USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. > Part 48
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But he will be longer remembered for his genial faith in the Christian religion, which he held from a child. Soon after the organization of the First Presbyterian church of Saratoga Springs, he became a member, and was an carnest and devoted supporter of it during his life. In a letter to an old college classmate, he says, " As far back as I can remem- ber, I avoided profanity, revered the Sabbath, and attended its ordinances, as I supposed, conscientiously, but did not profess the faith of Jesus Christ until the year 1819, since which time I have, as I could, though imperfectly, tried to walk in the footsteps of the flock of the Great Shepherd of souls ; how short of perfection my friends and contemporaries are all aware. In 1842 I was chosen a corporate member
of the board of commissioners for foreign missions, and con- tinued such member about twenty years, when my age and infirmities induced me to resign, that others more efficient might be appointed in my place. My heart still remains attached to that institution. The time employed in its blessed service is remembered by me among my happiest and sweetest recollections ; and, if my life is spared, I hope to continue the devoted friend and abettor of the missionary cause, both foreign and domestic, believing that its heavenly teachings can alone prepare the soul for its eternal destiny. " In January, 1844, I was promoted from a deaconship in the church to an elder, and have been a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian church in this place, and have con- tinued such ever since. I note this not as a sign of merit, but as a mark of the confidence of my ('hristian brethren."
Judge Warren departed this life at his residence in Sara- toga Springs on Sunday evening, May 23, 1875, aged eighty-two years. Mrs. Warren still survives him, as also his two daughters and their families.
CHARLES S. LESTER,
the subject of this sketch, was born at Worcester, Mass., on the 15th day of March, 1824. His paternal ancestors for several generations were natives of Connecticut and Vermont. His father was a graduate of Vermont Univer- sity, and subsequently became a leading merchant in Mon- treal. The business failures which followed the War of 1812 swept away the capital of the firm with which Mr. Lester was connected, and overwhelmed him with reverses from which he never recovered. Young Lester, who at an early age was left to the care of his mother, was educated at the Washington Academy, in Salem, N. Y. In Septem- ber, 1841, he entered the law-office of Crary & Fairchild as a clerk, and in October, 1843, removing to Saratoga Springs, he continued his studies in the office of his uncle, the Hon. John Willard, then circuit judge and vice-chan- cellor of the Fourth Circuit. In May, 1845, he was ad- mitted as attorney in the Supreme Court, having previously been admitted as solicitor and counsellor in chancery by the late Chancellor Walworth. In 1859 he was elected district attorney on the Democratic ticket by a handsome majority, although the Democrats were then in political minority in the county. He discharged the duties of public prose- cutor for three years in an able and fearless manner, and tried the causes on the part of the people with a skill and careful preparation which met with marked public approba- tion. In 1870 he was elected county judge, and filled that office for six years with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. While on the bench he was distinguished for the rapidity with which he dispatched business, and the impartiality and urbanity with which he discharged all his dnties. Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion he joined what was known as the War Democrats, and since that time has been thoroughly identified with the Republican party.
In 1849 he was married to Miss Lucy L. Cooke, and under her admirable management an estimable family of children have grown up around him. Mrs. Lester, wherever
Charles & Lester
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
known, is esteemed as a lady of rare worth and of high mental and personal accomplishments. His two eldest sons, Charles C. Lester and John Willard Lester, are graduates of Union College, and having studied law in their father's office and been admitted to the bar, are now connected with him in business. He has two other children, Susan Lester and James Westcott Lester, the latter of whom is now in Union College.
Judge Lester has a large and varied practice, and being of an ardent and sympathetic temperament, becomes deeply interested in the causes of his clients, making their interests his own. Ilis fidelity and devotion to his clients has made him a popular and trusted as well as successful advocate. Like all men of positive character, he has intrenehed him- self in the hearts of many devoted friends, and as a conse- quence has encountered bitter personal attacks from disap- pointed opponents. He has occupied many positions of trust and honor, such as supervisor of the town, president of the village, president of the board of education, and president of the Commercial Bank, and under his wise and prudent management the latter institution attained its highest success. In the midst of a laborious profession he has not neglected literary pursuits, and in 1854 the cor- poration of Yale College conferred upon him the honorary degree of A.M.
In 1872, when the late Alexander T. Stewart purchased the Grand Union Hotel, he selected Judge Lester for his local agent and counsel, and continued on intimate friendly relations with him until his death. The estimation in which he was held by that gentleman may be gathered from the following graceful note, which was addressed to him as the writer was about leaving for Europe :
" NEW YORK, July 15, 1873.
" MY DEAR JUDGE,-I canuot leave withont thanking you for all your kindness and attention to my interests and wishing you and yours health and happiness. I hope I may have the pleasure to meet your son in Paris, and to have the opportunity to pay bim some attention. With kind regards to Mrs. Lester, believe me, I am, " Sincerely your friend, " ALEX. T. STEWART."
Nor would this sketch be complete were not allusion made to Judge Lester's oratorical powers. While he is a direct and forcible speaker, he has the happy yet rare gift of so mingling the adornment of a pleasing delivery with homely argument, as to add to the picturesqueness of his speeches without weakening their effect. This was strik- ingly illustrated at the Centennial celebration of Burgoyne's surrender, where, as president of the day, he delivered the opening address, and, in his usual felicitous manner, intro- duced the several orators of the occasion.
A brief biographical sketch of a living person is neces- sarily a compilation of statistics, and a full and just tribute to his honorable character will belong more appropriately to his obituary.
The residence of Judge Lester, on upper Broadway, shown on another page, is a model of taste and elegance. It is of the domestic Gothic style, with a slight infusion of French in its details. The brick-work is laid up in black mortar in the Flemish header-bond mode, with bands of saw-tooth work and stone trimmings.
JAMES B. MCKEAN.
James Bedell Mckean was born at Hoosic, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., Aug. 5, 1821. His father, Rev. Andrew Mckean, died some years since, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. Ilis mother, Mrs. Catharine Bedell Mckean, is still living, and is eighty-seven years of age. The late Ilon. Samuel MeKean, of Pennsylvania, some time the colleague of Mr. Buchanan in the United States Senate, was his uncle, and the Rev. Samuel Mckean, of Fort Edward, is his ouly brother. On his father's side he is descended from the MackIans, of Glencoe, Scotland. Ilis branch of the family came to our country through Ireland, about the middle of the last century. John McKean, his great-grandfather, was the immigrant, and settled in Cecil Co., Md. There was born his grandfather, James McKean, who was cousin to Thomas Mckean, one of the signers of' the Declaration of Independence. On his mother's side, Mr. Mckean's remote ancestors, the Bedells, of' France, were Huguenots, he being descended from a branch of the family that settled near New York city about two hundred and fifty years ago.
Mr. McKean has been heard jocularly to insist that it was his duty to raise a regiment, because, through his mother, he escaped the massacre of St. Bartholomew's day ; through his father, he escaped the massacre of Glencoe. The spot where he was born was on the battle-field of Ben- nington, midway between the positions taken up by the opposing armies. In his infancy his parents removed with their family, and settled down upon the battle-field of Sara- toga, midway between the point where Burgoyne was defeated and that where he surrendered ; and, lastly, be- cause he thought he could raise a regiment when almost everybody else thought he could not.
After residing some years in the town of Saratoga, the family removed to a farm in Half-Moon, near and south- east of Round lake. The subject of this sketch is indebted for his education to common schools, academies, and to self- teaching. In his youth he taught in the district schools, and was for some time one of the professors in Jonesville Academy. While teaching and studying he gave some attention to Blackstone, Kent, and other sages of the law. When twenty-one years of age he was elected town super- intendent of common schools for Half-Moon. When twenty- three years of age he was elected colonel of the One Hun- dred and Forty-fourth Regiment of New York State militia, was commissioned by Governor Silas Wright, and com- manded that regiment for some years.
In June, 1847, he entered the law office of Bullard & Cramer, at Waterford, and devoted himself to the law. On March 5, 1849, he was admitted to practice in all the courts of the State, and opened an office at Ballston Spa. On June 20, 1850, he married Katharine Hay, daughter of the late Judge William ITay, and sister to Mrs. Judge Bockes. In June, 1851, he removed to Saratoga Springs. In the fall of 1854, he was nominated for county judge by a Republican Convention, held at Ballston Spa, believed to have been the first Republican Convention held in the State. The Whig candidate for county judge was Gideon Putnam; one wing of the Democrats nominated John A.
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Corey, and the other Ilenry W .. Merrill. The " Amer- icans" or " Know-Nothings" had no ticket distinct from the other parties, but selected from these candidates such as they chose. Some of them voted for McKean, some for Putnam, etc. Mckean was elected county judge, and served four years. Several of his judicial opinions can be found in " Howard's Practice Reports." In 1858, the Re- publicans of the Fifteenth district elected him Representa- tive in Congress, and re-elected him in 1860.
In the War of the Great Rebellion, Judge Mckean took a prominent part, as has been already seen in these pages .*
In the spring of 1865, believing that it would benefit his health, President Lincoln sent him to Spanish America, to exchange the ratifieations of a treaty with the govern- ment of Honduras. Afterwards, Mr. Seward, as Secretary of State to President Johnson, tendered him the appoint- ment of consul to San Domingo, which, however, he de- clined. In the year 1870 President Grant appointed him chief justice of the Supreme Court of Utah Territory, a po- sition for which he was not a candidate. He was induced, however, to accept the office, and served in it five years. Judge Mckean is now practicing law at Salt Lake City.
HENRY WALTON.
The subject of this sketch was descended from one of the old and celebrated families in the colonial history of New York State. His grandunele, William Walton, built, in 1754, what is now known in New York city as the " Old Walton House," on Franklin Square, where " he gathered around his table such of the famous men of the Old World as officially, or in pursuit of pleasure, visited the New. His lavish entertainments, dazzling display of massive silver, the forest of decanters which graced his sideboard, and the costly wines that flowed free and fast, were prolific subjects for criticism in England."
Henry Walton was born in the city of New York, Oct. 8, 1768. In 1780 he was sent to England under the guardianship of Peter Van Schaick, to be educated. From his twelfth to his twentieth year he studied in Great Britain, after which he returned to New York city, and began the study of law with Aaron Burr. In 1790 he went to Ballston, purchased some land, and erected a house. This place is now known as the " Delavan Farm." During his residence in Ballston he officiated as surrogate of the county,-1794 to 1808. Subsequently he resided in Al -- bany and New York ; at the former place-in 1815-he erected " Pine Grove," subsequently the residence of Chan- cellor Walworth. In 1816 he came to the village of Sara- toga Springs, and took possession of the real estate descended to him from his father and uncle Gerard. In a few years he became one of the largest landholders in the place. He built a beautiful country-seat, which he named " Wood Lawn." llis possessions in Saratoga Springs included all of the present village, except that portion lying south of Con- gress street and the mineral fountains. During the early years of his residence in Saratoga, he was associated in legal partnership with Mr. Leavett.f
He excavated and tubed many of Saratoga's numerous and noted mineral springs, and erected a Chinese pagoda over one of them, the " Flat Rock Spring." The several residences he built, as well as the Pavilion Hotel, show that he inherited his uncle's architectural tastes.
In person Henry Walton was a tall, fine-looking man. Gentlemanly in manners and feelings, he had the faculty of binding to him in close ties the educated and refined. Although warmly attached to the Church of England, he was free from bigotry. as his many gifts to the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Universalist churches, etc., bear evidence. Mr. Walton, or, as he was usually called, Judge Walton, was a man of high culture, refined tastes, and public spirited. Ile was three times married. His first wife was a French lady, of which the following copy of the inscrip- tion on her tombstone in Briggs' cemetery gives us genea- logical data :
"TO THE MEMORY OF PERNETTE SARA DE MAFFEI, WIFE OF HENRY WALTON. Who died 22d August, 1798, aged 39 years."
His second wife was a Mrs. Vates, whose maiden name was Miss Cruger. By ber he had the following children, viz., Jacob, Mary, Henry, Jared, William, Cruger, and Matilda. Ilis third wife was Mrs. Margaret Kearney, sister to General Phil. Kearney. The result of this union was three children, viz., Susan, Jared, and Susan K.
He died in New York city Sept. 15, 1844, aged seventy- six years, and was buried in the family vault in Trinity churchyard.
IION. JAMES M. MARVIN.
James Madison Marvin was born in the town of Balls- ton, Saratoga Co., N. Y., Feb. 27, 1809. He is the seventh in descent from Matthew Marvin, who came from England with his family in 1635. Matthew Marvin was one of the original proprietors of Hartford, Conn., and resided several years on the corner of Village and Front streets. Ile was also a pioneer settler at Norwalk, and represented that town in the general court of Connecti- cut in 1654. He died in 1680.
Matthew Marvin, son of Matthew, was born in England about 1627, and came to New England with his father in 1635, then a boy eight years of age. He was also one of the original owners of Norwalk, Conn., which town he rep- resented in the general court in 1694, and in 1697.
Samuel Marvin, son of Matthew. was born in Norwalk, and also represented his town in the general court in 1718.
The remaining ancestors in the direct line of the present family were as follows: Josiah Marvin, son of Samuel, born in Norwalk, died about 1780; William Marvin, son of Josiah, boru in Norwalk, March 24, 1740, married Susannah Wright, Nov. 10, 1767, died at Malta, Saratoga Co., N. Y., March 4, 1810; William Marvin, son of Wil- liam, born Oct. 19, 1768, married Mary Benedict, March 5, 1793, and died at Malta, Saratoga Co., Feb. 27, 1839.
The last mentioned, William and Mary (Benedict ) Mar- vin, were the parents of the subject of this sketch, who,
* See chapter xxiii., p. 106.
+ Reminiscences of Saratoga.
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
. as we have said, was born Nov. 27, 1809, in the town of Ballstou, Saratoga Co. Ile is the third in a family of three sons, of whom Alvah D. and Thomas J. (the late Judge Marvin) were older brothers.
James M. Marvin received in early life a good English education. In 1828, at the age of nineteen, he came to Saratoga Springs, and took charge of a hotel. The follow- ing year he went to Albany, and spent one year in the American Hotel, a new house just then opened. In 1830 he returned to Saratoga and became one of the proprietors of the United States Hotel, which had then been built six years. Since then Mr. Marvin has resided constantly at Saratoga; and while he has mixed considerably in politics and held many offices of trust, the duties of which he has discharged with credit and honor, it is chiefly in connection with the building and management of the United States Hotel that his great energy, financial and executive abilities, have been conspicnous. Since the death of his brother, Judge Thomas J. Marvin, in 1852, the management of the immense hotel, as well as the estates of both families, has devolved upon him.
In 1845 he was elected supervisor for Saratoga Springs, and was again elected in 1857, in which year he was chair- man of the board, and was also a member in 1862, and a member and chairman of the board in 1874.
In the fall of 1845 he was elected to represent the county of Saratoga in the General Assembly, being nominated by the Whig party, and elected in opposition to Patrick II. Cowen, the Democratic candidate. The result was a flat- tering compliment to Mr. Marvin, as the county at that time was largely Democratic. At the time of the disinte- gration of the Whig party, about 1856, Mr. Marvin, on account of his conservative views in politics, became affili- ated with the Democratic, with which he continued to act till the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he became an earnest supporter of the Union cause. In 1862 he was elected to Congress on the Union ticket, and served six consecutive years, in the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Congresses. While in Congress he co-operated earnestly with the Republicans in securing those meas- ures rendered necessary by the destruction of slavery, and aided in the passage of the fourteenth and fifteenth amend- ments to the Constitution.
He was a working member rather than a speech-maker, keeping aloof from all partisan and personal contentions. His large acquaintance and personal popularity with the members gave him great influence, and he rarely, if ever, failed to secure any appointment asked for his district. It is said that the interests of his district were more thor- oughly attended to during his services in Congress than under the administration of any other member who ever represented it in that body.
Mr. Marvin, with his brother, Hon. Thomas J. Marvin, established the Bank of Saratoga Springs, now the First National Bank, in 1841. Judge Marvin was president, and James M. Marvin, cashier. . Although established and managed by them as a private interest, when its profits be- came large they did not selfishly retain the stock, but divided it among other business men of the village.
He was one of the original commissioners of the Sara-
toga Springs Water-works, and took an active interest in supplying the village with water. Hle has been for over twenty-five years a director of the Schenectady and Sara- toga railroad, and is at present a director of the New York Central and Hudson River railroad. Ile has also been, for several years past, president of the First National Bank of Saratoga Springs.
In religious belief he is an Episcopalian, and has held the office of vestryman of Bethesda church, of Saratoga Springs, for the past thirty years.
On the 26th of September, 1838, he married Miss Rhoby H1. Barnum, daughter of Eli Barnum, of Ballston Spa, an intelligent and cultivated lady, who is still his com- panion. Of the five children born to them, four daughters are living. Their only son-a beautiful and promising boy -died at the age of nine years.
GIDEON M. DAVISON.
Gideon Miner Davison was one of the old line of men who early identified themselves with the growth and pros- perity of the village of Saratoga Springs, and contributed by their great energy of character, versatility of resource, and active personal effort in securing the future welfare and position of the village.
He was born in Middletown, Vt. Ilis parents were for- merly from Connecticut, his mother's maiden name being Miner. Ilis father was a farmer, and died in early life, but his mother is still well remembered by the older resi- dents of Saratoga. In the course of his genealogical studies Mr. Davison succeeded in tracing back the history of his mother's family for a period of five hundred years to the time of Edward the Third, of England, in whose reign the family name of Miner had its origin. A man named Bul- man, who was a miner by occupation, enlisted under the banner of his monarch, who was then at war with France, together with one hundred of his workmen, and armed them with weapons. He rendered such efficient service that he was rewarded by the king with a crest and coat of arms, and from that time assumed the name of his occupa- tion-Miner. This crest can still be seen upon the tomb- stone of one of the Miner family, two hundred years old, at Stonington, Conn. The subject of this sketch attributed much of the success that he attained in life to the teachings of his excellent mother.
Mr. Davison received a common-school education, and at an early age entered the office of Wm. Fay, in Rutland, Vt., to learn the art of printing. After his apprenticeship was completed he went to New York, where he worked at his trade for a number of years. He afterwards returned to Rutland, and entered into partnership with Mr. Fay, and there married Sarah, daughter of Hon. John Mason, of Castleton. During his residence in Rutland, his firm issued a " History of the War of 1812." They also established the Rutland Herald, which is still in existence.
In 1817-18, Mr. Davison came to Saratoga, having formed a design of establishing a newspaper at that place. After advising with such men as Miles Beach, Rockwell Putnam, Esek Cowen, and Dr. John HI. Steel, he decided to start The Saratoga Sentinel, the first number of which
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
was issued some time in April, 1818. The paper met with success, and received the support of the most influential citizens of the county. In addition to the newspaper de- partment, Mr. Davison increased the capacity of his office for book work, adding a stereotype foundry in 1841. Hle also printed and published " Cowen's Court Reports of the State of New York." He further edited and published an edition of " Stevens' Arithmetic," a quarto family Bible from stereotype plates, "Smith's Lectures to the Uneon- verted," several editions of Dr. Steel's " Analysis of the Mineral Waters," " Goodrich's Spelling-Book," and in 1838 he and the late Judge Warren compiled a guide-book, which appeared under the titles of " The Fashionable Tour" and " The Northern Tourist."
Mr. Davison was a strong advocate of publie improve-
Oct. 1, 1869, at the ripe age of seventy-eight. On the day . following his deeease a meeting of the prominent citizens of Saratoga was held, at which addresses were made and resolutions adopted eulogizing the public achievements and private virtues of the deceased. As his body was borne to its last resting-place the places of business on Broadway were closed and the bells of the churches were tolled.
Mr. Davison was a man of spotless purity of character, conscientious in the administration of the various trusts com- mitted to him, just in all his dealings with his fellow-men, plain and unassuming in his manners, and courteous in his intercourse with others.
We are indebted for many of the faets relating to his long and active life to Wm. L. Stone's " Reminiscences of Saratoga and Ballston."
GIDEON M. DAVISON.
ments, being especially interested in the establishment and extension of railroads, to several of which the most active years of his life were devoted.
1
At the abolition of the court of chancery, under the Con- stitution of 1846, Mr. Davison occupied the position of clerk. Ilis first wife died in April, 1861, and his second marriage to Anna Miller, who survived him, took place in January, 1863. He leaves four children, viz., John M. Davisou, for many years register in chancery, and after- wards president of the Saratoga and Whitehall railroad ; Clement M. Davison, a banker in Detroit ; Chas. A. Davi- son, a lawyer of New York city, and Sarah M. Davison, his only daughter.
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