USA > New York > Staten Island > History of Richmond County (Staten Island), New York : from its discovery to the present time > Part 58
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
his wife, had twins, John and Susanna, baptized May 25, 1729. Tunis and Maria Drageau, his wife, had the following children: Anthony, baptized October 9, 1729; Johannes, baptized Febru- ary 14, 1731; Maria, baptized June 3, 1734; Joost, baptized May 19, 1737, and Tunis, baptized November 19, 1738.
Peter had a son William, baptized November 23, 1715; a son Samnel, April 16, 1717. Simon and Maria Adams had a son Peter, baptized May 23, 1749, and a daughter, April 18, 1743. John (An- thony's) son and Susanna Latourette, his wife, had Joost, bap- tized April 4, 1736, and Anthony, baptized April 30, 1733. This Anthony married Janneke Simonson, and had a daughter, bap- tized June 11, 1760. Peter and Barber Houlton had a daughter, baptized April 18, 1743, and a son David, baptized October 12, 1755. Jan and Maria Bouman had a danghter, baptized September 14, 1742. Jan, Jr., and Catrina Bonman had a daughter, baptized May 6, 1745. John had a daughter, baptized October 29, 1787. Samuel, son of Peter, mentioned above, and Maria Falkenburg had a son Pieter, baptized July 19, 1748. Aart and Christina Immet, daughter Maria, baptized December 10, 1721. John and Margaret, his wife, had the following children: Tunis, born Au- gust 8, 1760; John, born February 10, 1765; James, born May 13, 1761, and Peter, born November 13, 1769. Peter and Phebe had a son Tunis, born June 6, 1768. Anthony and Susanna had a daughter Susanna, born May 10, 1766, and a son George, born March 1, 1769.
Joseph and Elizabeth had a son James, born August 5, 1767, and a son Tunis, born December 2, 1771. John and Catharine Lawrence had a daughter Mary, baptized March 8, 1772. Jacob and Elizabeth had a daughter Mary, born March 11, 1768. Peter, son of John and Margaret, above, married Mary Colon, December 5. 1797. David and Hannah Wright married June 21, 1801. He was born in February, 1779, and died March 30, 1838.
WANDEL .- The first of the name in our county records is John, who, with his wife Letitia, executed a mortgage to Groom, May 1, 1767, and cancelled it by payment the next year. He was a cordwainer by trade, and carried on the tan- ning business on Todt hill. John and Letitia had a son Peter, born|January 10, 1766. Peter married Sarah Van Clief in March, 1789, and died May 17, 1857, over 91 years of age. His sons
Albert Hardly
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
were Matthew, Daniel, John, Peter S. and Walter I., the latter only still living, April, 1876.
HON. ALBERT WARD. - The late Hon. Albert Ward, first judge of the Richmond county court of common pleas, was a descendant of the Ward family of Westchester county, N. Y., a family of such distinction and patriotism during the war of independence as to win extended notice from its local his torians .*
The family was originaly English. Its first representative in this country. Andrew Ward of Watertown, Mass., freeman, 1634, came with the first settlers to Connecticut, was elected a magistrate in 1636, removed to Long Island in 1643, and became a resident of Fairfield, Conn., in 1649. His eldest son, Edmund, removed to East Chester in Westchester county, N. Y., where Edmund's eldest son, also named Edmund, was brought up and afterward distinguished himself as a member of the "Colonial Assembly." Hon. Stephen Ward, second son of the latter, was judge of the county of Westchester and the owner of the famous " Ward Mansion " in East Chester, which became the headquarters of the American troops and the scene of many bloody engagements. He was proscribed by the loyal- ists, and a bounty was set upon his head, because of his pat- riotism and devotion to the colonial cause. Stephen Ward was the father of James Ward who married Phoebe, sister of Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of New York state, and afterward vice- president of the United States. Caleb T. Ward was a son of James and Phobe (Tompkins) Ward and the father of Judge Ward of whom we write.
Caleb T. Ward was a man of careful business habits and a worthy representative of the noble and self-denying family from which he came. His only son, Albert, was born in the city of New York November 27, 1816; and a few years later Caleb and his family removed to Staten Island, where he built the " Ward Mansion " on the hill now called by the same name, and commanding one of the most striking and beautiful views on the Atlantic coast. At his death he left two children : Al- bert, just mentioned; and Mary Mann, to the memory of whom St. Paul's Memorial church was built.
* The genealogy of the Ward family is given in full in Bolton's " History of Westchester County ; " and many interesting facts in regard to the family are contained in the recently published history of the county by L. E. Preston & Co.
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HISTORY OF RICHIMOND COUNTY.
In his youth Albert Ward received a careful training, and choosing the law as his profession, was admitted to the bar, November 1, 1839. Subsequently, he divided his time and at- tention between his practice and the care of the large estate left him by his father, and which he largely increased by skill- ful management and tireless industry. March 16, 1844, he was appointed by the governor of New York state, first judge of the court of common pleas for Richmond county; and during the two years in which he held that office he distinguished hinself for his ability and foresight. In 1846, the new constitution of the state made the office which he held, elective, and not caring to mix in the politics of the county he gave up the position.
His large private interests made Judge Ward a man of influ- ence, not only on Staten Island, where he owned a large proper- ty, but in the financial circles of New York city. He was a stock. holder in the Fulton Bank, National Park Bank, Bank of Com- merce, Shoe and Leather Bank, Mechanic's Bank, Metropolitan . Bank, Bank of America, Bank of New York, Gallatin National Bank, United States Trust Company, Union Trust Company, New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, and of the Greenwich, Hope, Hoffman, and the Arctic fire insurance com- panies. He was president of the Arctic Insurance Company, and a director in a number of the corporations above named.
His many business associates found in him a staunch friend, a man whose experience taught him how to give good advice, and one to be always and implicitly trusted. But the chief charm of his character was the deep religious feeling which pervaded his whole life and manifested itself in all his acts. For many years it had been his desire to devote to the service of the Lord enough of his means to erect a church for the parish in which he had given much of his energy and thought. His gift to St. Paul's parish of the St. Paul's Memorial clinrch, a beautiful and substantial edifice built of native granite, was the flowering of this generous desire. It was presented, as he says in a letter to the rector, dated April 28, 1866, as a " memorial to an only and dearly beloved sister." From a sermon delivered in this church in memory of Judge Ward, by the rector, Reverend Albert U. Stanley, Advent Sunday, 1878, we quote the following :
" His donation of this church edifice was consistent with his life-long interest and devotion to the parochial prosperity. The old records show that his father, his mother, his sister and
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himself were together baptized by the Reverend Francis H. Cuming the tenth of November, 1833, and that these were the first baptisms in this parish, then known as St. Paul's church, Castleton. His father, Caleb T. Ward, was one of the first vestrymen appointed when the parish was organized, the 11th of March, 1833. He himself was elected a vestryman Easter, 1841. In 1853 he was appointed warden, an office which he held till the day of his death, making more than twenty-five years of service as warden. It would be impossible for me to relate in full the obligations of this parish to his wise judg- ment and sturdy churchly sense. But I know that once he stood alone in the gap, saved by his own unaided effort the parish from extinction, and then helped to restore the life to what was almost a body inanimate and motionless."
Judge Ward was married in early life to Miss Catharine U. Parker, a woman of sweetness and beauty of character, as shown by her zeal in all works of charity and benevolence. She was always interested in relieving the distress and suffer- ing of the poor, and many will remember the help she carried so quietly to the homes that came to know her as an ever-ready messenger of peace and mercy. Sustained so amply by the liberal spirit of her husband she was enabled to accomplish her good work effectively, and to gratify her own kind and sympa- thetic nature. .
Toward the latter part of their married life a gradual decline in health left her at the last a complete invalid, and not only stopped her own great usefulness, but shadowed the declining years of her honored husband. Four children were born of this union : Elizabeth Parker, wife of Amos Booth; Mary Ward, Kate Kearney Ward, and Sarah Bonnett, wife of Ed- ward Wanty, all of whom, with the widow, survive and reside on Staten Island.
Judge Ward died at his residence in Edgewater, October 28, 1878, and was buried beside hris illustrious ancestors in the churchyard at East Chester. He left a very large estate in the village of Edgewater, consisting of land beautifully situated on the hills overlooking the bay and embracing the most desirable sites on the island. The whole estate is ably managed by George H. Daley, Esq., who has been its trustee since 1883.
The death of Judge Ward closed a life, the value of which to the business and religious community cannot be over-estimated.
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
It was a life unusually fruitful of good deeds and good results, and his liberal nature found expression in practical and attrac- tive forms, which endear his memory and ensure for him a lasting place in the history of the island.
CAPTAIN STEPHEN WHITMAN, for more than ten years trus- tee of the village of Port Richmond, and one whose foresight and business ability have done much for the promotion of its welfare, was born in Boston, Mass., March 18, 1825. He early contracted a fondness for the sea, which he followed from his fourteenth year till he entered, in 1861, upon his present sphere of usefulness as a stowage and cargo inspector in New York city. He is at present the senior member of the firm of Whit- man & Fisher, doing business at 99 Pearl street.
Captain Whitman's talents as a seaman raised him rapidly from a position before the mast to one of command, and he had charge in his day of several famous packet ships in the New York and Liverpool trade and one of the smartest of the California clippers. He was also intrusted with the important command of one of the steamers of the old New York Mail Steamship Company, and later of steamers of the Cromwell line to New Orleans. A master seaman and officer, he made a reputation for the safety and rapidity of his trips and obtained for himself a popularity among passengers seldom enjoyed by seafaring men. During the war of the rebellion Captain Whitman saw much active service, and while in the old "Escort " he tells of a lively chase by the "Alabama," from which piratical craft, by good management, they contrived to escape.
The captain has been an active member of the "Produce Ex- change " for the last thirteen years. also of the " Maritime Ex- change" and the "Marine Society," the latter the oldest in America. In 1861 he took up his residence in Port Richmond, where he still remains. Shortly after his arrival on Staten Island he purchased the property which he occupies at the present time, and where it is his delight to meet and entertain his many friends. He is married, and has two children still liv- ing. His genial and gentlemanly qualities, together with his extensive business relations, have made him well known and widely respected both on Staten Island and in New York city.
WINANT .- This is one of the oldest families on the island, and is so ramified that it is impossible to trace all its branches to their sources. We select that branch which is probably best
Stephen Whitman
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
known, and is represented by Abraham and his brother Jacob G., both of whom have been sheriffs of the county. They are the sons of Hon. Bornt Parlee Winant, of Rossville. His parents were Abraham Winant and Mary Parlee, who were married August 1, 1807. The father of Abraham was Winant Winant, who made his will July 5, 1804, which was proved August 11, 1804, between which dates he must have died. In that instrument he mentions his wife Mary, and his children Abraham, John G., Jacob G., Mary, Frances and Ann. The father of Winant Winant was Abraham, who was the son of the elder Winant Winant, who was the son of Peter Winant, the progenitor of the family. The following is the inscription upon his tombstone :
"Here lies the body of Peter Winant, born in the year 1654, who departed this life August 6th, 1758, aged 104 years."
He was a native of Holland, but the date of his emigration and settlement on the island, which are identical, has been lost. As his family was the only one of the name then in the connty, the following must have been his sons, viz .: Peter, who had a son Peter, baptized April 23, 1707. Winant (men- tioned above), whose wife was Ann Cole, who had the fol- lowing sons baptized : Peter, March 27, 1720; Abraham, March 24, 1725; Jacob, October 9, 1726, and Daniel, April 22, 1728. John, whose wife was Lena Bird, had a son Peter baptized March 19, 1732; and Cornelius, whose wife was Maria Cole, had a son Cornelins baptized February 28, 1728.
The following are other members of the family, whose names we find in the county and church records : Captain Peter, born December 4, 1784; he was captain of the schooner "Thames," which was wrecked on Absecom beach, November 4, 1823, when he lost his life. Peter, born October 5, 1802, died February 8, 1867. Abraham and Mary his wife had a daughter Ann, born September 30, 1758, and a daughter Elizabeth, born March 3, 1770. Daniel and Rachel his wife had a son Daniel, born May 10, 1760. Daniel and Susannah his wife had a daughter Ann, born June 27, 1762. Daniel and Elizabeth his wife had a daughter Rachel, born October 4, 1765. Peter and Christiana his wife had a son George, born September 6, 1770; this George married Eliza Winant November 15, 1794. John and Hannah (or Johanna) his wife had a daughter Elizabeth, born July 29, 1774, and a son Jacob, May 15, 1776. Peter and Charity his
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HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
wife had a son Isaac, born February 1, 1775; this Isaac married Patty Winant Jannary 16, 1796. Peter and Ann his wife had two children, Daniel and Ann, baptized November 20, 1785: Peter Winant made his will May 9, 1793, which was proved July 26, 1793, in which he mentions his wife Ann, his father Daniel, and alludes to his children withont giving their names. Cornelius and Catharine his wife had a daughter Cornelia, bap- tized November 21, 1790. Peter and Mary Winant were mar- ried July 14, 1790, Moses and Catharine Winant were married August 7, 1800. Daniel and Eliza Oakley were married Decem- ber 19, 1801.
There are four ways of spelling the name of Winant, some of the branches have dropped, others have added a letter, but all trace back to the same stock. Jacob Winants, of English an- cestry, a wealthy farmer, was born in Westfield, Staten Island, in 1749, and feeling himself called to preach the Word, gave his life service to the Methodist church as a traveling preacher, often officiating in private residences, school houses and other places that offered. He died at the age of 76 years. He married in the Lawrence family, who claim to be remotely con- nected with the wealthy Townley family of England, now under investigation as to who are the rightful heirs to inherit that large estate. Jacob Winants' wife's father, Doctor James Law- rence, was born in Newtown, Long Island, in 1732, and after- ward lived on Staten Island. In 1753 he married Miss Anne, daughter of Charles Jandine, a French Huguenot, who died in New York, aged 72 years. His wife died in 1807; they left two daughters. Sarah was born in 1759, married Joseph Ridgway, and died in 1823, leaving five children: Anne, Capt. Joseph, Mary, James and Elizabeth. The second daughter, Catherine, born in 1763, married Jacob Winants, and died in 1820. They left five children, four sons and one daughter; Elizabeth, the oldest, died when young. His oldest son, Captain Peter, was born in 1784, married Miss Fannie Ellis, daughter of Garret Ellis; she was born in 1785, and died in her 82d year. Captain Peter was an officer in the army, and served his country through the war of 1812, and was always found to have been a true patriot and ever loyal to the cause of liberty. He was shipwrecked at sea in 1823. By this disaster he lost his life at the age of 38 years. He left six children, four daughters and two sons: Mrs. Mary Cortelyou, Mrs. Catherine Mills, Garret E., Mrs.
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Laney Appleby, Mrs. Sarah Ann Gough and Sebastian; all deceased except Garret E. and Mrs. Appleby, who reside at Bergen Point, New Jersey. Jacob Winant's second son, Daniel, married Miss Polly Laforge; they had three children, all de- ceased. Jacob Winant's third son, Captain Winant Winants, married Miss Mary Johnson, of Westfield; he died in 1872, aged 83 years. They left three sons: Captain James J. Winants, of Rossville, S. I .; Captain Jacob, of Jersey City, and Cornelius, of Brooklyn, all living.
Jacob Winant's fourth son, Jacob, died in 1867, aged 67 years, withont issue.
GARRET ELLIS WINANTS, a self-made man, was born on Staten Island, state of New York. He is of Dutch, English and Frenchi ancestry, liis progenitors having emigrated to this country at an early date. The family name on Staten Island, where most are to be found, is spelled Winant; in the south, Winans; in the west and north, Winan. His father, Capt. Peter Winants, was lost at sea when young Winants was about 9 years of age, being shipwrecked when on a homeward voyage; the vessel and cargo being lost, and all the passengers and crew, except the mate and two sailors, finding a watery grave. By the loss of this vessel and cargo, of which Captain Winants was part owner, and upon which there was no insurance, his widow and six orphans were left in comparatively indigent circumstances, there remaining only the farm or homestead, and a few thousand dol- lars invested. Shortly after his decease this money was called in, reinvested by his widow, and subsequently lost. Through such a chain of disadvantageous circumstances our youthful subject was deprived of an early education from books. At that period the farmers were in the habit of employing a teacher only through the winter season, for one quarter, or more fre- quently a half quarter, keeping their children on the farms the residue of the year, claiming it to be more profitable to keep their boys and girls at work during planting and harvesting than to allow them the privilege of education. That he has largely overcome this early neglect may be gathered from either one of his entertaining and instructive volumes, "Journal of Travels over the Continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and the Islands of the Sea." published in 1872, "Around the World," published in 1877, and other works not yet in print. He is
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widely known throughout New Jersey and elsewhere by his writings on travel.
As he approached manhood his first choice was to follow the sea-a desire strongly opposed by his excellent mother, who did not wish to expose hier only son to the possible fate of his father. At the age of 18 he left the parental roof to seek a livelihood for himself, and with a view to assist his mother, possessed of a limited education and less than a dollar in money, with not a friend to whom he could apply, if need be, for a loan of so much as ten dollars, excepting his mother, who had done her all. His first engagement was on a schooner as a hand be- fore the mast, at eight dollars per month. In the hope of hav- ing a nice little sum to aid his mother in running the farm, he allowed his wages to remain for three months, and was at that time deprived of them by the dishonesty of the captain. He next procured a berth at twelve dollars a month. He soon made, by his activity and perseverance, many friends, and was re- warded at 19 years of age by a few persons joining together and building for him a freighting schooner of forty tons burden, named " Gilletta," with the proviso that as soon as yonng Wi- nants could pay for any part thereof he should have an interest therein. After some three years' struggle he succeeded in pur- chasing this vessel, and shortly afterward took on a cargo of plaster of Paris and was shipwrecked on Long Island sound, nearly losing his life by the disaster, which swept away his all. Thus he was compelled to commence the world anew; yet, with undaunted courage, somewhat despondent, the young captain after a time succeeded in building a larger vessel, named " Ellis Amanda." From this time fortune smiled upon his efforts, and he continued building and buying vessels until his fleet numbered in all fifteen, thus enabling him to conduct a much larger maritime trade, some being engaged in bringing pine wood from Virginia, others running to Albany in the lumber trade, and still others in the transportation of street-sweepings and coal-ashes from the city of New York.
During the rebellion Captain Winants built and equipped five steamboats, which he chartered to the United States gov- ernment for war purposes, one being placed in the revenue department of the port of New York, three on the coast of North and South Carolina and the James river, and one car-
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rying the United States military mail between New Orleans, Galveston and Brazos de Santiago.
At the close of the war Captain Winants sold ont his fleet of vessels and retired from active business. For several years previous thereto he had the contract from New York city for the removal of coal-ashes and street-sweepings. He purchased some forty acres of water-front in Jersey city, formerly known as Harsimus bay, opposite the city of New York, paying there- for over one hundred thousand dollars. Abont nine-tenths or more of this land was covered with tide-water of the Hudson river, and the ordinary class of vessels sailed over it in the pursuit of commerce. Here he deposited the street-sweepings and ashes gathered under his contract with the city of New York, and for more than ten years he was engaged filling in this land, building docks, grading, paving and sewering the streets rendered necessary by the improvement, which added largely to the growth and revenue of Jersey city by way of taxes, etc. On this property are located the large terminal depots occupied by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, steamship piers, and now there is in course of construction two first-class ferries, one from the foot of Cortlandt, and one from Debrosses street to ply between New York and this property in Jersey city; besides on this land are located the immense tobacco factory of P. Lorillard & Co., one of the largest in the United States, and other factories and buildings which have added much to the growth and prosperity both of Jersey city and Hudson county.
There was one who, while living, gave impress to the state, who at every fitting opportunity testified to the character of Mr. Winants, and was his warm and devoted friend, viz., "Hon. Dudley S. Gregory." Mr. Gregory was himself a self-made man, and his sympathies always leaned toward such, and he was also a large land-holder in Jersey city, who highly com- mended the matured plans and enterprise of Mr. Winants, which gave development to Jersey city and attracted to its water front the steamships of Europe and commerce of the old world. This property, once covered with water, comparatively worthless, is rapidly increasing in value, a large part of which Mr. Winants still retains. He is also a large owner of real estate in the city of New York, Plainfield city, Elizabeth city, Hudson city, Hoboken city, and Bergen Point, N. J., to which
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latter place he came in May, 1872, and where he now resides.
He married February 10, 1841, Miss Amanda, daughter of James Miller and Abigail Birdge. They had four children; one daughter, Mary Frances, who died in 1872; and three sons, James M., Ellis Sebastian, and John Frederick, the two latter of whom died in early childhood. Mary Frances married George H. Hillyer, who also died in 1877, leaving two sons, Clarence W. and Frank Ellis Hillyer.
Upon retiring from active business in 1862, Mr. Winants devoted much time to travelling, and in company with his wife made several lengthy tours, one around the world, traversing some twenty-seven thousand five hundred miles ; another over the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and the islands of the sea, embracing some twenty thousand miles; still another tour through Central America, and along the border of South Amer- ica, up the Pacific coast to San Francisco, crossing the continent, covering about eleven thousand miles; besides travelling in and through the West and East India islands, Mexico, Canada, and have seen every state in the Union, except Kansas, of which they made the circuit twice, and passing through several of the terri- tories, in all traversing about one hundred and thirty thousand miles, seeing many of the wonders and glories of the natural world. On his extensive tours he was shipwrecked twice and railroad-wrecked three times, and escaped without any bodily harm having befallen him. During their travels Mr. Winants kept a daily record, in accordance with a habit of some forty years past, part of which he has given to the world in two hand- some volumes, elaborately illustrated, full of valuable and instructive information, written in a clear, forcible and interest- ing manner.
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