USA > New York > Rockland County > History of Rockland County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 20
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Everet, John W., 112th N. Y., September 8th '64.
Fields, Valentine, 6th heavy artillery, September '62, k. in action October 18th, '64.
Finch, John H., 124th N. Y., August '62.
Finney, Henry, 53d N. Y., September '61, reenlisted 5th N. Y.
Fisher, Rineer, 95th N. Y., December 18th '62, dis. De- cember '64.
Flate, James A., 10th R. I. bat., June Ist '63, k. acci- dentally August 8th '63.
Forshay, Simeon, Co. A, 127th N. Y., September 8th '62. Fredenburg, Joseph, 24th N. Y., May '62.
Friels, James E., 12th N. Y., October '61, transferred 127th N. Y., d. in service June 4th '63.
Funston, John, January '62, d. in service January '64. Furman, Abrain, 133d N. Y., October Ist '64.
Furman, William H., Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Furshee, Chester, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63, dis Au- gust '63.
Furshee, Hiram, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63, dis. August '63.
Gainer, Charles, 13th N. J., August '62.
Garrison, Dewitt, 7th heavy artillery, January 11th '64, dis. March '65.
Garrison, Garret G., 5th N. Y., April '61, dis. February '63.
Garrison, Henry, 15th heavy artillery, January 23d '64, d. in service August 17th '64.
Goetschius, James H., Co. A, 79th N. Y., July 10th '61, d. in service May 30th '65.
Goetschius, John H. [corporal], Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
. Hammond, Gerard B., 9th Mass. and 17th light artillery, August 19th '62.
Hastings, Thomas, 95th N. Y., October 9th '61, d. in service August 19th '62.
Hemion, Andrew J., 5th U. S. light artillety, April Ist '64.
Hendricks, William, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, August '63.
Henion, John, September 19th '64.
Higgins, William, 6th heavy artillery, Aug. '62.
Hogan, John J., Co. F, 89th N.Y., October 8th '64, trans- ferred 24th corps S. S. February '65.
Hoyt, Harrison, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63.
Hoyt, Rufus, 124th N. Y., September 10th '64, dis. June '65.
Hoyt, William, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63, dis. August '63.
Hungerford, S. F., 19th N. Y., August 21st '61, dis. Au- gust '63.
Iserman, Ralph G., 61st N. Y., October 3d '61, d. a pris- oner July 11th '62.
Johnson, Robert, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63, dis. Au- gust '63.
Johnson, Tunis, Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Jones, George H., 6th heavy artillery, September 6th '61, June '62.
Kingsland, Theodore, Co. D. 22d N. J., September '62, dis. June '63.
Lawrence, Matthew, 156th N. Y., October '62.
Leport, Andrew, 2d N. Y., May 21st '61, pro. sergeant, dis. May '64.
Lockwood, Frank [captain], October '64, d. in service November 19th '64.
Lockwood, Samuel A., 145th N. Y., August 19th '62, dis. February '63.
Maroney, Luther, 145th N. Y., February '65, d. in ser- vice March 11th '65.
May, David, Co. H, 142d N. Y., March 7th '65.
McElroy, Cornelius, Battery B, Ist N. J., August 25th '64, dis. June '65.
McElroy, Evander, 56th N. Y., October '61, reenlisted March '64.
McLaughlin, George, Ist N. Y. engineers, October '61, dis. October '64.
McMurtry, Alexander, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Moffat, Casper, 95th N. Y., October '61, d. of w. No- vember 28th '63.
Montanya, Charles, 22d N. J., September Ist '61, d. in service November roth '63.
Morrison, James, 7th heavy artillery, October 24th '63.
Myers, Frederick [corporall, Ist heavy artillery, Decem- ber 16th '61, transferred 12th N. Y., dis. July '63.
Newman, Michael, Co. C, 133d N. Y., October Ist '64.
Nichols, Jacob J., 124th N. Y., September 3d '64, dis. May '65.
Norris, Charles, 2d N. Y. M., April '61, dis. April '64.
Odell, Richard, 54th N. J., September 25th '63, dis. close of war.
Osborn, Andrew, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. Au- gust '63.
Osborn, Peter M., Co. I, 95th N. Y., November '61, af- terward in cavalry.
Patterson, George W .. 15th heavy artillery, February 12th '64, d. at Andersonville July 17th '64.
Paul, Uriel E., 95th N. Y., December 13th '61, dis. Oc- tober '62.
Phillips, George, September '62.
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Phillips, William, September '62.
Pierson, J. Fred. [captain], Ist N. Y., May 24th '61, pro. colonel, dis. November '63.
Quimby, Josiah F. [corporal], Co. C, 7Ist N. Y., pro. Ist sergeant, dis. December '61.
Quinn, John, Ist N. Y., July '62, reenlisted 7th heavy ar- tillery February '64.
Ramsey, H. H., 5th N. Y., August 20th '64.
Read, John C., Co. K, 124th N. Y., September 19th '64, dis. close of war.
Reed, Theodore F., Co I, Ist Mich. L. A., December 3d '63, dis. July 14th '65.
Riggs, Reuben, 95th N. Y., October '64, pro. captain, dis. October '65 (served 1 month in 17th N. Y. M.).
Riker, Richard B., Co. E, Ist N. Y. engineers, February 23d '64.
Ronk, Josephus, Ist N. Y. engineers, June 8th '61, dis. October '64.
Roxby, Arthur, 14th N. J., March '65.
Scott, Elias, 95th N. Y., November Ist '61, pro. corporal, prisoner 11 months.
Secor, John E., 2d infantry, January '64, dis. January '65. Shewit, Herman, 9th N. Y., April 19th '61, dis. April '63. Simonton, James, Ist N. Y. engineers, August 15th '61, dis. October '64.
Slauson, Charles, 74th N. Y., August 19th '61, dis. June '64.
Slauson, Reuben, 74th N. Y., July '61, d. of w. August 14th '63.
Slinn, Benjamin S., Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Smith, Alfred, Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Smith, Archibald, 6th N. Y., August 6th '62, d. a prison- er at Richmond.
Smith, Garret, 6th N. Y., August '62, dis. close of war. Smith, George, 6th N. Y., August '62, dis. close of war. Smith, Isaac, Ist N. Y. engineers, September 7th '64. Smith, John, Co. I, 57th N. Y,, March '63.
Smith, Richard, 95th N. Y., November 14th '61.
Smith, Theodore, 95th N. Y., August 19th '62, pro. cap- tain, dis. close of war.
Springsteen, Daniel, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63, dis. Au- gust '63.
Springsteen, Robert, Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Starr, Daniel, 144th N. J., September '62, dis. June '65. Starr, Daniel, jr., 6th N. Y., August '62, dis. close of war.
Starr, Jacob S., 6th N. Y., August 6th '56, d. in service April 7th '63.
Starr, Samuel, 54th N. Y., December 14th '62, d. in ser- vice August '64.
Stephens, Frank K. [lieutenant], 2d N. Y., '62, dis. '63. Storms, Abram, 7th heavy artillery, February '64.
Storms, James, 74th N. Y., August '61, d. of w. Septem- ber 19th '62.
Tallman, Peter, Co. A, 127th N. Y., August 12th '62, dis. December '62.
Tetnure, Cornelius B., Co. K, 6th heavy artillery, Sep- tember 2d '62, pro. corporal.
Tetnure, Irvin, Co. K, 6th heavy artillery, September 2d '62.
Trenley, John F., 7th N. Y., August 23d '61, dis. Decem- ber '62.
Twigg, William, [24th N. Y., August 22d '62.
Vanderbelt, Abram S. [2d lieutenant], Co. D, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Van Houten, John M., ist Wis. cavalry, August '62, d. in service March Ist 1864.
Van Voris, William H., 15th cavalry, '61, served I year.
Van Zile, John, 54th N. Y., December 2d '63, pro. Ist sergeant.
Wallace, William [adjutant] Ist N. Y., August '61, dis. August '63.
Wanamaker, Cornelius H., 13th N. J., August 22d '62, dis. May '65.
Wanamaker, Jacob, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, pro. ser- geant, dis. July '64.
Webster, George [Ist lieutenant] telegraph corps, April '62, dis. October '63.
Westervelt, Jacob, 95th N. Y., February 7th '62, dis. Feb- ruary '65.
Whaley, Ira, 17th N. Y. M., July 6th '63, dis. July '64.
Whitten, Erastus D., 176th N. Y., September '62, dis. March '64.
Whritenour, Charles, Ist N. Y. engineers, March 13th '65. Whritenour, John, U. S. navy, July 21st '63, dis. Sep- tember '64.
Whritenour, Marcus, 15th heavy artillery, February 12th '64, d. at Andersonville September 29th '64.
Wilson, Andrew J., 57th N. Y., August 20th '61, d. at Andersonville April Ist '65.
Wood, George W., Co. A, 127th N. Y., August 12th '62, dis. June 30th '62.
Wood, Joseph, 124th N. Y., August 1 1th '62, dis. June '65. Wood, Nelson, 6th N. Y., August '62, dis. June '65.
Wood, Stephen S., Ist N. Y. engineers, March 7th '65.
Wood, William H., 6th N. Y., August '62, dis. June '65.
Wright, Henry E., 15th heavy artillery, January 20th '64, transferred 2d U. S. artillery.
Youmans, Charles, Ist N. Y. engineers, March 6th '65, drummer.
Youmans, Cornelius T., 3d cavalry, September 12th '64. Youmans, Joseph, 114th N. J., transferred 93d veteran volunteers.
Young, Alfred, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Young, Charles, Co. I, 17th N. Y. M., July 8th '63, dis. August '63.
Young, John C., ist marine artillery, March 24th '62, dis. January '63.
Storms, Thomas, 74th N. Y., July 18th '61, reenlisted Young, Judson, 6Ist N. Y., February 3d '64, pro. Ist cor- 40th N. Y., December 31st '63. poral.
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STONY POINT.
Blair, Robert, 95th N. Y., November '62, dis. December '63.
Bulson, Brewster A., 95th N. Y., March '64.
Burris, James K., 6th heavy artillery, September 28th 64, dis. close of war.
Conklin, Zachary T., 6th U. S. infantry, January 10th.
Dickens, William, 95th N. Y., November 6th '62, k. at Hatcher's Run.
Fostor, Henry, 6th heavy artillery, September 5th '62, pro. 2d lieutenant.
Garrison, -, 95th N. Y., November 6th '62, k. at Hatcher's Run, January '65.
Hammond, Elisha, 6th N. Y., September 7th '62, dis. September '63.
Hammond, Theodore, 95th N. Y., November 6th '62, d. in service March 3d '65.
Holland, Thomas, 59th N. Y., September Ist '62.
June, Baxter, 6th heavy artillery, September '62, pro. orderly sergeant.
Monroe, Jesse, 95th N. Y.
Monroe, John, 95th N. Y.
Morgan, David, 6th heavy artillery, September Ist '62.
Osborn, Charles W. [sergeant], 95th N. Y., November '62, pro. 2d lieutenant, k. May 6th '64, battle of Wilderness. Osborn, Hiram [sergeant ], 95th N. Y., November 1st '62, pro. Ist lieutenant March 8th '64.
Peterson, Samuel, 3d U. S. V., April Ist '65.
Proudfit, David L., 5 1st N. Y., May 6th '62, dis. Novem- ber '63.
Rose, Albert, 65th N. Y., July Ist '61, pro. drum major. Rose, Moses, 6th heavy artillery, September '62, dis. close of war.
Saxton, J. C., Ist cavalry, September '63, pro. captain. Smith, Manuel, U. S. navy, July 1st '63.
Stall, George, 95th N. Y., October 15th '62, pro. corporal. Stalter, Theodore, 95th N. Y., August '61, dis. May '65. Stammers, George, 95th N. Y., November 6th '62, k. 2d day battle of Wilderness.
Stammers, Joseph, 95th N. Y., November 6th '62, k. 2d day battle of Wilderness.
Tomkins, Fred. [Ist lieutenant], 6th heavy artillery, August 12th '62.
Tomkins, Theodore F. [2d lieutenant], 6th heavy artil- lery, September 18th '62, d. in service March 16th '63. Warren, William H., U. S. navy, February 23d '65.
Weiant, George, 95th N. Y., November 19th '61, dis. December '64.
Weyant, William, 6th heavy artillery, September 3d '62.
CHAPTER XIX.
BENCH AND BAR OF ROCKLAND COUNTY.
BY HON. SETH B. COLE.
W HEN Rockland County was formed, in 1798. its population was very small and greatly scat- tered. There were few villages and these mere hamlets. Consequently there was very little litigation, and a cor- responding scarcity of lawyers. For many years this condition of affairs continued, and the legal history of
the county does not afford any very striking or impor- tant events for this chronicle. The sessions of the courts were infrequent and of even shorter duration than at the present time, and the matters litigated generally of small importance. The members of the bar of the county have been uniformly careful, active, well-informed men, and while none have risen to great eminence in the pro- fession, nearly all have left a good record.
The county seat was established at New City and the courts were held there from their organization. The present court house was built in 1827-8, and was doubt- less ample for the needs of that period. In 1872 it be- came necessary to enlarge, and a fireproof wing was added, affording accommodation to the County Clerk, the Sur- rogate's Court, the District Attorney, Sheriff, and Super- visors.
The first Court of Common Pleas convened at New City on the first Tuesday of May, 1798, "by virtue of the act of the Legislature of the State of New York en- titled ' An act for dividing the County of Orange ' passed the 23d day of February, 1798."
The following constituted the court:
JOHN SUFFERN, Ist Judge. BENJAMIN COE, & Judges, JAMES PERRY, -
ABRAHAM ONDERDONK, Assistant Justice.
The only business done at this term of the court was to admit to practice Reuben Hopkins, Esq., " an attor- ney of the Supreme Court of this State and having been one of the attorneys of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Orange."
For the first ten years of the existence of this court its business was very light, and its records of little inter- est. Samuel Goetchius, John J. Blauvelt, and Garret Serven served at various times as Associate Judges.
At the May Term of 1801, none of the judges being present, the court was adjourned by the clerk to the next afternoon at 4 o'clock, when, no judge having yet ap- peared, it was adjourned to the next November.
Among the attorneys who appear upon the court rec- ords between 1798 and 1810, were Samuel Smith, Peter Ogilvie, John Oppie, Thomas Smith, Robert Campbell, James Scott Smith, Jonathan Pearsee, jr., Charles Thomp- son, William A. De Peyster, and Robert Morris Ogden; of whom Samuel Smith, James B. Smith, and Robert Campbell had by far the largest practice.
John Suffern held the office of First Judge until 1806. He was a man of strong character, active and energetic. Born in Ireland before the middle of the 18th century, he landed at Philadelphia with his brother, just as the ill fated expedition under General Braddock was starting for Fort Du Quesne. Both brothers enlisted, but John was taken ill with ship fever, and remained in hospital at Philadelphia for some time. His brother accompanied the expedition, and was supposed to have been killed, as no tidings were received of him. During the last war, however, it was discovered that he had drifted South, settled in North Carolina, and reared a family whose de- scendants are still there.
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John Suffern, recovering from his sickness, worked his way northward, and, after some years, entered Rockland (then Orange) county. He taught school at Tappan for a time, and finally removed to the locality which still bears his name. As years passed, he became owner of a large part of the lower Ramapo valley and mountains.
His first public office seems to have been as a member While Judge, he was also State Senator for four years, from 1800 to 1804.
He left a large property at his death, and established for his family a commanding influence in the county, which they have retained to the present time. For fifty. six of the eighty-six years since the foundation of the county, a Suffern has been its chief judicial officer, and members of the family have constantly occupied posi- tions of trust and honor in the county and State.
In 1806, James Perry was appointed First Judge. His associates were Peter D. W. Smith, Richard Blauvelt, Andrew Suffern, John T. Gurnee, and Jeremiah W. Pier- son.
It would seem that the judges were rather irregular in their attendance upon the sessions of the court, for we find at the April term of 1809, an order entered, directing the clerk to pay the fees collected at the Court to those judges only who appeared at the opening and remained during the whole term.
During this year William Nelson of Westchester county and George Cassedy of Hackensack, N. J., were admitted to practice in this county, and for many years were very frequently in our courts.
In 1816, James Perry was succeeded by Samuel Goetchius, who held the office until 1820. Of them, we have been able to learn little, save the fact that they were judges. Neither appears to have held any other official position of importance.
In 1820, Edward Suffern, son of John Suffern, was appointed First Judge, and remained in the office for twenty-seven years, until the adoption of the Constitution of 1846. He was born at Suffern in the latter part of the last century, was admitted to practice in 1810, and seems very soon to have obtained a large clientage, as his name is of frequent occurrence on the court records. In 1816, he was appointed district attorney, and served as such until his appointment as judge. In 1826 and 1835, he represented the county in the Assembly, and in 1852 was a Presidential Elector. His later years were passed quietly at the old homestead at Suffern, where he died in 1873.
From the foundation of the county to 1847, the office of Surrogate was separate from that of Judge, and for many years the duties were very light. The sessions of the court were generally held at the house of the Surro- gate. The records passed from one incumbent to his successor and were not permanently placed in the Court House until long past the middle of this century. It is said by a gentleman, who as a boy attended a Surrogate's Court, that he went to the house of the Surrogate, was taken up stairs into the garret filled with the varied
accumulations of many years of housekeeping, and through that to a little bedroom under the eaves, where the business of the court was transacted.
The Surrogate's Court has steadily increased in im- portance and in the extent of its business, and has long since outgrown the limits of a garret bedroom. Could one of the Surrogates of the early days enter the spacious often gathered there at the weekly sessions of the court, enter the fire-proof vault and examine the multitude of well arranged papers and records which each year brings to the office, he would thoroughly realize that "times change.'
of the Assembly, in which he served in 1781 and 1782. and beautiful court room now in use, see the throngs
The first Surrogate was Peter Taulman, who held the position until 1807, and afterward from 1808 to 1810. Mr. Taulman had previously represented Orange county in the State Assembly for two terms in 1787, 1788, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1801. Tunis Smith was Surrogate during the year 1807, and Richard Blauvelt from 1811 to 1820. Mr. Blauvelt was a Presidential Elector in 1824.
Bernard O'Blenis held the office for one year in 1820- 21, and was succeeded by James Stevens, who performed its duties till 1828, when he was elected County Clerk.
John Van Houten was appointed in 1829, and served till 1837, when John J. Wood, who had been a niember of the 20th Congress, took his place. Mr. Wood was also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1846. .George . Benson became Surrogate in 1841, and re- mained in office four years, when Horatio G. Prall was appointed, and served to the year 1847, when the County Judge became also Surrogate. Mr. Prall was a lawyer who obtained a high rank at the bar of the county. He was elected District Attorney in 1847, and satisfactorily performed the duties of that office till 1853. From that time till his death, a period of twenty years, he was en- gaged in a large and lucrative private practice.
In June, 1847, William F. Frazer became County Judge and Surrogate, and was reelected in 1851 for a second terni of four years. Judge Frazer came to this county as a young man and began practice. He soon took good rank at the bar, and in 1833 was appointed 10 the office of District Attorney which he retained for fourteen years, till his elevation to the bench. He was a member of the Assembly in 1840. During the whole of his long service and for some years after he retired from active practice, he resided upon a farm in the town of Clarkstown, boarding with a family, between whose mem . bers and himself a strong personal attachment had arisen very soon after his arrival in the county. The little build- ing occupied by him during this long period as an office still stands. Upon the breaking up of the family by death, Judge Frazer removed to Nyack, where the re- maining years of his long life were passed in quiet ease. He was never married. He was a careful lawyer, and a man of great common sense, but by no means brilliant. By strict economy he succeeded in amassing quite a com- petence.
Edward Pye was elected County Judge in 1855, and
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HISTORY OF ROCKLAND COUNTY.
served one term. He had been engaged in the practice of law for some years at Haverstraw, and was very much liked as a man. Bluff, good natured, easy going, and of fair abilities as a lawyer, he performed the duties of his office acceptably. He entered the army during the war, became Colonel of the 95th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers and died June 12th 1864, of wounds received in action.
Colonel Pye's father was County Clerk, and his grand- father was a member of the Provincial Congress for three terms, in the State Assembly three terms, and in the Senate for four terms.
In 1859 Andrew E. Suffern, a son of Edward Suf- fern and a grandson of John Suffern, was elected County Judge, and continued in the office by successive reelections until his death, March 16th 1881.
Judge Suffern, who was born at the homestead at Suf- fern, was graduated from the University of New York, studied law, remaining for some time in Mr. Prall's office, and began practice in Haverstraw, where he resided dur. ing life. His natural talent, and the energy which was hereditary in his family, soon placed him on a par with the best of his brother lawyers. In 1853 he became Dis- trict Attorney, which position he still held at the time of in 1878, and re-elected in 1881.
his election as County Judge.
Judge Suffern was an exceedingly active, well-read lawyer, of good abilities in all directions, brilliant in con- versation, prompt in decision, a rapid and often eloquent speaker. Naturally of a nervous temperament, he was quick tempered and fiery, and as the labors of a too ac- tive life wore upon him, at times almost painfully harsh and abrupt.
He always maintained a large practice at the Supreme Court, and as Surrogate was obliged to pass upon several | his father and grandfather, upon which he still resides, very important and long contested probates.
Judge Suffern never held any other official position in the County or State than as here mentioned, but he was of high rank in the Masonic order, and exerted very con- siderable political influence.
He died in the early part of his twenty-first year as judge, having been reelected for two terms of four years. and two of six years each.
Seth B. Cole, of Nyack, was appointed to fill the va- cancy caused by Judge Suffern's death, and held the office until the following year. Judge Cole was a native of Steuben county in this State, received a thorough edu- cation, and at an early age took a deep interest in public affairs and represented Steuben county in the Legisla- ture. As a member of the Kansas Aid Committee, in 1856, he rendered efficient service in aiding Free State settlers into Kansas; and became prominent in politics though refusing nominations to office. He came to Rockland county in 1867, and in 1872 was elected Dis. trict Attorney which office he held until 1876.
George W. Weiant, the present County Judge and Sur- rogate, was born in Stony Point, began the practice of law at Haverstraw, and has resided there for many years. He represented the county in the Assembly for two terins in 1876, 1877.
Attorney, Judges Edward Suffern, Frazer, Prall, A. E. Suffern, and Cole, have already been mentioned.
John T. Smithi held the office from 1820 to 1833, and is spoken of as a capable lawyer and efficient officer.
Thomas Lawrence was elected in 1859, and served one term. He also represented the county in 1868, and af- terward removed from the State.
Marcena M. Dickinson was District Attorney for three terms, from 1862 to 1868 and from 1875 to 1878.
Leander V. E. Robinson held the office for one year in 1868. He resided in Haverstraw, was a good lawyer, and a man highly esteemed. His health having failed, he went South, where he died.
Hiram B. Fenton was elected in 1869, but resigned in January 1872.
William C. Prall, a son of Judge Prall, was appointed to fill the vacancy, and served the balance of Mr. Fen- ton's term,
Mr. Prall was in partnership with his father for several years at Nyack, and died shortly after his retirement from office.
Alonzo Wheeler, the present incumbent, was elected
It is impossible in the limits of this brief sketch to no- tice all, or even many, of those who have held minor ju- dicial positions in the county.
George S. Allison, of Stony Point, was an Associate Judge of the Common Pleas early in the century. He was born in New York city, January 15th 1792. He |served in the war of 1812, attaining the rank of adjutant. In 1815 he came to Rockland county, settling upon prop- erty in Stony Point which had been in the possession of
at the ripe age of ninety-two years. He represented the county in the Legislature in 1829 and 1830.
John I. Cole, of Haverstraw, was a Justice of Sessions for nearly twenty years.
As has already been stated, the number of lawyers re- sident in the county was very small during the first fifty years and more of its history, and the inajority of these lrave been mentioned heretofore.
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