History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 209

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 209

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These children have a large number of deseend- ants. Jonathan, the fourth son, was born in 1671 76

and died in 1747. He married Hester Horton in 1696 and had two sons,-Jonathan and Benjamin.

Jonathan was the father of John Mapes, born March 10, 1766, and married Julia Ann Wood, January 24, 1793. Their children were Samuel, born June 19, 1794, who has no living deseendants ; Anna, born December 7, 1796, who died unmarried ; Daniel, the subject of this sketeh, born February 23, 1800; John, born September 10, 1802 (he had two daughters, Charlotte and Caroline, who are still living); Leonard, born November 16, 1804; Benjamin, born Mareh 24, 1810, (he left three children,-Cornelia, wife of Theodore Fitch, Emily, wife of Frederick Strang; and Charles, who married Clara Masters) ; James, born October 7, 1812, married Rachel Areher and had four children,-Leonard, John A., Emily and Anna.

John Mapes, the father of this family, died in 1836 and his wife died in 1840.

After the death of the parents, 'Daniel Mapes and his sister Anna, owing to their age and great decision of character, became the acknowledged heads of the family, and by their industry, perseverance and in- tegrity exerted a very salutary influence in the com- munity in which they resided. In early life Daniel engaged in mercantile pursuits in the village of West Farms and for half a century was one of the most prominent and successful business men in the south- ern portion of the county, amassing a large fortune, which he dispensed in the latter years of his life in aets of beneficence and eharity, making liberal con- tributions to the educational institutions of the Re- formed Church at New Brunswick, N. J., Cornell University, and the Syrian College at Beirut. From his early youth he was noted for strictly temperate habits, to which he attributed his uninterrupted good health for more than four-score years.

He was for many years a useful and honored mem- ber of the Reformed Church at West Farms and manifested liis attachment to it by his munificent gift of the Mapes Parsonage, as well as by his liberal contributions to its support. On the 20th of January, 1884, he fell asleep in Christ, full of years, riches and honors, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

LEONARD MAPES.

Leonard Mapes, the fifth child of John Mapes, was born November 16, 1804, and married Mary, daughter of William Areher. Their children were,-first. Sarah, wife of Hampton Brown, of Ulster County ; seeond, Daniel, a merchant and resident of West Farms, who married Evadna, daughter of Matson Arnow ; third, William, a merchant and resident of West Farms, who married Ida Arnow ; fourth, Mary A., wife of Edward Myers; fifth, Henry C., who married Susan, daughter of Daniel Tier, and is now living in Westchester; sixth, Harriet, wife of [ George Shepherd ; seventh, John S., who married

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Ella, daughter of John Frost, and is now living at the old homestead at Westchester ; eighth, Catharine A., unmarried, resides in West Farms.

EDWARD B. FELLOWS.

Among the men who have been prominent in the business circles of New York City there are few who have been longer before the public than Mr. Edward B. Fellows, the president of Rutgers' Fire Insurance Company.

Descended from a long line of New England ances- try, his great-grandfather, John Fellows, was among the early settlers in Salisbury, N. H., and the latter's sons were soldiers in the War of the Revolution. One of these sons (Richard) married Rachel Scribner, and their oldest son (Benjamin) was the father of Edward B., and, in his early years, was one of the pupils of Daniel Webster when he was a school-teacher in Sal- isbury, his native town.

Benjamin Fellows married his cousin, Hannah, daughter of Daniel Fellows, and Edward B. was born June 20, 1811. In 1817 he removed with his parents to Tunbridge, Vt., where he attended school and was subsequently a student at the academy at Royalton. Upon arriving at manhood, like most Yankee boys, he resolved to seek his fortune abroad, and, in 1831, went to the Wyoming Valley, in Pennsylvania. Here he engaged in teaching school, which he continued for a year or two, and afterwards obtained a position as clerk in a store. In 1834 he came to New York and entered a dry-goods store as clerk, and a few years later established business on his own account. Becoming interested in politics, he was for several years collector of taxes for the Fourth Ward, and, dur- ing the administration of James K. Polk, held a po- sition in the New York Custom-House under Collec- tor Cornelius W. Lawrence.

The most important event in the life of Mr. Fel- lows was his connection with the cause of education and the establishment of the public schools of the city, which, previous to 1842, were under the direction of the Public School Society. In 1841 an act was passed authorizing the election of trustees and com- missioners. Mr. Fellows was elected one of the trus- tees for the Fourthi Ward, and was afterwards a mem- ber of the Board of Education. In the exciting con- troversy concerning the reading of the Scriptures in the public schools he took the position which expe- rience has shown to be the wisest, and, by making a complete separation between religious and secular in- struction, has removed from the Catholic portion of the community all just cause of complaint.

While he held the office of commissioner he was the first to introduce resolutions for the establishment of evening schools for the benefit of apprentices and others whose vocations prevented their attendance in the day-schools, and this in itself is enough to justly entitle him to the gratitude of thousands of citizens. "The schools thus established were eminently success-

ful, and their benefits will be felt for all time to come. It was largely owing to his efforts that evening schools were established for the benefit of females. Six were established during the first year, and this number was doubled in the following year. Mr. Fellows was ap- pointed chairman of the Committee on Evening Schools, and devoted so much time and labor to their advancement that their acknowledged success is largely attributed to his active energy. He was also promi- nent in the establishment of the New York Free Academy, and introduced resolutions for establishing a free academy for females, a scheme which is now per- fected in the Free Normal College. No truthful his- tory of the cause of education in New York can be written which docs not give a leading place to the name of Edward B. Fellows.

In June, 1853, he, in connection with John W. Ketcham, conceived the idea of organizing an insur- ance company, to be located in Chatham Square. At a meeting held June 2d there were twenty persons present who had consented to be directors, and it was resolved that the name of the intended corporation should be the " Rutgers' Fire Insurance Company of New York." Property was purchased at the corner of Chatham and Mott Streets, which is still owned and occupied by the company. Mr. Fellows was the first secretary of the company, and, upon the death of Isaac O. Barker, the first president (which occurred in 1866), he was elected president, has been unani- mously re-elected at every annual meeting and now holds the office.

He removed his residence to Westchester in 1861, and purchased a place at West Farms, which has since been his home.

He was married, in 1836, to Henrietta, daughter of Aaron Brown, who was at one time the owner of the Slocum farm, on which a large part of the city of Scranton, Pa., now stands. By this marriage he had four children,-Augusta (wife of Monmouth H. Chambers), Edward, Theodore and Charles. The- odore, the only surviving child, is now living in New Hampshire.

Mrs. Fellows died in 1871, and Mr. Fellows after- wards married Amelia S. Peters, by whom he has one son, George P., now living with his parents at West Farms. The mother of Mr. Fellows is yet living, at the age of ninety-three.

He has always been a Democrat. In early life he was a prominent member of the Odd-Fellows' Associ- ation. He is now the oldest member of the Church of the Divine Paternity, and has held many official positions in connections with it. During the lay pas- torate of the eminent and eloquent divine, Rev. Dr. Chapin, Mr. Fellows was one of his most devoted friends and supporters. He is one of the founders and supporters of the "Chapin Home," a non-secta- rian institution for the aged and infirm, and has been a member of the advisory council from the time of its organization. He is also the treasurer of the Univer-

E. D. Fellow

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salist General Convention, and a trustec of the Univer- salist Relief Fuud of the State of New York.

He was one of the original trustces of the Morri- sauia Savings Bank, and continued iu that positiou while it had an existence. After a successful course of thirteen years the institution was closed, all the depositors being paid in full.

ANDREW FINDLAY.

Andrew Findlay, the eminent surveyor and civil engineer, was born iu the village of Westchester, August 6, 1811. He is the son of Robert Findlay, who was born at Wigton, Gallowayshire, Scotland, in 1766. Hannah Milroy, the wife of Robert, was a native of the same place. They came to the Uuited States in 1801 and soon after settled in Westchester, where Robert Findlay began the business of survey- ing. He died in 1833, and his son Andrew succeeded him the following year, coutinuing the business with success until withiu a few years past. Audrew Find- lay was educated in the district school of Westchester village, and early in life was foreman of a branch of the Bronx Bleaching Company's works. He was supervisor of the town of Westchester from 1839 to 1848, except iu the year 1844, wheu Robert R. Morris was elected. West Farms was set off from the town of Westchester in 1846, and Mr. Findlay was elected supervisor in 1847 and 1848. He had been a mem- ber of the Legislature in 1843, and was re-elected in 1844. While a member of that body he served on several important committees. As a surveyor, Mr. Findlay has been frequently called upon to settle boundary disputes, and has frequently made partition of some important estates. He has held the office of justice of the peace for sixteen years, was trustee of the town of Westchester, and for many years was inspector of the common schools.

JAMES L. WELLS.

Among the men who have been most actively en- gaged in devising beneficial legislation for the old towns of Morrisania, West Farms and King's Bridge (uow the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards of the city of New York), and in securing the enact- ment of the measures that are so rapidly transform- ing these former portions of Westchester County into thickly-settled sections of the great metropolis, none have been more prominent than James L. Wells. None have secured for the district more public im- provemeuts, and few, if any, arc more closely identi- fied thau he with the growth and prosperity of these wards.

completed his collegiate course at Columbia College, New York, and graduated in the class of 1865. For several years he was engaged in mercautile business at West Farms. At au early day he became iuter- ested and took an active part in the various public unatters relating to the town. In 1869 he was elected a member of the Board of Education of West Farms, aud by subsequent re-electious was continued in that position until the annexation of the town to the city of New York. His course in this board was distin- guished by strict attention to the duties of the office, by his interest in educational matters and by the beneficial reforms which he advocated and introduced in the schools of the district.

Attached to the principles of the Republican party, he was, both before and since annexation, frequently chosen a delegate to represent the Assembly District in various State and other conventions of that party. He was for several years president of the Republican Association of the Twenty-fourth Ward, and has been frequently a delegate to the Republican County Committee of the City of New York and a member of the executive committee. His ability aud energy being fully recognized by his party associates, he was nominated for member of the Assembly of 1879 to re- present the First District of Westchester County, then comprising the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards of the city of New York, the city of Yonkers and the town of Westchester. Notwithstanding that the dis- trict was overwhelmingly Democratic, so great was his popularity and the confidence reposed in him by the people of both political parties, that he was elected. During his first term in the Legislature he served as chairman of the Committee on Federal Re- lations, and as a member of the Committees on Com- merce and Navigation, Roads and Bridges, and the special committee charged with the investigation of the affairs of the Brooklyn Bridge. His course was marked by such constant and careful attention to the interests of his district that he was renomi- nated for and elected to the Assembly of 1880, as the representative of the new Twenty-fourth District of the city of New York, comprising the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards, as provided by the Reap- portionmeut Act of 1879. During his second term he served as chairman of the Committee on Expen- ditures of the Executive Department, a member of the Committee on Commerce and Navigation, Roads and Bridges, and special committees appointed by the Speaker.

The following are some of the more important measures introduced and advocated by Mr. Wells and enacted by the Legislaturcs of 1879 and 1880 : Acts to facilitate the improvement of the Harlem River, and for the construction of bridges over the same; to extend the water supply in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards; to reduce expenses and cor- rect abuses in street-opening proceedings in the city

Mr. Wells was born at West Farms December 16, 1843. His parents are English, but have resided in New York and vicinity since 1817. He received his early education in the public schools of his native town. In 1860 he entered Keuyon College, Ohio, and remained there during the freshman year. He of New York ; for the proper draiuage of the Twenty-

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

third and Twenty-fourth Wards; to reduce the rate of interest on unpaid taxes aud assessments in Mor- risania, West Farms and King's Bridge; to abolish the office of trustee of the town of Westchester; and also several acts amending the Annexation Act, and measures relating to Yonkers and Westchester. He also actively supported, by voice and vote, the vari- ous bills introduced during both these sessions, for the reduction of fare on the Harlem, New Haven and Elevated Railroads ; bills reported by the Hepburn Railroad Committee; bills for the revision of the tax laws, for the taxation of corporations, for the reduc- tion of official salaries, and for the more economical government of the city of New York. His course in the Legislature was again so eminently satisfactory to the people of the district that he received the un- nsnal compliment of a third unanimous nomination, every member of the convention arising, as his name was called, and announcing him as his choice for member of the Assembly of 1881. The honor, however, was dcelined on account of his desire to re- turn to business.

But the people were determined that they would retain his services, and the following letter, signed by the most prominent and influential citizens of the district and by hundreds of voters, irrespective of party, was addressed to him :

"NEW YORK, October 23, 1880.

" HON. JAMES L. WELLS :

"Dear Sir,-Impressed with the belief that the people of the 23d and 24th Wards require that they should have in the Board of Aldermen a representative whose past experience iu and devotedness to public mat- ters affecting this District will afford a guaranty that their interests will be fully protected and cared for, and believing, from our past acquaint- ance with you and your public course in the Legislature, that you would, when elected as Alderman, faithfully represent the people of the District, we earnestly request that you will permit the use of your name as a candidate for Alderman. We assure you of the hearty co-operation and support of ourselves and the electors of the District."

Mr. Wells was, accordingly, nominated by the Re- publican Convention for member of the Board of Aldermen of 1881, indorsed by a mass convention of citizens and triumphantly elected in a Presidential campaign over his opponent, the nominee of the united Democratic party, and was the only Repub-

lican chosen in the district. A mass convention of the people nominated him for member of the Board of Aldermen for 1882. He was also nominated by the Republicans and elected. Similar action was taken by the people of the district and his party in the fall of that year, and he was elected to the board for 1883. He was nominated for 1884, but declined the honor. Contrary to his wishes, however, his name was presented to the public by his friends aud he came within a few votes of being elected to the board for the fourth time. He was a member of the Committee on Public Works during his three terms in the board, and in 1882 was chairman of that com- mittee, an unusual honor for a Republicau in a Democratic board. His position on this committee enabled him to be of great service to the Twenty- :

third and Twenty-fourth Wards, and the large number of much-needed public improvements which have been made within the past few years is evidence of his industry in personally preparing the necessary meas- ures, and his ability and success in securing their enactment.

Among the important measures introduced and advocated by him and enacted by the boards of 1881, 1882 and 1883 were hundreds of ordinances for monu- menting, opening, regulating, grading, repairing, sewering, flagging, curbing, paving and lighting various street, roads and avennes in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards; for extending the Croton water supply and establishing fire and drinking hy- drants; for the systematic numbering of the honses and lots ; providing for gates at railroad crossings ; for building a railroad bridge over the Harlem River, opposite Second Avenue ; for the construction of var- ious rapid transit routes, and for the promotion of the innumerable public works incidental to and necessary for the development and growth of a new section of a great city. These public improvements have given the greatest impetus to building operations in these wards, and the beneficial results of his zealons and disinterested labors, both in the State and City Legislatures, will be felt long after the present genera- tion has passed away.

During the Presidential campaigns of 1880 and 1884, Mr. Wells was actively engaged in supporting the nominees of the Republican party, and addressed large meetings in various parts of the district.

In the campaign of 1884 he was unanimously nominated by the Republican Convention for mem- ber of tlie Assembly of 1885, and was urged by men of both parties to accept, but he positively declined the honor on account of business engagements and his disinclination to hold office.

During the past fifteen years he has been actively engaged in the business of a real estate broker and is at present a director of the Real Estate Exchange and Auction-Room (Limited), of the City of New York. In his avocation he has gained a well-merited repn- tation and success, and there is no one who has had a more extensive experience in sub-dividing and bring- ing into market real estate in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards and the adjacent parts of West- chester County, or who has a more thorongh knowl- edge of property value in these sections, and he is frequently called upon as an appraiser in apportion- ment of estates and in the acquisition of lands for public purposes. He is not indebted for his success to inherited wealth, but to his own activity, perse- verance and enterprise.

WILLIAM W. FOX.

Mr. Fox, who was prominent as a business man of New York during the past generation, was born Sep- tember 26, 1783. His grandfather, Jonathan Fox, was descended from a family whose name was prom-

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inent in the history of the Society of Friends. With his wife, Deborah, he settled in New Jersey, where his son George was born. The latter married Lydia Woolly, and after her decease married Esther Shot- well. The children of these marriages were William W., George S. and Deborah, wife of Joseph Shotwell.

William W. began business on his own account at a very early age, his first ventures being to meet in- coming vessels in a small sail-boat and purchase goods, which he sold in the city before the vessels were un- loaded. He next entered into a partnership with John K. Townsend and established a dry-goods store, under the firm-name of Townsend & Fox. After the death of Mr. Townsend he became a partner with his father-in-law, Thomas Leggett, under the name of Leggett, Fox & Co., a firm well known in busi- ness circles in New York. The idea of lighting tlie city with gas was said to have originated with Samuel Leggett, but Mr. Fox had the executive capacity to put it into practical operation, and in 1829 he became the president of the Gas- Light Company, a posi- tion which he retained until his death, and was the master-spirit of the undertaking. During the period of his business career there were few public institutions with which he was not pro- minently connected. He was one of the ten gover- nors of the House of Re- fuge and one of the foun- ders of that institution. During the building of the Croton Aqueduct he was appointed one of the water commissioners by Governor William L. Marcy and devoted his time and labor unceasingly to the promotion of that important work. It may be men- tioned as an illustration of his conscientious care in the enterprise, that when the aqueduct was com- pleted he traveled the entire length on foot, making a careful personal inspection of every portion of the work, and of the names engraved in the lasting granite of the High Bridge there is none that deserves a more prominent place than his own.

He married Charlotte, daughter of Thomas Leggett, of West Farms, June 9, 1808. Their children were George, who married Maria F., daughter of Benjamin Clark (their only son, William W., died without heirs); Thomas L., who died unmarried, and Mary L., who married Francis A. Tiffany. Their children were

George Fox (who died unmarried), Lyman (who married Sarah, daughter of George Stanton, formerly of Albany, and has children-Charlotte Fox, Helen, Margaret and George Stanton), Francis H. (who died unmarried), Henry D. (who married Caroline, daughter of Josiah D. Chase, and has three children --- George Fox, Edith and Isabel), Charlotte Fox, (who married Minor Trowbridge, of Brooklyn, whose children are Clarence M., Guion, Vaughan R., Ethel and Constance), Mary P. (wife of George F. Tucker) and Isabel (wife of Charles B. Perry, whose children are Langdon, Francis T., Lyman T. and Egbert B.).

The Fox cstate at West Farms, which is now a part of New York City, has descended to its owners in the following manner: Robert Hunt, who was the owner of lot No. 9 of the original division of the West Farms Pa- tent, sold it to his son Robert, in March, 1723, for £9 19s. From him it passed to his son, Phineas Hunt, who left it to his three children - Tamar, James and Rachel-who sold it to Ebenezer Leg- gett in March, 1814, and he, in turn, sold it to Thomas Leggett, from whose heirs it was pur- chased by William M. Fox, whose heirs are its present owners. To the original lot Thomas Leg- gett added largely by pur- chases from Gouverneur Morris, the owner of a portion of the Manor of Morrisania, which boun- ded the West Farms Patent on the west, and from the owners of the lots on the north and south.

WILLIAM W. FOX.

The deed from Ebenezer Leggett to Thomas Leg- gett thus describes the tract: "The piece of land formerly the farm of Phineas Hunt, deceased, begin- ning at the North-east corner at a stone standing in the meadow adjoining the salt meadow of Thomas Walker, near the corner of Joseph Tucker's land ; thence running South by Thomas Walker's salt meadow to a stone standing at the corner; thence west to the line fence of Thomas Walker and Fred- erick Courser ; thence along as the fence stands crossing the turnpike road to a small ditch ; then fol- lowing the course of said ditch till it reaches Bronx River to a ditch adjoining Samuel Kelly's salt meadow, then west by the upland of Samuel Kelly; then north by an old ditch unto the corner of the line fence of Samnel Kelly ; then west by the land of

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Samuel Kelly until it comes to the land of Gouver- neur Morris, deceased ; then uorth along the land of said Gouverneur Morris as the line fence now stands unto land belonging to Jonathan Tucker ; then east by the said Tucker's land to the place of beginning."

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History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 209

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

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