History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683, Part 69

Author: W.W. Munsell & Co., pub; Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather); Cooper, James B. (James Brown), 1825-; Pelletreau, William S. (William Smith), 1840-1918; Street, Charles R. (Charles Rufus), 1825-1894; Smith, John Lawrence, 1816-1889
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 677

USA > New York > Suffolk County > History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683 > Part 69

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His present position is a grateful proof of the value his fellow men put on his ability and integrity, by plac- ing in his keeping the administration of an office the key note of which is expressed by one of the noblest words in any language-" justice."

His intellectual characteristics-large comprehension, clearness and force-are accompanied by a genuine love of truth and equity. Only 42 years old, in excellent health, the best part of the prime and maturity of man- hood is yet before him.

Douglass Conklew

DOUGLASS CONKLIN.

Douglass Conklin, of Huntington, a school commis- sioner of Suffolk county, was born July 16th 1855, and is one of the youngest men whose portraits appear in this book. He belongs to a family that has made the name honorable and historic. His great-grandfather, Colonel Timothy Conklin, was a prominent patriotic citizen of this town during the Revolutionary war. His grandfather Colonel Isaac Conklin was, in addition to his military attainments, a member of Assembly from Suffolk county in 1819. His first ancestor in this country, John Conklin, from Nottinghamshire, England, born about 1600, was one of the " Pilgrim Fathers " who lived in Salem, Mass., in 1649; he removed thence to Southold, and later, as related on page 4 of the history of Huntington, made this town his home.

Jonas Platt Conklin, the father of our subject, who is still living, was born August 7th 1808, and, according to the testimony of a wide-spread community, has borne the name worthily and above reproach through a long, useful and upright life. On the 23d of January 1839 he married Hannah Douglass, who was born April 10th 1810. Their children have been: William P., born Sep- tember 2nd 1830; Alfred K., born October 20th 1839; Mary Fitch (wife of Isaac B. Jacobs), born July 8th 1843, died August 4th 1865; Susan D., born June 22nd 1845; Isaac, born September 18th 1847; and Douglass, the subject of this sketch, who was the youngest child, and who it will be seen is in his 27th year.

One of the many proofs of the wisdom and worth of his father is the education the son has received. At the age of 18 he had passed through all the courses of study laid down in the union and high schools of his native village, his diploma from the latter of which is dated July 3d 1873. From the high school he went the same year to the University of the City of New York, which, four years later, certified that he had assiduously studied and honorably mastered the prescribed courses of study, entitling him to the degrees of civil engineer and bachelor of science. His two diplomas are dated June 14th 1877, and both bear the distinguished name of Chancellor Howard Crosby, D. D., LL. D.

But Mr. Conklin did not rest on his honors on leaving college. After some hesitation between civil engineer- ing, to which his training had been specially directed, and the profession of law, he chose the latter, and ac- complished the preliminary reading in the office of Judge Thomas Young. In 1879 he entered the Albany Law School, from which, after a year of close application, he received his fourth diploma, conferring the maximum honors of that institution, signed by its president, E. N. Potter, and dated May 24th 1880. Previous to his gradu- ation he had applied to the general term of the supreme court of the State of New York, held in the city of Poughkeepsie, where he had been admitted and entitled to practice in any court held in the State. His certifi- cate, duly signed by eminent members of the bench and of the bar, is dated May 14th 1880. Returning to Hunt-

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ington he engaged in the practice of his chosen calling with earnestness and zeal.

In the fall of 1881 he was nominated and elected to the office of school commissioner of the second district, and entered upon its active duties January Ist 1882. In importance this office is second to no other in the gift of the county. There is a growing interest far and wide in the practical management of common schools. The current modes and methods are being subjected to a searching investigation, and in many cases radical re- forms are demanded and enforced. The too-long-cur- rent notions of cramming to make a show in red tape examinations are giving way to fewer studies, shorter lessons, and more thorough mastery of what is attempted. To this important trust the subject of our sketch seemed fitted by a long, careful préparation, and by a large fund of practical good sense, for which his family has ever been noted.

One of the most interesting and important events of any man's life has recently added itself to his experi- ence. This was his marriage, on the 15th of February 1882, in the Second Presbyterian Church of the village of Huntington, by Rev. W. W. Knox, to Miss Bertha Underhill, of the same place. The unusually clear, bright day, and the large concourse of their friends, expressing the best wishes of an entire community, con- spired to make the occasion propitious, and indicative of the future.

Edward Everett has said that education furnishes the tools with which the life work is wrought. Judged by this high authority Douglass Conklin is regally equipped for any field of action that may await him, and with such a concurrence of birth, friends and culture the public will expect much, and it will not be disappointed.

THE SCUDDER FAMILY.

Thomas Scudder was the ancestor of all the Scudders in the United States (so far as years of careful research have shown us), and emigrated from Grafton, England, to Salem, Mass., in 1636, accompanied by his wife, four sons and one daughter. The sons were William, Thomas, John and Henry. Thomas Scudder Ist died in Salem in 1657. His son William died before him. In 1642 John Scudder married Mary King, daughter of William and Dorothea King. In 1652 the three sons of Thomas the Ist of Salem, viz. Thomas, John and Henry, moved, together with many other families, from Salem, Mass., to Southold, a town situated in the eastern portion of Suf- folk county, Long Island. After living there several years they again removed, Thomas and Henry buying land and settling permanently in the town of Hunting- ton. John bought land in Huntington near the estates of his brothers, but in a short time thereafter moved to Newtown, Long Island, where he lived until his death, leaving one son, also named John, who in 1669 married Johanna Betts, daughter of Captain Richard Betts. Two sons were born of this marriage, named John and

Richard B. Scudder, who in the year 1700 sold their possessions in Newtown, and moved, with their families, to the State of New Jersey, John settling in Elizabeth, and Richard B. on the Delaware River, where their de- scendants became numerous, and are, many of them, living at this date (1882).

The late Hon. I. W. Scudder, of Jersey City, an em- inent lawyer and member of the 43d Congress, was a descendant of the John who settled in Elizabeth, while the Hon. Edward M. Scudder of Trenton is a descend- ant of Richard B. Scudder who lived on the Delaware River.

Thomas Scudder the 2nd (son of Thomas Ist of Salem) settled in Huntington, and, by purchases and grants, became the owner of large landed interests in the pres- ent " Town Spot " of Huntington, in Northport (then called Cow Harbor), in Vernon Valley (then called Red Hook), in Crab Meadow, and in Babylon, on the south side of Long Island. All of these four last named places were then small settlements comprised within the limits of the town of Huntington. He died in 1690, leaving five daughters and two sons, named Benjamin and Timothy. In his will he left his landed estate chiefly to his sons, giving to Benjamin the. estates in the Town Spot of Huntington, and to Timothy most of his landed interests in Cow Harbor, Crab Meadow, Red Hook and Sumpawams (Babylon).

Henry, son of Thomas Ist, was the ancestor of Rev. Moses L. Scudder, D. D., eminent in the Methodist Episcopal church, now located at Bethel, Conn. Dr. Scudder married Sarah Pratt, of Boston, and is the father of Moses L. Scudder, of Chicago; Henry T .; Charles, a practicing lawyer in Michigan; and Newton, devoted to science, and assistant professor in Cornell University,

Benjamin Scudder, second generation from Thomas of Salem, died in 1736 and left eight sons, named Thomas, Benjamin, Isaac, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jacob, Moses and Peter. Of these eight sons only one, Thomas, left pos- terity in Huntington.

Benjamin was devoted to the study of the languages and letters, and went to England to enjoy better ad- vantages for their study. Isaac, Ezekiel and Isaiah left Long Island and settled in Connecticut and the Hudson River counties of New York State, from whence their posterity moved to Tioga and Ontario counties, and are to be found there at this date (1882).

Ezekiel Scudder, great grandson of Benjamin, was born in Connecticut. in 1765. With his family he went, early in life, to the borders of the Hudson River, and soon after reaching his majority entered the service of Phelps and Gorham as overseer in clearing up an exten- sive tract of land which they owned in the then famed "Genesee Country." He was engaged with them in this capacity for three years. He was a man of great ingenu- ity, intelligence and courage. In 1791 he married, and the following winter, with his wife and young son, he, with three other men, started to cut their way through the forest, traversed the frozen rivers with their oxen

THE TOWN OF HUNTINGTON.

and sleds, and after six or seven weeks of peril and hard- ship arrived in Ontario county, where he settled on his own newly purchased land. He became the father of eleven children, nine of whom lived to rear families of their own.

Marvin Scudder, son of the above Ezekiel, was three months old at the time of moving from Albany to Ontario county, and was the third white child in an extent of fulling mills. Jacob Scudder had three sons, the oldest country twenty miles square, where since have been of whom, Nathaniel, was a classmate at Princeton Col- lege of an old Huntington friend, Benjamin Youngs Prime, and the early friendship begun in Huntington continued at Princeton, and more than a score of years after, up to the death of Nathaniel Scudder, who, while a colonel in the Revolutionary army, was killed in an en- counter with the British in 1781 at Shrewsbury, New Jersey. built Canandaigua and other large towns. When old enough to aid on the farm Marvin took the care of two mills which his father built, a saw-mill and grist-mill, running them without assistance and, when needed, day and night. He invented an attachment of a bell to the hopper, which rang when the hopper became empty, so that he could sleep in the intervals and would be awakened at the right time to fill up again with grain. The posterity of Colonel Nathaniel Scudder are scat- tered, some in Georgia, and some in Tennessee, Ken- tucky, Indiana and Missouri. The saw-mill he arranged to be thrown out of gear when a log was sawed through, and thus awakened he would arrange the log for another saw-cut and again refresh

Nathaniel left several sons, one of whom, Joseph Scud- himself by slumber. At eighteen he was enrolled in the der, was the father of Dr. John Scudder of missionary militia, and at once made orderly sergeant, which place fame, whose excellent works in India are a testimonial to his piety, incessant labor and self denial, running over a period of nearly half a century.

- he held until the war of 1812. He was at the battle of Black Rock and the burning of Buffalo; was made lieu- tenant, then captain. Those offices were unsought; higher ones rejected.

Ezekiel Scudder died in 1854, aged 89.

Marvin Scudder died in 1871, aged 80 years.

The oldest daughter of Marvin Scudder married Cal- Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri and other States and terri- tories at this date (1882).

vin Kingsley, a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died in Beyroot, Turkey, while on a tour of the Methodist Episcopal missions of Japan, China and other countries of the old world. This daughter visited Beyroot several years after her husband's death to attend the erection of a monument over his grave. She was accompanied by two daughters in their teens, and while absent traveled over Europe, the Holy Land and Egypt; was gone three years, and it is related in evidence of her accuracy of habit and energy of character that she never missed a train or vessel that she meant to. take, and never lost a dollar's worth of baggage.

The second son of Marvin Scudder is a farmer in Cattaraugus county.

The second daughter married a grandson of General Van Rensselaer.

The third and fourth sons of said Marvin lived in Illinois for a while, but in 1846 the third son, named Marvin, after his father, enlisted under Colonel E. D. Baker (afterward killed at Ball's Bluff in the Rebellion), and served in the Mexican war. Recently both of these two younger sons have settled in Nebraska.

Isaac Scudder, born in Connecticut, grandson of Ben- jamin of Long Island, drifted westward in 1791 and finally settled in Ohio, where his posterity now live,

The descendants of Ezekiel are occupying honorable places in the professions in eight or nine of the northern and western States.

Moses Scudder died childless in 1752.

Peter Scudder left only two daughters on his death in 1765, who married into other families.

Jacob married Abia Rowe, and in 1749 sold his land- ed interests and mill property in Huntington (inherited from his father, Benjamin Scudder) and moved to the Passaic Valley, New Jersey, where he again entered the milling business, but on a more extensive scale, as he erected, in addition to large flour mills, both saw and

Rev. Henry M. Scudder of Brooklyn is one of the sons of Dr. John Scudder the missionary.

William and Lemuel Scudder, brothers of Nathaniel, left sons whose posterity are to be found in Georgia,

Thomas Scudder, son of Benjamin, and third in de- scent from Thomas Ist of Salem, died about 1760, leaving only one son, also named Thomas, who in turn died in 1809, leaving four sons, John, Nathaniel, Gilbert and Thomas. John joined the Continental army, was taken prisoner at the battle of Long Island and confined with many others in the old sugar house in New York city, where the cold and hunger occasioned much sick- ness and many deaths among the prisoners.

The old house of the Scudders at Huntington Harbor, offering good quarters for the British officers, was occu- pied by them, except the kitchen, where the family were forced to crowd together, and the officer's horses occu- pied the barn and used the hay and grain stored there, while the stock of Thomas Scudder was turned adrift in the fields and streets.

The sufferings of John as a prisoner, coming to the ears of his father, caused the latter to send his son Gilbert (then a lad of sixteen years) to New York to aid in his brother's relief, which he accomplished by walk- ing past the prison house several times a day and when the chance offered passing food from his pocket to him, or to some one for him, through the iron bars of a window bordering on a side street. This assistance con- tinued until he was liberated upon parole; but the severi- ty of treatment the prisoners suffered and the injustice and rapine offered his father's family in Huntington so embittered John's feelings against the rule of Great Britain as to justify him, in his own opinion, in breaking his parole and enlisting in General Greene's command in

THE TOWN OF HUNTINGTON.

the southern army, where, before a year's service had expired, he died of yellow fever.

Of the other three sons of Thomas Scudder (fourth in descent from Thomas of Saleni) Nathaniel left sons Gershom B. Scudder and Jacob Scudder, whose sons are now living at Huntington Harbor, and two or three of whom now reside on a part of the landed estate of their ancestor, Thomas Scudder, one of the earliest settlers in Huntington.

The old homestead of Benjamin Scudder stood within a few feet of the spot where is now the residence of John R. Scudder, and probably ranked in its day as a fine residence. It was two stories in front, with the shingles on the sides evenly rounded, and in size and convenience was regarded when built as a house of the best class in the town. It was torn down in 1875 to give place to the present residence of John R. Scudder.

Gilbert Scudder, third son of the last mentioned Thomas, lived about half a mile east of Huntington Harbor, on a farm which was also a part of the landed estates acquired by his old ancestor Thomas Scudder in 1658 to 1670.

On the death of Gilbert Scudder in 1855, at 92 years of age, he left one son, Isaiah Scudder, and five daughters, three of whom married, but only one of whom, Naomi, left sons. She was a lovely and most estimable woman, and became the wife of Shallum B. Street, and was the mother of Justice Charles R. Street, of Huntington, the Hon. Henry Street, of Idaho, and Gilbert S. Street, of Bridgeport, Conn.

The landed interest of Gilbert Scudder then again fell in the line of the male branch and came in possession of Isaiah Scudder, who was married in 1814 to Rhoda Jarvis, sixth child of Daniel and Deborah Rogers Jarvis. Daniel Jarvis was an esteemed member of the well known Jarvis family who trace their descent to " John Gervays," member of the English Parliament in 1315, returned from Portsmouth during the reign of Edward II., king of England.

Deborah Rogers was a descendant in the eighth gen- eration from John Rogers the martyr, who was burnt at the stake in Smithfield, England, during the reign of Queen Mary, commonly called "Bloody Mary."

Only one child was born to Isaiah and Rhoda Jarvis Scudder and he, Henry G. Scudder, was born May 24th 1818, and was educated at the Huntington Academy. At nineteen years of age he moved to New York city, where for a period of nearly forty years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, and in 1874 retired from business in New York, returning to the farm of his ancestors on East Neck, Huntington, where he now resides. In 1849 Henry G. Scudder married Eleanor E. Murray of New Jersey, who died in 1857, leaving three children, William Murray Scudder (deceased), Nora Jarvis Scudder (mar- ried to John H. Jones of Cold Spring Harbor) and Henry G. Scudder of New York city.

In 1859 he married for a second wife Anne Cornelia, youngest daughter of Henry Scudder of Northport, and from this marriage there are two sons, Gilbert Scudder

Sonder

of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Hewlett Scudder the second, now (1882) living in New York city.

Isaiah Scudder died in 1875, aged 85 years.

Thomas Scudder the fifth (youngest son of Thomas Scudder the fourth in descent from Thomas of-Salem) lived in East Neck, on a farm also inherited from the old possessions of the 17th century, and left.two sons, named David C. Scudder and Thomas Scudder, who jointly inherited from their father the landed property he received from his ancestors.

Thomas Scudder the sixth is now living; he had two sons, Major Thomas Scudder of Kansas, and James L. Scudder, deceased.

Major Scudder was a soldier in the northern army during the war of the Rebellion from 1862 to 1865, and rose by his meritorious conduct to the rank of major. He is a genial, intelligent gentleman and deserves as well of his country as he is beloved and respected by his lifelong friends.

James L. Scudder, who died in 1880, beloved and admired for his genuine kindheartedness, was a man greatly gifted in art. His tastes led him to observe and admire nature in its various forms, and his skill as a painter won for him a great local reputation. He left one son, named also Thomas, who is now living with his uncle Major Thomas Scudder in Kansas.

Timothy Scudder, son of Thomas Scudder first of Long Island and grandson of Thomas of Salem, mar- ried Sarah Wood and had four sons, and one daughter,

THE TOWN OF HUNTINGTON.

who married Joseph Lewis. The sons were named Henry, John, Jonas and. Timothy.

Henry left two sons, whose posterity have moved from Long Island to western localities.

John died suddenly at Babylon, unmarried. He left a farm at Great Cow Harbor to his nephew Henry Scud- der (son of his brother Timothy).

Jonas left posterity, some of whom are living in the vicinity of Vernon Valley and Crab Meadow.

Timothy married Mary Whitehead about the year 1726. Of this marriage there were eight children born- Jemima, married to David Rusco; Jerusha, married to Timothy Carll (who was the father of Phineas Carll and Julia, wife of Scudder Lewis of Centerport; Hannah, married to Ananias CarlI (who was the father of Scudder Carll, Edna Carll, Oliver Carll and Lelah CarlI).

Timothy Scudder's posterity, if any, are lost sight of. He was married, presumably in 1782, to Rebecca Wiser, and died soon after, leaving one or two children. He lived (probably) near Smithtown, and is thought to have been the ancestor of William C. Scudder, owning the old Silas Wood place in Huntington.

Sarah married Jesse Buffet and left no children.

John died young, leaving one son, John B. Scudder, of Red Hook, who married Mary Skidmore and was the grandfather of Mrs. J. Amherst Woodhull of Huntington, Mrs. William Gardiner of Eaton's Neck, Mrs.

Covert of Huntington, and Justice Charles V. Scudder of Vernon Valley, one of the most intelligent of the magistrates of Huntington.

John B. Scudder inherited from his father a large farm at Vernon Valley, which was inherited from his an- cestors, and was occupied after his death succes- sively by his sons John and Joseph Scudder, when, each of them dying childless, the estate passed out of the family,

Henry Scudder, the third son of Timothy Scudder and Mary Whitehead Scudder, was born in 1743, and married Phebe Carll, the youngest daughter and seventh child of Ananias and Hannah Wood Carll. Her father dying during her infancy, and her mother marrying the Rev. Ebenezer Prime before Phebe attained five years of age, she passed her childhood and early womanhood in the family of Dr. Prime, who gave careful attention to her mental training and inspired her with ardor to pur- sue in her own life the most sincere and devoted course which could illustrate her individual faith in the pure tenets of the Presbyterian church, and inspire and en- courage others to follow in her footsteps. Dr. Prime succeeded in engrafting on the mind of this stepdaughter the most profound respect for him and his teachings, and she became, in the house of her husband, Henry Scudder, of Crab Meadow, a most attractive entertainer of the numerous clergymen who in their travels from one church to another desired and sought the most intelli- gent society within their reach.

Henry Scudder, her husband, fourth in descent from Thomas Scudder of Salem, was endowed with great

sagacity and courage, joined to an unflinching sense of justice. On the declaration of war against Great Britain he gave heart and hand to the cause of the Revolution, promoted its development, held a commission in the army, and during the seven years' war sacrificed all per- sonal and family considerations for the common cause of independence. He was captured at or shortly after the battle of Long Island, but escaped confinement, passed over the sound to Connecticut, and was attached to the force of General Tallmadge. During the seven years' struggle he largely contributed by his local knowledge and great personal daring to many successful expedi- tions against the British forces on Long Island between Matinecock Point and Wading River, and came to be held by them as a scourge whom they at once feared and watched for. His possessions at Crab Meadow were laid waste by cutting his wood, burning his fences and out buildings and driving off all the stock (excepting one cow which was secreted by an old slave), and his wife was subjected to a system of most distressing espionage in order to discover the presence of her husband on his stealthy visits to her. To the courage of his wife and her sympathy with the cause of justice Henry Scudder undoubtedly owed much in his cheerful self-denial and endurance of the hardships occasioned by the long strug- gle for freedom. After the declaration of independ- ence he was chosen as one of the delegates from Suffolk county to aid in the adoption of the federal constitution. He represented the county in the As- sembly several terms and held other positions of honor and trust. Henry Scudder died in 1822, leav- ing three sons, Youngs Prime Scudder, Henry Scud- der and Joel Scudder. He also had two daughters, the oldest Phebe, who married Azel Lewis, and Amelia, married to Platt Lewis.

Youngs Prime Scudder was named after the son of Dr. Ebenezer Prime, Benjamin Youngs Prime. He left two daughters and one grandson, John Scudder, son of a deceased son named Solomon Scudder. This grandson is a resident of Colorado.

The oldest daughter of Youngs P. Scudder married Haviland Weeks, and left a large family of daughters and two sons.

The youngest, John Burdett, died in Niagara county, childless.

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