History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 142

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354


USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I > Part 142


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171 | Part 172 | Part 173 | Part 174 | Part 175 | Part 176 | Part 177 | Part 178 | Part 179 | Part 180 | Part 181 | Part 182 | Part 183 | Part 184 | Part 185 | Part 186 | Part 187 | Part 188 | Part 189 | Part 190 | Part 191 | Part 192 | Part 193 | Part 194 | Part 195 | Part 196 | Part 197 | Part 198 | Part 199 | Part 200 | Part 201 | Part 202 | Part 203 | Part 204 | Part 205 | Part 206 | Part 207 | Part 208 | Part 209 | Part 210 | Part 211 | Part 212 | Part 213 | Part 214 | Part 215 | Part 216 | Part 217 | Part 218 | Part 219


ـلهم


549


THE BENCH AND BAR.


of-staff, a position which he held for several years. He was prominent among the military lawyers who codified the laws affecting the National Guard, and was chosen president of the National Guard Asso- ciation. Mayor Edward Cooper, of New York City, appointed him park commissioner, and for four years he served as treasurer of the board. He married a daughter of Elias Butler, of Hyde Park, who, with five children, survives him. He died July 12, 1886, at his home in Dobbs Ferry, aged fifty five years.


The present members of the Westchester bar are men of ability and integrity, and many of them are in the enjoyment of lucrative practice and of high re- pute, not only within the county, but throughout the State and at the bar of the Court of Appeals. We here give their names and residences. Several of them, however, have retired from active practice, or prac- tice chiefly in New York City,-


Daly, Joseph F. . Yonkers.


Darrow, John C. Shrub Oak.


Davidson, William B. Dobbs Ferry.


Davison, C. S . . Tarrytown.


Davenport, G. W New Rochelle.


De Lancy, Edward F Mamaroneck.


De Lancy, W. E .


Mamaroneck.


Dillon, Maurice. . Port Chester.


Donohue, John C . Yonkers.


Donoline, John C., Jr . Yonkers.


Donogline, Francis X


Yonkers.


Dusenberry, Edwin C.


. White Plains.


Dykmau, Henry T


White Plains.


Draper, Alonzo . Sing Sing.


Ellis, Matt. II


Yonkers.


Ely, W. H. H.


Tarrytowu.


Frost, Elihn B


Peekskill.


Fowler, S. Loder ,Peekskill.


Ferris, Clintou l'eekskill.


Ferris, Claiborne


Westchester.


Ferris, Henry .


Westchester.


Ferguson, John H.


Yonkers.


Field, David Dudley.


. Mamaroneck.


, Fiero, Joshua M. .


Mamaroneck.


Fiero, William P


White Plains.


Fitch, Theodore


Yonkers.


Adams, A. J .


Mount Kisco.


Adee, Frederick.


Westchester.


Adee, George A . .


Westchester.


Adee, Philip H . .


Westchester.


Frost, Clarence HI .


Peekskill.


Allen, William Porter.


Harrison.


Geary, John T.


Yonkers.


Allerton, W. S.


Mount Vernon.


Getty, Robert P., Jr.


Yonkers.


Alexander, John W.


Yonkers.


Gibney, Johu .


. Sing Sing.


Andrews, George C


Tarrytown.


Gifford, Silas D


Tuckahoe.


Archer, Engene.


White Plains.


Atkins, T. Astley


Yonkers.


Bailey, S. C. H .


Cortlandt.


Griffin, Henry C.


Tarrytown.


Baker, Nelson H Sing Sing.


Haines, Charles B.


Bedford Station.


Baker, Fisher A. Yonkers.


Baker, Seward . Westchester.


Halsey, Edward G.


Peekskill.


Banta, Matthias.


Mamaroneck.


Hart, Robert S


Mount Kisco.


Banks, Charles G


New Rochelle.


Hart, Reginald


Monut Kisco.


Barton, Willianı MI


Peekskill.


Hart, Monmouth G . White Pains.


Barnett, William E


l'elham Manor.


Baxter, John H.


Peekskill.


Henderson, Henry C


New Rochelle.


Bigelow, C. C. .


Mount Vernon.


Hoffman, Arthur T Mamaroneck.


Bird, Winfield S.


. Tarrytown.


Horton, Cyrus W . Peekskill.


Blanknau, Edward


Westchester.


Horton, Dudley R


City Islaud.


Brennan, John F. Yonkers.


Holls, F. W.


Mount Vernon.


Brown, William Reynolds


Iloffman, Henry I.


Mount Vernon.


Brown, Wilson, Jr.


White Plains.


Ilorton, Elisha


White Plains.


Brown, J. Barclay.


. Tarrytown.


Hubbel, Zadock


. Mount Kisco.


Bruen, Alexander J


Ilartsdale.


ll unt, James M


Yonkers.


Buchanan, E. G.


Yonkers.


Hunt, David H .


. Mount Kisco.


Buel, Oliver P.


Youkers.


Hunt, William .A


. Peekskill.


Butler, William Allen.


Youkers.


1Innt, George W . Mount Vernon.


Butler, William Allen, Jr .


Yonkers.


Huntington, B. F White Plains.


Butler, Willard Parker.


Hartsdale.


Husted, James W . Peekskill.


Burns, Arthur J.


Youkers.


Husted, Thomas S


Peekskill.


Chamberlain, Henry C.


I'nderhill.


llyatt, A. Jackson .


White Plains.


Clapp, John H .


Port Chester.


Hyatt, E. Clarence Mount Kisco.


Clapp, Charles A


Sing Sing.


James, Elbert P. . Peekskill.


Close, Odle White Plains.


Johnson, Samuel Willianı . Mamaroneck.


Johnson, William S


Mamaroneck.


Cobb, Marcus L ..


. Sing Sing.


Coffin, Owen T .


Peekskill.


Kene, Cornelius E.


. New Rochelle.


Conklin, William H


New Rochelle.


Keoglı, Martin J .


. New Rochelle.


Collins, William H


, Mount Vernon.


Keyes, Malcolm s Yonkers.


Couch, Franklin.


. Peekskill.


Keyes, Edwiu R.


. Yonkers.


Crumb, L. F .


Peekskill.


Knapp, Sanford R. . Peekskill.


Collins, S. W .


Harrison.


Lamberton, W. R . New Rochelle.


Crane, Joseph T


Mount Kisco.


Larkin, Francis. Sing Sing.


Crane, A. B. .


Hartsdale.


Larkin, Francis, Jr . Sing Sing.


Cowles, Charles P Rye.


Lawlor, Norman A . Mount Veruon.


Cowles, Edward B. Rve.


Lent, Stephen Peekskill.


Cowles, Justus A. B ..


. Rye.


Lent, Smith . Sing Sing.


Fitch, S. Hedding


Yonkers.


Fitcli, James S


Yonkers.


Frost, Calvin .


Peekskill.


Glover, Frank N . Mount Vernon.


Gorton, Charles E. Yonkers.


Ilaight, Daniel . Port Chester.


Hawley, David . Yonkers.


Benard, Franklin B Westchester.


Herrick, Dwight S . Peekskill.


Clopton, William II Scarsdale.


Kellogg, William C . Yonkers.


WESTCHESTER COUNTY BAR.


550


HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.


Lent, Herbert D. . Mount Vernon.


Littel, John W


Peekskill.


Lockwood, James B White Plains.


Logan, Edgar


Yonkers.


Long, Louis L Armonk.


Long, Jacob L. Armonk.


Lovatt, Edward T. . Tarrytown.


Lyon, Addison J. Mount Vernon.


McCord, Robert . . Peekskill.


McClellan, P. L.


Mount Vernon.


McClelland, Charles P . Dobbs Ferry.


Marshall, William J.


Mount Vernon.


Marshall, Stephen S. White Plains.


Mills, Isaac N. Mount Vernon.


Millard, James S. .


Tarrytown.


Mitchell, Josiah S.


White Plains.


Murray, William


. Dobbs Ferry.


Moran, James HI


White Plains.


Neil, E. C. .


Somers.


Nelson, Henry C


. Sing Sing.


Noxon, Charles H .


New Rochelle.


Owens, Silas J.


. Peekskill.


Ostrander, Charles H Mount Vernon.


Peck, J. A .


Port Chester.


Paulding, lliram


White Plains.


Peake, Cyrus A.


Yonkers.


Pemberton, Wm. H. Mount Vernon.


Pentz, George B Yonkers.


Peters, J. Montgomery


East Chester.


Platt, William P.


White Plains.


Platt, Lewis C.


White Plains.


Porter, David B.


Rye.


Post, John J .


Rye.


Poucher, George W


Yonkers.


Prime. Ralph E. .


Youkers.


l'rime, Alanson J


Yonkers.


Purdy, William F


Tarrytown.


Purdy, Elias l'


White Plains.


Roosevelt, llenry E


New Rochelle.


Reevs, Gabriel Yonkers.


Reynolds, l'ierre . . Sing Sing.


Riley, William .... Yonkers.


Robertson, William H. Katonah.


Romer, Williamu . . . White Plains.


Roosevelt, Charles H. New Rochelle.


Sanders, James P. . . Yonkers.


Sheil, Denis R


Wins. Bridge.


Sheldon, George P.


White Plains.


Silkman, Theodore 11.


Yonkers.


Silkman, James B.


Yonkers.


Silliman, Minott MI


White Plains.


Skinner, William M. . White Plains.


Skinner, Willian M., Jr. White Plains.


Small, John C. . Yonkers.


Smith, Duncan .


Yonkers.


Smith, Marvin R. Peekskill.


Stilwell, Benjamin S. Yonkers.


Suits, David .


Mount Vernon.


Sweny, William II. . . Yonkers.


Squires, Ebenezer P . Rye.


Tilden, Samuel J .


Yonkers.


Tierney, Michael J New Rochelle.


Taylor, Allen . Yonkers.


Terwilliger, J. W Sing Sing.


Thayer, Stepheu H., Jr Yonkers.


Titus, Charles T. . Scarboroughi.


Travis, Eugene B


Peekskill.


Travis, David W.


Peekskill.


Underhill, A. S.


Sing Sing.


Van Cott, William H1


Mount Vernon.


Verplanck, David . White Plains.


Watson, Samuel . Sing Sing.


Westcott, Clarence L . White Plains.


Williams, Elliott . Chappaqua.


Williams, David O. . Mount Vernon.


Wood, Joseph S. . Mount Vernon.


Woodworth, William A . White Plains.


Wells, Edward . Peekskill.


Williams, R. H . Chappaqua.


Y'ale, Lucius T. . Tarrytown.


Young, Charles HI. New Rochelle.


The present distinguished justice of the Supreme Court from this county, Hon. Jackson O. Dykman, and surrogate, Hon. Owen T. Coffin, are treated of at length in another part of this work.


As we review the Westchester judges and lawyers, their records, professional and otherwise, we readily conclude that the county has been especially gifted in both. Its judges, at least in the past, have been learned, upright and faithful to duty. There is neither record nor tradition that any of them ever was guilty of corrupt or improper conduct in his position. Each has left the ermine unsullied.


The lawyers, as a class, have been exceptionally able, dignified, courteous, industrious, true to the interests of their clients and trusted counselors of the court. Many of them, as Benjamiu Nicoll, Timothy Wetmore, Richard Morris, Gouverneur Morris, John Jay, Philip Pell, Richard Hatfield, John Strang, Peter Jay Munro, Edward Thomas, Martin S. Wil- kins, Daniel D. Tompkins, William Nelson, Minott Mitchell, Richard R. Voris, Joseph Warren Tomp- kins, Albert Lockwood, John J. Clapp, Jonathan Henry Ferris, Amherst Wight, Jr., and Isaiah T. Williams, were lawyers of unusual ability and high reputation. By their careers at the bar, they honored the legal profession, and remain bright examples for the emulation of their successors.


Isaac


N. Mills


BIOGRAPHIY.1


HON. OWEN T. COFFIN.


Of the existing generation of public men, there is none who is more thoroughly identified with the public affairs of Westchester County than its present surrogate, Owen T. Coffin, who was born July 17. 1815, at Washington, Dutchess County, N. Y. He is descended from an honorable ancestry, being sixth in the line from Tristram Coffin, who came from Devon- shire, England, and was subsequently chief magis- trate of the island of Nantucket. The energy of the ancestor has been impressed upon his descendants and their name is identified with many of the most important business enterprises of the country. Among the most conspicuous of these descendants was Isaac Coffin, a gallant naval officer, who, previous to thie Revolution, was in the British service, and rising to the rank of admiral, was knighted by his sovereign


1 The following biographical sketches of members of the Westcheste County bench and bar were prepared and inserted in this chapter b | the editor.


Valentine, William G


Sing Sing.


-- -


551


THE BENCH AND BAR.


and received a grant of the Magdalen Islands, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, which are still in the possession of his family. He was afterwards a mem- ber of Parliament, and distinguished both as a wise and a witty legislator.


Robert Coffin, the father of Owen T., was a thrifty farmer and a man of high standing and great influ- ence in his town, of which he was a magistrate for many years, and although not a member, he was an adherent of the principles of the Society of Friends, which was very numerous in the section where he lived. Taking a great interest in the affairs of the State, he represented his county for a term or two in the Legislature. He married Magdalen, daughter of Taber Bentley and granddaughter of Col. James Vanderburgh, who was one of the most influential citizens of Beekman, Dutchess Connty, and a worthy representative of an ancient family, who came from Holland and settled in that region at an early day. He was a member of the Provin cial Congress in 1776, and a zealous friend of the patriot canse. At his house Washington and Lafayette were frequently entertained, with many of their brother officers. The mother of the present surrogate possessed the charac- teristics of a true and noble-hearted woman, which greatly endeared her to her family and friends ; like her husband, she was in sympathy with the principles of the Society of Friends, and excelled in those qualities which have made the members of that faith models of morality and virtue. Between herself and her children there existed a most affectionate confidence, and their joys and sorrows were made her own.


The children of Robert and Magdalen Coffin were ten in number. Jane, the oldest (now. deceased), married Caleb Morgan, of Poughkeepsie, and Alex- ander H., the second child, is living in that eity. Hezekiah R., Charles and Sarah, wife of Henry M. Swift, live in Dutchess County. Eliza married George B. Caldwell, of Ponghkeepsie. George W. is mayor of Santa Barbara, Cal. Wil- liam H., deceased, left a family now living in New York, and Robert G. is on the old homestead, about half a mile south of the village of Mechanic, Washington township, Dutchess County.


Owen T. Coffin was the seventh child and the fourth son, and remained on the farm with his parents, as- sisting them during the summer and attending the excellent Quaker school in the winter months. When fourteen years old he was sent to the academy at Sharon, Conn., and thence to Kinderhook Academy, where he was distinguished for his assiduous attention to study and for his great fondness for mathematics, in which he attained proficieney. Entering Union College in 1833, he graduated in 1837 with great credit in the same class with Hon. John K. Porter, judge of the Court of Appeals, between whom and himself there has been a constant friendship. After leaving college he began the study of law in the office of Judge Rufns W. Peckham, and for a time had


charge of the portion of his business usually attended to by a managing clerk. Upon his admission to the bar, in 1840, he established practice in Carmel, Put- nam Connty, where he remained two years, gaining a large business and winning respect and confidence. In 1845 he became a member of the well-known law- firm of Johnston, Coffin & Emott, of Ponghkeepsie. He retired from the firm to form a copartnership with General Leonard Maison, a distinguished lawyer and prominent in State affairs. He continned the practice of his profession in Poughkeepsie, holding several places of trust, among them the office of district attorney, nntil 1851, when he received an invitation from Hon. W. Nelson and his son, W. R. Nelson, to associate himself with them as a partner in a law-office estab- lished in Peekskill, and, having aeeepted the invita- tion, he removed to this connty, which has since been his place of residence. In 1871 he was elected surro- gate of Westchester County, re-elected in 1876 and again in 1882, and holds the office at present.


When one considers the extent of Westchester County, its wealth and population, it is evident that the office of surrogate is one of the most important in the gift of the people. The incumbent is frequently called upon to deeide questions of the greatest im- portance and involving extensive interests.


To the solution of these questions Mr. Coffin has applied with unceasing industry the powers of an ac- tive and vigorons mind, well stored with legal knowl- edge, and a reputation for honor and integrity which renders his opinions and decisions worthy of the re- spect and confience of his legal brethren, and of the entire community. To determine these questions requires a thorough knowledge of the statutory law, and a familiar acquaintance with the cases in which the brightest lights of legal science have given their interpretations of law. That Mr. Coffin possesses these qualities in the fullest degree is a fact that is fully recognized, and it is the unanimons opinion of those most capable to judge that of all who have held the office in Westchester Co., no one deserves to occupy a higher rank, and few have had a more extensive ac- qnaintance with the members of the legal profession in the State of New York. To mention even a tithe of them would far exceed these limits, but it is suffi- cient to state that he had abundant opportunity of witnessing the efforts and studying the methods of such "legal giants " as Daniel Cady, Joshna A. Spen- cer, Greene C. Bronson, Hiram Denio, Ambrose L. Jordan, and others famous for learning and eloquence.


Mr. Coffin married Belinda E., daughter of Gen. Leonard Maison, in 1842. By this marriage he had three children, two of whom died in early childhood, and one, Elizabeth, wife of the late Edward B. Platt, is living in Dutchess County. Mrs. Coffin died in 1856, and, in 1858, he was again married to Harriette, daughter of the late Dr. Samuel Bancroft Barlow, and a sister of S. L. M. Barlow, of New York City. On her father's side, Mrs. Coffin is related to Joel Barlow,


.


552


HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.


the distinguished author of "The Columbiad," and on her mother's to Major Charles Wadsworth, who, when Sir Edmund Audros demanded the charter of Connecticut, suatched it in the darkness caused by the sudden extinction of the lights, and hasteued to conceal it in the famous "Charter Oak."


By this second marriage Mr. Coffin has two chil- dren, Magdalen Beutley and Samuel Barlow, who is now a student in Uniou College. A third child died in infancy.


Previous to his election as surrogate he was elected, in 1859, supervisor of the town of Cortlandt, but de- clincd all offers of re-election. He takes a deep in- terest iu educational matters, and has been for twenty- five years president of the board of trustees of the Peekskill Academy. For many years he has beeu a member and warden of the Episcopal Church at Peekskill, and a regular attendant upon and devout participator in its services.


In the words of one who has known him for many years-"Though past his sixty-uinth year, Mr. Coffiu is still in the vigor of active life. This is no doubt owing to the regularity of his habits and his great fonduess for out-door work in field aud garden. No one is more systematic iu his industry. By it he is enabled to discharge promptly all official duties, to give considerable time to general reading aud to work every day with his own hands on his ample grounds situated on the river-bank at Peekskill, which Barry Gray named Sunset Hill. Should a stranger call there in the early morn, or just before the close of day, in the season for it, and when the weather is propi- tious, and should he encounter a slender man, in shirt sleeves, with a sharp face, aquiline nose, bright, but fixed and cheery look, iron-gray beard and hair, the whole head General Jackson like, and should he re- ceive frank and cordial reception, eulivened with some sportive remark, he may know that he is face to face with Owen T. Coffin, surrogate of Westchester County."


EDWARD WELLS.


Mr. Wells, a leading member of the bar of West- chester County, was born in Durham, Greene County, New York, December 2, 1818. His father, Noah Wells, was a native of Colchester, New Loudon County, Conn., where he married Dimmis, daughter of David Kilbourne. Both families came from Eng- land, and their genealogies have been published hy their members. The ancestry of Mr. Wells, on his father's side, has been very thoroughly traced in the " History of the Wells Family," by the late Albert Wells, of New York, a work of the greatest value, and embracing the results of extended research ; and his genealogy on his mother's side appears in the " History of the Kilbourne Family," written by Hon. Payne Kenyon Kilbourne.


The children of Noah Wells were Rev. Noah H .; Albert, who was thirty years principal of Peekskill


Military Academy; Mary E., wife of Hiram Bell (deceased), of East Haddam, Conn .; Francis H., a promineut lawyer of San Francisco, Cal. ; and Edward.


Noah Wells removed to Greene County in 1810, and died in June, 1829. His widow then removed to Fishkill Landing, in Dutchess County, aud her son Edward was fitted for college at Newburgh Academy, which was theu uuder the management of his brother Albert, who was his guardian. In 1835 they re- moved to Sing Sing, where he continued his studies at Mount Pleasant Academy, then under his brother's charge, and at the conclusion of his preparatory course eutered Yale College and graduated in 1839. He returned to Sing Sing and studied law in the office of General Aaron Ward, who was associated with Albert Lockwood, and remained till 1842, being for a portion of the time assistant teacher in Mount Pleasaut Academy. He then removed to White Plains aud studied with Minott Mitchell, was ad- mitted to the bar as attorney and solicitor in October, 1842, and in 1845 as counselor-at-law.


Upon his admission he removed to Peekskill and established his practice in partnership with John Currey. This partnership was dissolved five years later. Mr. Wells has coutinued the business till the present tique, and has established not only an exten- sive practice, but a highly honorable reputation as a counselor. In 1850 he was nominated by the Whigs for district attorney, was elected by a majority of three hundred and thirty and at the conclusion of his term re-elected by the largely increased majority of one thousand one hundred, and declining a nomi- nation for a third term, devoted his time and labors to the practice of his profession.


He has ever taken an active part in all efforts to promote the moral welfare of the community and was for several years president of the Westchester County Bible Society. He is a zealous advocate of the temperance cause and fearlessly supports its prin- ciples. At the formation of the Republican party in 1854, he fouud its views coincident with his own, and has ever since been a prominent member of that or- ganization. Fervid in his opposition to slavery, he was a firm supporter of the Union in the war which ended in the destruction of the system which had so long heen a blot on the nation.


He married Hannah Hamill, daughter of Rev. Charles W. Nassau, D.D., of Lawrenceville, N. J., who was formerly a professor aud for a time the presi- dent of Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. Their chil- dren are Edward, Jr., who graduated from Yale College in 1884; Charles Nassau, now a student of Lafayette College; and Anna Hamill, who resides with her par- ents at Peekskill.


Mr. Wells is a man of extensive learning, the pos- sessor of a large and valuable library, well versed in general literature, and especially iu the study of Roman civil law, and holds an honorable position as a member of the legal fraternity.


C


"ISLAND HOME," RESIDENCE OF C. T. CROMWELL, MANERSING ISLAND, RYE, N. Y.


MG


FMG


RESIDENCE OF THE LATE WM. P. VAN RENSSELAER, MANURSING ISLAND, WESTCHESTER CO., N. Y.


*


553


THE BENCH AND BAR.


CHARLES THORN CROMWELL.


Mr. Cromwell is a descendant of the famous family whose history was for so many years identified with that of the British Empire. Among his ancestry are en- rolled the names of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Secretary of State to Henry VIII., who was beheaded July 28, 1540 ; Sir Henry Cromwell, of Hinchinbrook, snrnamed, for his munificence, the Golden Knight ; Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, and muany others.1


Two nephews of the Lord Protector came to this country ; one settled in South Carolina and the other in Westchester County. It is from the Westchester branch of the family that Charles Thorn Cromwell is descended. His father, John I. Cromwell, who mar- ried Elizabeth Thorn, of Glen Cove, L. I., was a wholesale dry-goods merchant in New York City un- til the war was declared, in 1812, with Great Britain.


At that time he gave up his business, and, raising a company of volunteers, marched with it to the northern frontier, becoming actively engaged there in most of the battles which took place. He was ap- pointed second lientenant of artillery and was in com- mand of a company at the battle of Plattsburg, where he also acted as quartermaster. His bravery won for him the respect and esteem of his superior of- ficers, and he was brevetted first lieutenant as a reward of merit. Many flattering letters from the generals under whom he served, from time to time, are still in the possession of his son, notable among which is an autograph note from Major-General McComb.


At the close of the war his name was honorably mentioned in general orders and the government of- fered him a position upon the peace establishment, which he declined, in order that he might retire from active life, which he did. Removing to Glen Cove, he purchased a farm and resided upon it until his death, in 1824.


Charles Thorn Cromwell, his third child, was born in New York, May 8, 1808. After attending private schools at Jam nica and Flushing, L. I., he entered Union College, graduating in 1829. While there, with three others, all of whom are now dead, he organized the "Sigma Phi Society." After his graduation he entered the law-office of Minott Mit- chell, at White Plains, N. Y., and remained with him two years, when, with two friends, he made a tour of Europe. He spent a year in most interesting and profitable diversion, and then returned to New York and was admitted to the bar.


He opened an office in the city, where he remained for many years, building up for himself an extensive and lucrative practice. Twenty years ago he retired from business, though his name is still connected with the legal firn which he organized, and whose office is at No. 21 Park Row.


During his active carcer Mr. Cromwell handled many prominent cases with such skill as to win for himself not only a high reputation in commercial centres, but also the regard and respect of the entire profession.


For many years he has lived in his beautiful resi- dence on Manersing Island, near Port Chester, spend- ing his winters in New York.


He is a member of Christ Church (Episcopal) and was formerly onc of its vestrymen, having contibuted largely toward its erection. He married Henrietta Amelia Brooks, daughter of Benjamin Brooks, of Bridgeport, Conn. She is a descendant of Colonel John Jones and Theophilus Eaton, first Governor of the colony of New Haven. There were three chil- dren, one of whom (the eldest son) was drowned from a yacht in Long Island Sound. Those surviving are Oliver Eaton and Henrietta, who married John De Ruyter.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.