Scotland, and emigrated to America at an early age. The former, locally known as Major Dustan, was born September 11, 1759, and died on Staten Island, May 23, 1841, nearly 82 years of age. He left one son, Isaac Kip, whose melancholy death, is recorded on his monument in the Moravian cemetery, as follows:
" This monument is erected a tribute of esteem to the mem- ory of Isaac Kip Dnstan, aged 38 years and 7 months, who lost his life while in the discharge of his duties as Captain of the ill-fated Steamer Atlantic, off Fisher's Island, during the mem- orable gale of the 28th of November, 1846."
EDDY .-- Among present representatives of this family are Cornelius C., of Stapleton, and his cousin James, of Huguenot, in Westfield. The former is the son of William, who was killed by his horse running away, in January, 1828; the latter is the son of John, also deceased. William, John and Andrew, who is still living near Woodrow church, Westfield, were brothers, and sons of William, the first of the name, who came here from New Jersey during the war of the revolution, with the inten- tion of remaining bnt a short time; but either the refusal of a pass, or protracted delay in furnishing it, detained him on the island, until finally. having probably formed some attachment, he relinquished the idea of returning, and settled permanently.
ANDREW EDDY .- William Eddy, the father of the subject of this biography, a native of the state of New Jersey, was pressed into the service during the war of the revolution. On his dis- charge he engaged in agricultural pursuits and married Cathie- rine Du Bois, a lady of Huguenot lineage. Their children were: James, John, Elizabeth, wife of Abraham Cole ; Catherine, married to Andrew Prier; William, Andrew, and Mary, mar- ried to Patrick Leddy. The death of Mr. Eddy occurred in 1831, at the age of 78 years, and that of his wife in 1832, in her
Andrew Dray
ARTOTYPE, ERSTA, 7,
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
70th year. Andrew Eddy was born April 3, 1801, in Woodrow, where the early years of his life were devoted to the work of the farm, with a brief period at school during the winter months. Being ambitious to render himself independent by the mastery of a trade, he chose that of a carpenter and was for a period of six years thus employed. Embarking then in public life he was elected constable and collector for Westfield town- ship, served several years in that capacity, and was subsequent- ly made assessor. Mr. Eddy was then elected supervisor and afterward filled a second term as assessor of the township. Unsatisfied to remain idle while not occupied with official duties, he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Woodrow, and later, re- sumed the labor of the farm. He was, in 1822, married to Catherine Poillon, daughter of John P. Poillon, of Staten Island. Their children are : Edwin V., Carnes, William H. and George W. Mr. Eddy, though deprived by death of the companionship of his wife on the 20th of August, 1878, con- tinned upon the farm until 1884, when, on his removal to Tot- tenville, he built the dwelling which is his present residence. A lifelong democrat in politics he has relinquished the exciting scenes of public life for the quiet and retirement of his home. He esponses the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was formerly treasurer and trustee of the church at Woodrow.
1.
EGBERT .- The first emigrant of this name was probably Govert Egbert, who came to America in the ship called the "Spotted Cow," in 1660, but it is not certain that he ever lived on Staten Island.
The first mention of the name in connection with the island is that of Tunis, who bought land in 1698, and sold land to John Androvat in January, 1699. His will, dated July 6, 1721, mentions seven sons, Egbert, John, Abraham, Jacque, Isaac, Lawrence and Tunis. Besides these he had four daughters, whose names are not mentioned.
Tunis married Petronella Dupuy, and his son John was bap- tized December, 1745. John had sons, in the order of their birth-Joseph, John, Tunis, Samuel, Edward, Thomas, Holmes, Cornelius, Henry and William. Of these there were still liv- ing in 1876: Edward, on the Manor road, Castleton ; Cornelius, on the Amboy road, Southfield, and William, at Graniteville.
This Cornelius Egbert married the daughter of Bornt Lake, who was murdered by Christian Smith, and occupies the same
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
honse Lake occupied at the time of his death. His brother William married another daughter of Lake.
Probably the same Tunis had another son named Abraham (born September 21, 1747, died October 2, 1816), who was the father of the following sons : Abraham, Joseph, Tunis, Corne- lius, John, Stephen, James and Edward ; two sons and seven- teen grandsons, besides grand-danghters and daughters, whose names are not given. We subjoin the following. indiscrimi- nately, as we have collected them from several records.
James is mentioned in the county records in 1724, and in 1766. Peter is also mentioned in 1767. Tunis, probably a son of the original Tunis, born 1720, died May 19, 1805. Tunis, born January 11, 1759, died November 5, 1825. Moses and his wife Caty had a son Abraham, born November 8, 1768, "about three o'clock." Moses, the above, was born October 21, 1742, and died November 13, 1831. Jacus (James ?) and Trientje Backer (Baker ?) had a daughter, baptized October 11, 1743. Abraham and Elizabeth Gerresen had a daughter, baptized April 17, 1744, and a son Benjamin, born August 25, 1768. Abraham and Francyntje Parain (Francina Perine) had a son Abraham, born May 22, 1715 ; a son John, baptized April 10, 1720 ; a daughter Elizabeth, baptized June 17, 1722. Jacobus (James) and Cath- arine Deny had a son Johannes, baptized July 14, 1723 ; a son Laurens, baptized March 24, 1724. Jaques and Catharine Bak- ker (Baker ?) had a daughter Susannah, baptized November 4, 1733, identical with the above Jacus. Anthony and his wife Mary had a son, Reuben, born September 13, 1770, on " Thurs- day, about ten of the clock in ye morning," a daughter Martha, "born April 25, about ten of ye clock in ye morning, 1772, on Saterday," a daughter Eleanor, "born August 7, about one of ye clock in ye morning, 1774." John and Catharine his wife had twins, Tunis and Eleanor, born November 11, 1771. Barney and Ann Taylor were married October 4, 1801.
ELLIS .- There seem to have been three branches of the Ellis family, who emigrated to this country at an early date. Gar- ret Ellis, of English ancestry, one of Staten Island's pioneers, was born in 1720, and died in 1797 ; his son Capt. Garret Ellis, a wealthy farmer, was born in the town of Westfield, Staten Island, in 1756, died aged 71 years. He was one of the heroes of the war of 1776, and always remained loyal to the canse of liberty; during that struggle he was arrested at midnight on
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Staten Island, and compelled to walk shoeless over frozen ground, almost the entire length of the island, and was incar- cerated in old Fort Richmond, where he was detained a prisoner until the close of the war. Capt. Garret Ellis married Miss Mary Tappen of New Jersey, who was born in 1767, died at the age of 77 years ; she was of Dutch descent, and both were members of the Dutch Reformed church. They had ten children, five sons and five daughters ; the three eldest died while yonng; their oldest son Capt. Cornelius, married Miss Bealy Butler; they had five children, two of whom, Jacob Ellis, a prominent shipbuilder, and Cornelius, ship captain, both re- side in Tottenville, Staten Island. Their second son, Capt. Gar- ret, married Miss Susan Butler; they had thirteen children. Their third son, Abraham, once sheriff of Richmond county, married Miss Allice Murry; they had ten children. George W., the eldest, now chief clerk of the police department, and for- merly supervisor of Richmond county, lives in Kreischer- ville. Capt. Garret Ellis' eldest daughter, Fannie (born 1785, died in her 82d year) married Capt. Peter Winant, who died at sea in 1823. Miss Leah married Jacob Simonson, Miss Lany married Henry Butler, and Miss Polly married James Johnson, all deceased.
ENYARD .- In the county records is found the name of Jollis Inyard, who purchased land on the island as early as 1687, and sold land in 1692. In 1708 the same individual, under the name of Yellis Ingart, sold land. The names Jollis. Yellis, and Gillis are the same, being Dutch corruptions of Giles. He had a son Matthys (Matthias) whose wife was Elizabeth Gerritson, and they had the following children : Matthys, baptized January 7, 1730; Gillis, baptized December 17, 1732; Susanna, baptized May 4. 1735; Catharine, baptized April 23, 1739; Elisabet, bap- tized April 18, 1743; Nicklaes, baptized April 22, 1746.
Nicholas married Jemima Wood, in July, 1768. They had a son Elias. who was the father of Mr. John Enyard, of Port Richmond, and grandfather of Rev. William T. Enyard, formerly pastor of the Reformed church. Brighton Heights, S. I.
FOUNTAIN .- This family is of French origin. James Fon- taine, or de la Fountaine, as it was formerly written, the story of whose escape from France after the Revocation, is given by Smiles; Fontaine, the French fabulist, Sir Andrew Fontaine, the antiquarian, and many others, eminent in science and the
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
arts, are of this family. The progenitor of those of the name in America was not driven from his native land by the revoca- tion of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, for there is the notice of a "Charel Fonteyn, a Frenchman, and wife," who came to Amer- ica in the ship called the "Golden Beaver," in 1658; there is also a record of Antone Fountain, aged 30, who was a witness in a suit on Staten Island, in 1680. The family is not as numer- ous in the county as formerly, some branches having become extinct, others having removed from the county. Mr. Vincent Fountain, of West New Brighton, is the son of the late Capt. Henry Fountain, who was born in 1787, and died May 28th, 1867. He lived for many years in the large house between the Church of the Ascension and the building of the Young Men's Christian Association, on the north shore. Capt. Henry and his late brother John, of Tompkinsville, were sons of Vincent Fountain, who was born in 1748, and died December 11, 1819. Vincent was probably the son of Anthony Fountain, who was supervisor in 1767.
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