History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 38

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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. II > Part 38

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Seaman Lowerre, who is descended from an old French family, was born in the city of New York, January, 1808, and entered into active business at an early age.

In 1829 he engaged in the hardware business, which was continued till 1880, when he retired from active labor. Mr. Lowerre became a resident of Yonkers, in 1855, at which time he leased the Herriot cstate, and soon after built the mansion known as Chestnut Lake, and made this city his permanent residence.

He married Caroline, daughter of Dr. George Herriot, of New York, whose aneestry were famous in the annals of Scotland. Dr. Herriot was the owner of a large estate within the present limits of Yonkers, and a large portion of it is now in posses- sion of his descendants. The children of this mar- riage were Abigail, James, George H., Matilda, wife of Lewis N. Morris (all of whom died young), George H., Randolph, Warren H. and Frank, all residents of Yonkers.

George H., the oldest surviving son, married Fan- nie E., daughter of Captain Edwin Van Sice, a well- known representative of an old Knickerbocker family, whose history dates back to the carly period of the Dutch settlement.

Mr. Lowerre is a gentleman of the old school, very domestic and conservative in his habits. In polities, he has ever been a staunch Demoerat, but seeking no political honors or preferment; while in religion he has long been connected with St. John's Episcopal Church of Trinity parish.

Mrs. Lowerre inherited from her father a portion of

Human Lowerre

Carnes Sucrash

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the Herriot estate, and the buildings and improve- ments which are fast making it a prominent part of the city of Yonkers, are under the superintendence of Mr. Lowerre, who finds in this a labor which might well task the powers of a much younger man. His years weigh lightly on him and his strength and vigor are the natural result of a life of activity and tem- perance.

Among the many other men who are worthy of mention in the History of Yonkers, are James and George Stewart.

David Stewart and Marion Kay, both born in Perthshire, Scotland, the former May 13th, and the latter November 20, 1791, were married at Thorn- hill, by the Rev. John Summers, December 16, 1818. Their home from their marriage till they came to America was on a farm called Achensalt. All their children, nine in number, were born in Seot- land. They were as follows: Jane and Margaret (twins) born November 29, 1819; Robert, October 10, 1821 ; William, October 12, 1823 ; James, Novem- ber 13, 1825 ; David, Jr., June 20, 1828 ; John, April 10, 1830 ; George, December 11, 1832 ; Janet (known in the family as Jessie), April 24, 1835. Of these children Margaret died December 20, 1819. All the rest lived to become married. Jane married Mr. John Moffat, March 18, 1847, but died March 16, 1857. Mrs. Robert Stewart (Mary Dolan) is dead, but the husband is living in Yonkers. Mrs. William Stewart (Mary Elizabeth Doty) died in 1884, but Mr. Stewart is living at Clyde, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. James Stewart (Mary Elizabeth Porter) and their children, nine in number, and four of them mar- ried, all live in Yonkers. Mr. and Mrs. David Stew- art, Jr. (Olive Underwood) both died in Yonkers, the former in 1866, the latter in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. John Stewart (Maggie Moore) live in Yonkers, as do also Mr. and Mrs. George Stewart (Harriet Weeks) and their children, five in number, and two of them married. And lastly Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B. Stil- well (Janet or Jessie Stewart) live at New Paltz, Ulster County, N. Y.

Mr. David Stewart came from Scotland to America alone in December, 1835, arriving in New York just after the great conflagration of that month. He eame to study the country with a view to make it his home.

His wife and his nine children, all born in Scot- land, he left behind him till he could determine up- on a location. A year passed before he sent for them, and during that year he was superintendent of the New York City Parks. At the end of that time Mrs. Stewart and the children were brought over, and the family remained one year longer in the city, Mr. Stewart retaining his position just named.

At the beginning of 1838 he removed to the vicin- ity of New City, Rockland County, and followed farming there for three years. About 1841 he first eame into Yonkers, settling at Moshol, his home

being on the very site on which the residence of Mr. Iliram Barney now stands. After about two years of farming at Moshol, he leased for a time a farm of Mr. Edward F. Shonnard, on North Broadway, and subsequently a farm of Mr. Lemnel W. Wells. While on the latter he lived at the head of what is now called Wells Avenue. His honse, with his name con- nected with it, is indicated on our map of 1847.

In 1848 he purchased the property at the corner of North Broadway and Ashburton Avenue, on which stood the school-house Mr. Lemuel Wells had built for Mr. John Hobbs about 1833. The house he turned about to front Broadway, enlarged, and used as a residence for many years. Its site has just been sold (1886) by his heirs to the Yonkers Club. Afterwards he built another house on another part of this prop- erty and in this house he lived till his death, which occurred December 8, 1867.

Mrs. Stewart also died in the same house July 26, 1877. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, with compara- tively brief exceptions, enjoyed excellent health dur- ing their lives. At about sixty years of age Mr. Stewart sustained an injury, which leaving him per- manently lame, disabled him for further farming work. He had passed his life toil, however, when this occurred, and attained to circumstances which rendered his enforced leisure comfortable to the end.

Mr. and Mrs. David Stewart were trained in the Scottish Presbyterian Kirk, and represented in their intelligence of spiritual things and their firm relig- ious character the legitimate results of their train- ing. The Bible, the Sabbath, the Church were held by them in the most reverent regard, and they never compromised what they believed to be the strait gate and the narrow way to life. According to their strict conceptions, they trained their children and lived be- fore the community. In the church they were pillars. In America, with a brief and early exception, they were members of the Reformed Church of Yonkers. Mr. Stewart had been an elder in the church for fourteen years, when he declined re-election on account of infirmity about a year before liis death. He was a plain man, but as to character he was a shining light. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were model Christians, and when death came to them at last, it found each of them in turn with the lamp trimmed and burning. The venerable pair were greatly respected, and left to their children the prestige of an honored name.

Three of their sons, James, David and George, learned the mason's trade, and have so impressed themselves by their work upon the city of Yonkers, that a notice of their firm and its doings is a necessity to its history. The firm of J. & D. (James and David, Jr.) Stewart, builders, was formed in 1851, and continued in existence till the death of Mr. David Stewart, Jr., of consumption, in January, 1866. For a considerable time before this death Mr. James Stewart had been in the oil regions, and his partner being in feeble health, a younger brother, Mr. George

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Stewart, was mostly in charge of the business. After the death, Mr. James Stewart returning to Yonkers, the firm of J. & G. (James and George) Stewart was formed March 1, 1866, and this firm still exists with- ont change. Mr. John Stewart, a third brother, three of the sons of Mr. James Stewart, and one of the sons of Mr. George Stewart, are employed in the op- erations of the firm.

The Stewart firm has at least three great elements of strength. First, it is thoroughly equipped for earry- ing out any contract, however large ; secondly, it has an established and wide reputation for spotless integrity ; and thirdly, its members are remarkable for liberality of spirit. These three features have made them uni- versally respected and popular.

Umler the union of J. & D. Stewart, ending in 1886, the firm built the factory of Mr. John T. Waring, on Elm Street; the factory on Vark Street (at first a pistol-factory), now occupied and owned by the same gentleman ; a sugar refinery at Hastings (since burned), the rolling-mill at Spuyten Dnyvil, Mr. Isaac G. Johnson's iron foundry, at the same place, and two great residences at Harlem,-that of the Ger- man Schwab, and that of Malio, at the time Belgian consul to the port of New York.

Under the union of J. & G. Stewart it has built the Warburton Avenue Baptist Church, the Mount St. Vincent Convent, the Jewish Home for the Aged and Infirm, Alexander Smith & Sou's works along the Saw-Mill, Hepworth's Sugar Machinery Factory at Glenwood, the Municipal Gas-Works, the Warbur- ton Building, the Otis Elevator-Works, D. Saunders' Sons' Works, No. 6 Publie School, the Yonkers Say- ings-Bank and First National Bank buildings and many other publie buildings. The following ele- gant private residences are specimens of their work, viz.pthose of Hon. Samuel J. Tilden, Jas. B. Col- gate, John B. Trevor, William Allen Butler, Alex- ander Smith, David Hawley, Abijah Curtiss, Wm. F. Cochran, Ethan Flagg, Gilman Dudley, G. Hilton Scribner and many others. The Bangs buildings, on South Broadway, known as "The Crescent," are their work. To all these public buildings and fine private mansions, and many others not named, it is, of course, to be added that they have put up less prominent buildings in the city, ahnost without num- ber.

There can be no doubt that of all the work in their line done in Yonkers during their firm-life, they have exceuted at least three-fourths. They have laid all the water-pipes in the city, making a continuons line of twenty-one miles. This may give some con- ception of the magnitude of their operations. They have now maintained themselves and carried on their work, against all depressions in business and through all financial strains, for nearly thirty-five years.

The older partner, Mr. James Stewart, is an exper- ienced and able planner and manager, and the younger, Mr. George Stewart, is untiring in his sup-

ervision of the complicated details with which the business is attended. Each, in his specialty, is the very man required, and neither one fails' at any point.

Mr. James Stewart, in his advancing years, not- withstanding his commanding presence and solid character, retains a remarkably youthful and buoy- ant spirit, being active and prominent in popular forms of life and sport. With many other Yonkers gentlemen of his nationality, he is a devotee to the Scottish game of eurling, with which these gen- tlemen and their friends beguile much of the leisure of the winter season. He is president of the National Curling Club, and in this relation is widely known by lovers of the curling game. In June, 1863, Mr. Stewart went out as first lieutenant with Company H, Seventeenth Regiment, of which we speak in another place as "The Fourth Separate Company." The men were sent to Fort MeHlenry, and did duty during its thirty days in guarding the numerous prisoners at that time sent to the fort. It returned without taking part in any action.

Both these brothers have been elders in the Re- formed Church of Yonkers for many years, and workers in its Sunday-schools, and both have ren- dered very important service to the church in differ- ent ways, but notably by their very large liberality, which has helped, with that of others, to carry the church at times through severe strains. To Mr. George Stewart is almost wholly due the existence of the church's Ludlow Street Chapel, which, with the deduction of less than one thousand dollars upon its cost, is wholly his gift to the church, for the benefit of the neighborhood in which he lives. He is the superintendent of the Sunday-school regularly held in it, as he has been for at least fifteen years superintendent of the infant class of the Sunday- school of the church itself.

Through these sons and their families, the vener- able pair who came from Scotland in 1836, and lived, and finally, in a ripe old age, died in Yonkers, have impressed themselves upon our city. This tribute is gladly rendered by one who knew the parents well, and has known the children too, through the largest part of their business life.

The ancestors of Caleb Smith, who was for fifty years one of the most prominent men in the old town of Yonkers, were of English descent and tenants of a farm in the manor of Philipsburg for three genera- tions before the Revolution. The first of the name was Caleb Smith, who was living here in 1747, and is mentioned as having a brother Matthew. His son C'aleb was a tenant on the same farm in 1760, and his son Caleb (the third of the name) was his successor. The following is a copy of one of the receipts for rent :

" Received This 19th day of December, 1776, from Caleb Smith, one of the tenants on the Manor of Philipsburg the sum of 3 Pounds 18 Shil- lings, for one year's rent, dne the day and date above, by me,

" ELIZABETH PHILIPSE. "

George Stewart

CalebSmith

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After the Revolution the farm was sokl to Caleb Smith by the commissioners of forfeiture, and it was left to his son, Caleb Smith, the subject of this sketeh, who was born September 2, 1773, at the okl homestead, which is still in the possession of his descendants. When a young man, he established a store in the vil- lage of Yonkers, on what is now the northeast corner of Warburton Avenue and Dock Street, there being at that time only one other in the town. His connection with publie life began at an early age, and he held for many years the office of justice of the peace and town elerk, and was supervisor of the town of Yonkers for twenty-five years, a longer period than that of any other man. He was, during his whole life, the busi- ness man of the community, and was the typical "'Squire" of the olden time,-the head man of the neighborhood-to whose judgment all paid deference, and whose authority none disputed.

Mr. Smith married Hannah, daughter of Jacobus Dyekman, January 26, 1804. She was born February 23, 1782. The children of this marriage were Maria (wife of John F. Underhill) ; William Dyekman, born May 8, 1806; Sarah Priscilla (now living in Yonkers) ; James F., born January 1, 1813, (who was adopted by his maternal grandfather and took the name of Isaac M. Dyekman 1); Caleb, born February 23, 1815; Hannah, born July 17, 1817, (married John S. Courter, June 2, 1841, and now living in Yonkers) ; Emiline, wife of Benjamin F. Crane; Isaae D. and Michael D., both of whom died young.

William Dyekman, the oldest son, married Jane Rebecea, daughter of John Vermilyea. He died August 27, 1882, and is buried in the old Dyekman burying-ground, on Manhattan Island, below King's Bridge. His wife died August 9, 1853. Their child- ren are William D., Sarah and Jane, who are now liv- ing on the old homestead of their grandfather.

After a long life of usefulness and honor, Caleb Smith died in 1858, and was buried at the Episcopal Chapel of "St. John on the Hill," having completed his eighty-fifth year. The old Smith homestead was a farm of one hundred and thirty aeres, and was sold to Caleb Smith by the commissioners of forfeiture, Deeember 6, 1785. It was described as " Bounded North by Jacob Lent, South and West by Sprain and Grassy Sprain (brooks), East by John Odell and Ele- azar Hunt, as possessed by said Caleb Smith." The old house stood on the west side of what is now Cen- tral Avenue, and on the south side of the road from Yonkers to Tuckahoe. It was torn down a few years sinee, and an elegant mansion erected on its site, is now owned by William D. Smith and his sisters, who are the sixth generation in actual occupancy.

Frederie Shonnard, the first of the name in Amer- ica, came to New York about the year 1765. He was an officer in the famous body-guard of Frederick the Great, and was deseended from the French family of

that name, who, by some, are believed to have been Huguenots. The immediate cause of his leaving home was an affair of the heart. Contrary to the bit- ter opposition of his family, who had other plans for him, he married the lady of his choice, and, finding that the hostility of his relatives interfered with his domestie happiness, he resigned his commission, and, taking his wife with him, set sail for New York. She was, however, taken seriously ill at sea, and died on shipboard, after the arrival of the vessel in the harbor of New York, leaving no issue.

He was possessed of means, the family record show- ing that he brought with him servants and kegs of sil- ver coin. He invested largely in lands and houses in Nova Scotia, which became immensely valuable, and built a handsome residence in Cherry Street, a fash- ionable quarter of New York in that day. In an old eity directory his name appears as a merchant. Later in life he married Miss Fairfield, of Fairfield, Conn. He appears to have been a man of great force of char- acter, who, feeling keenly the hostility of his family in Prussia to his first marriage, vigorously repulsed all overtures on their part, looking to his return to the Fatherland, and indignantly declined to receive the costly presents which they sent to him.

He served in the English army during the French War, and, in reward for his services, on the 25th of January, 1773, he received a grant of land near Sara- toga from the colonial Governor Tryon, which is still known as the Shonnard Manor. The original patent is now in the possesssion of the family.

Frederie Shownard, his son by his second wife, married Miss Arcularius, of the old family of that name in Hesse-Cassel, a beautiful woman, remarkable for her intelligence and benevolence. They resided for many years in a large, old house, standing in charming grounds on the Bowery,-a name appro- priate to the situation in those early days, before the growth of the city had destroyed its sylvan character and it had eeased to be desirable as a place of resi- dence.

In the year 1820 Mr. Shonnard purchased the beau- tiful estate of two hundred and twenty aeres in Yonk- ers, a large part of which is still hell by his descend- ants, from Bernard Rhinelander, for the sum of twenty thousand dollars. Here he and his wife passed the remainder of their days in the charming old house on North Broadway, which stood, till about the year 1853, in grounds elaborately laid out in the old French style, the flower-gardens being a mazy labyrinth of carefully-kept walks, hedged with box, giving access to geometrieally designed beds and masses of flow- ering shrubbery. Mr. and Mrs. Shonnard have always been spoken of by their contemporaries as most kindly and benevolent people, who seemed to find their greatest happiness in doing good to those about them. An old gentleman who died during the pastyear used to delight to speak of them, and was wont to say that if any one in the little village, which Yonkers

1 See sketch of Isaac M. Dyckman.

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was in those days, was sick or in trouble, Mrs. Shon- nard's carriage would be sure to be seen at the door. In religious belief they were Lutherans, and in Yonk- ers they were active members of the Methodist Church, as its teachings were the nearest in accord with their belief. Mr. Shonnard gave the ground to the congre- gation, upon which the present Methodist Church, on the corner of North Broadway and Ashburton Avenue, now stands.

Frederic Shonnard had eight sons, six of whom were named Frederic, and all died prior to the birth of Edward Frederic. The other son, Henry, who was a young man of great promise, died of the yellow fever in the West Indies. He also had five daughters, of whom Mrs. Sidney Blackwell is the only survivor. Frederic Shonnard died about the year 1844, having reached the age of eighty, and having outlived his wife by four years. Before his death the Yonkers estate was bestowed on the only surviving son, Edward Frederic, who, in the year 1838, married Sophia A. Sey- mour, daughter of the late Henry Seymour, of Utica, N. Y., and sister of ex-Governor Hlo- ratio Seymour of this State. The Seymours are de- scended from the family of that name whose ances- tral seat is Berry Pomeroy, in Dev- onshire, England, from whom the present Duke of Somerset is de- scended. Richard Seymour, as recorded in the family Bible at Berry Pomeroy, came to Hartford, in Connecticut, in the year 1640. Mrs. Edward F. Shonnard is a grand- danghter, on the maternal side, of General Jonathan Forman, of Revolutionary fame, an officer who enjoyed the esteem and friendship of General Washington, and was a member of the Order of Cincinnati of New Jersey.

The Forman family were Scotch cavaliers, and re- ceived from King Charles the Second a coat-of-arms in recognition of their fidelity to Charles the First. She is also a great-grandniece of Colonel Ledyard, the heroie defender of Fort Trumbull, who was cruelly murdered by the British, after becoming a prisoner of war.

Mrs. Sophia A. Shonnard is now in advanced age (seventy-two years), yet is possessed of remarkable physical activity. Her mind, richly endowed by na- ture and highly cultivated by close reading of the

MR. AND MRS. EDWARD F. SHONNARD.

best literature, retains its full vigor. One is at once struck with the ease of manner, grace of carriage, fluency of speech and ripeness of thought which mark her presence and conversation. Her age is gol- den and mellow, and she presents a pieture which realizes, in a marked degree, the ideal eultured lady of the old colonial time.

Edward F. Shonnard, like his father and grand- father, was a man of great vigor and of marked indi- viduality of character ; he was over six feet in height, his features were regular and strongly marked, his eyes keen and bright. He possessed a superbly developed physique, was erect, active and graceful in his mnove- ments and the very embodiment of all manly quali- ties. His manners were of the old school, courtly, dignified and refined. Possessed during his whole life of ample means for the gratification of his simple tastes, hewas never tempted by a desire toincrease his fortune to embark in any business enterprise. He con- tented himself with a wise economy of his inheritance, leading the life and dispensing the hospitalities of a country gentleman of the old school. He was fond of agricultural pur- suits, and enjoyed the embellishment of the beautiful grounds about his home, taking great interest in the breeding of fine cattle. Hewas one of the first in this country to appre- ciate the qualities of the Alderney cows, and owned a small but finely-bred herd when individuals of that variety were still rare in the United States. He took a great interest and excelled in all of the manly, out-door sports. In early life he was a famous cricketer, and was exceptionally skillful with the rod and gun, and later in life he never missed an opportunity to take part in the winter games of the Yonkers Curling Club, of which he was a member.

He was remarkable for his great local attachments. There was no place like Yonkers for him, and no place in Yonkers like his home. He never could be per- suaded to absent himself for any great length of time. He never took any longer journey than to Washing- ton, except when, a few years before his death, he went to the Rocky Mountains with his brother-in- law, Senator Roscoe Conkling, and a party of distin- guished public officials. Although intensely in- terested in all that he saw on this excursion, none of the pleasures of the trip were equal in his mind to

"This Nation

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those which he experienced in getting back to the old homestead. He had been liberally educated, and was fond of reading and greatly interested in keeping himself informed of the progress of scientific research and discovery.

At first a strong Whig, and afterwards an earnest Republican in politics, he took a leading and influen- tial position in the party affairs of the country, but He enjoyed the confidence and respect of the leaders in both the State and the nation. During the War for the Union he was an ardent and energetic supporter of the administration of President Lincoln, and was constantly consulted about matters affecting the in- terests of the State of New York. He was active in the raising of troops and in behalf of every measure which had for its end the restoration of the Union. In giving his consent to his only child Frederic to participate actively in the conflict as an officer in the Army of the Potomac he gave strong proof of his love of country. All of his aims in life were high aud pure, and his methods were those of an independent, fearless mind, of spotless integrity. He died in 1875, from the effects of a paralytie stroke, at the age of sixty-five, leaving his widow and his only son and child, Frederic Shonnard, who was born at the home- stead in the year 1841. By the terms of the will the and her son, who, with his family, all reside together in the old home.

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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. II, Part 38

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286