History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 96

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 96

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In 1882 he was elected sheriff of Westehester County by a majority of four thousand four hundred and twenty-seven, the largest ever given for a county officer when there were two tickets in the field, which is the best possible proof of his popularity as a eitizen.

Hle is a member of the Masonie fraternity and Westchester Commandery. He is a trustee of the Cortlandt Cemetery Association, and one of the stock - holders of the Westchester County National Bank, of which his father was one of the original founders. He is a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, and one of the trustees of the society.

Cursosbutton .

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CORTLANDT.

He married Emma C., daughter of Joshua Horton, of the town of Cortlandt. They have one son, Stephen F., now a student in the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York.

Mr. Horton's mother is yet living at the age of eighty-two. Her sister, Mrs. Katie Purdy, is also living at the advanced age of ninety-four.

A factory was built on the easteru end of Main Street a number of years ago by George Dayton, to make lamp brackets and lamp fixtures. It belongs at present to Finch & Co., owners of the stove works on Brown Street, but has not been operated for about a year.

THE PLASTER MILL of Robert Mackellar, located on Central Avenue, just above the Union Stove Works, is on the site of an old flouring mill, which was built probably only a short time subsequent to the Revolution. Sloops were at that time able to run up the estnary of Magrigaries Brook, nearly to this point, and receive cargoes of flour for New York.

THE NEW YORK EMORY COMPANY occupy a stone building on the upper dock, erected by Paulding & Brown for a plow works. The company came there in January, 1881, for the purpose of utilizing the emory which is mined back in the country. They did not find it of very good quality, and finally began to use imported emory instead. The emory is crushed into powder of different degrees of fineness. Alfred C. Post, of New York, is president of the company ; W. H. B. Post is secretary, and A. G. Sinclair, superin- tendent. The number of hands employed varies from twelve to sixteen.

THE MACHINE WORKS of Anderson Brothers, at present located on Hudson Avenue, near South Street, was established by H. & E. Anderson, the present proprietors, in 1867. They manufacture steam en- gines and general machinery, and employ about half a dozen men.

THE SHIRT MANUFACTORY of T. J. Maxwell, on the corner of Division and Paulding Streets, was established a number of years ago by Bloomer, King & Co., and came into the possession of its present proprietor in 1882. It affords employment to about twenty persons, mostly women, at the building, and a considerable number outside. R. H. Macy & Co., of New York, manufacture ladies' underwear in the portion of the building on Main Street, located above the corporation rooms.

Among the manufacturers of Westchester County there are few who have achieved a more honorable record than George W. Robertson. He was born in New York, October 19, 1838. His early education was obtained in the public schools, and at the Me- chanics' Institute, subsequently at the Peekskill Academy, then uuder the able care of Albert Wells, and in 1856 he was a student at Charlottesville Uni- versity. Upon leaving school he resolved to learn the carpenter's trade, and served a three years' ap- prenticeship.

The outbreak of the Civil War occurred when he had reached early manhood, and he was among the first to enlist from Peekskill. Joining the Seventy- first New York Regiment, he participated in all its engagements, and at the battle of Bull Run was slight- ly wounded. In this engagement he personally se- cured from capture the flag of the Newburgh Howitzer Company, and returned it to Captain Ellis on his re- turn to the Washington Navy Yard. He distinguished himself as a scout in 1861, and in 1862, as lieutenant of Company "B," Seventy-first Regiment, he acted as adjutant of the left wing, under Lieutenant-Col- onel Cole. From 1863 to 1868 he was superintendent - and manager of the Cincinnati Elevator Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1868 he returned to Peckskill, and succeeded Charles H. Frost in the foundry busi- ness, and has ever since been an active member of the firm of Southard, Robertson & Company, of Water Street and Peck Slip, New York City. The foundry, which is located in the village of Peeks- kill, is of great extent, and the firm is among the largest stove manufacturers in the State. During his entire business life he has been among the fore- most of the public citizens of Peekskill. In 1872 he was elected to the office of water commissioner, and twice re-elected, and was for a portion of the time president of the board. The village is indebted to him in no small degree for its present very efficient system of water-works. It was in just recognition of his distinguished merit that he received from the Re- publican party the nomination for member of Assem- bly in 1881, a nomination which was ratified by his election. While in the Legislature he served on the Committee on manufactures, and Commerce and Nav- igation, and was known as a faithful representative of the district which did an honor to itself by elect- ing him. Pressing business engagements caused him to decline renomination. Through his active instru- mentality the "Cortlandt Cemetery Association " was organized iu January, 1884, and of this association he is president.

In 1868 he became connected with St. Paul's Meth- odist Episcopal Church, aud from thence onward he has been one of its leading members, and unsparing both of his labor and his means to advance its welfare and increase its usefulness. For nine years he has been the superintendent of the Sunday-school, and is the present president of the board of trustecs, and the financial plan proposed by him has, through the per- fection of its working, been one of the efficient causes of the well-known prosperity of the church.

Mr. Robertson is descended from an honorable an- cestry. His father, James Robertson, was a very prominent business man of New York, and is noted as the inventor of the stop-cock and the hydrants used in connection with the Croton water-works, and was alderman for the Seventceuth Ward in 1847-48. He came to Peekskill in 1850, and purchased of Philip Van Cortlandt the old Van Cortlandt homestead, a

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place of great historie interest. On that place he is now passing the evening of his days in ealm retirc- ment. He married Mary A., daughter of Albert Canfield. Their ten children are Charles F., Episco- pal Bishop of Missouri; James H., of the firm of Sax & Robertson, New York; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Dixon, of St. Louis; Amelia, wife of Bishop Cyrus D. Foss, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and now residing in Minneapolis; Emily R., wife of William D. Sonthard; Mary, wife of Robert Wilson, of St. Louis; Frederick, now living with his par- ents on the Van Cortlandt homestead ; Augusta, wife of Arthur Morse, deceased; Albert, who died in New Orleans in 1868 ; and George W., who mnar- ried Ella, daughter of Marine Ruffner, of Cincin- nati. They have two children now living, Carrie and Pearl. Three of their offspring, Susie, Minnie and Ella, died in early childhood, the last two in 1877, and an addition to St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church in Peekskill was erected by Mr. Robertson as a memorial of themn.

In 1878 Mr. Robertson was the organizer of Vos- burg Post, G. A. R., and for three years its command- cr. This Post is a flourishing organization, and numbers more than one hundred members at pres- cnt.

THE RIVER TRAFFIC .- The earliest eommeree of the town and vieinity was conducted at a dock located on what is now called the Boland Farm. Later it was transferred to Pemart's dock, at the mouth of the Peekskill Creek, where the blast furnace is now lo- cated. To a certain Captain Swim, who sailed a mar- ket-sloop from this dock in the year 1773, is said to belong the honor of having been the first skipper to run a boat between Peekskill and New York. The water at the mouth of Annsville Creek was formerly much deeper than now, and the landing facilities were excellent. The growth of the village at a point fur- ther down the river caused the landing place of ves- sels to be transferred thither, and Pemart's dock lost its importance. Before the construction of the rail- roads Peekskill was the depot from which Westehes- ter County for miles around, from a large portion of l'utnam County, and even from Connecticut, shipped their produee to New York City. Apples and other fruit, butter, potatoes, eattle, sheep, ealves, live pigs and dressed pork were the principal artieles of slip- ment, and were received in such quantities as to give employment at one time, when this commerce was at its height, to six market-sloops, while three passenger steamboats also shared in the business.

Among the captains of the market-sloops were Thomas Brown, Charles A. Depew, Frederick W. Flanagan, Barnet Requa, B. F. Sherwood, Ambrose Coek, Isaae Conkling, Isaae Depew, Solomon Run- dle, James B. Travis, Jolin L. Travis, Frederick W. Requa, William Il. Lyon and Edward Lyon. The building of the Harlem and the Hudson River Rail- roads, and the adoption of quicker methods of river

travel, were a death blow to the traffie of these sloops.

The early days on the river, when it furnished al- most the only avenue of commerce, were full of life and bustle. Cornelius Vanderbilt for some years run a boat betweeu Peekskill and New York, and had quite a struggle for the mastery of the route. In 1832 he began operations with the steamboat " Westehcs- ter," having, as he avers in a card to the public some time later, no interest in any other boat in the North River. He met with a rival in the " Water-Witch," a steamboat which was owned by an association of the people all along the river, and farmers back in the country, and which was designed to enable them to resist the extravagant charges of steamboat-owners. The rivalry between the "Water-Witeh " and the Commodore's eraft waxed so hot, that the former fin- ally began to charge only one shilling (twelve and a half eents) for passage from New York to Peekskill. The losses occasioned by the cutting of rates resulted in some of the stockholders in the "Water-Witch " losing courage, and the wily Commodore was enabled to buy a controlling interest in her. After that the rivalry ceased. The "Water-Witch " was but one of several boats owned at different times by similar associations, all of which brought loss to the stoek- holders.

June 6, 1831, the "General Jackson," plying be- tween Peekskill and New York, exploded on her down trip off Grassy Point, and all the front portion of the cabin was torn away. Three persons were killed out- right,-the fireman, a little girl of twelve years of age who had just tripped on board langhing and talking gaily, and William Mitchell, a resident of Peekskill. Beverly Rathbone, of Peckskill, was injured so se- verely that he died some time after the accident. Jacob Vanderbilt, brother of Cornelius, was eap- tain of the boat, and escaped without injury. The date of the explosion of the "General Jackson " was indieated in almanaes for years after.

In 1841 oceurred a great contest between two moru- ing steamboats, the "Telegraph " and the " Kos- ciusko," which divided the people of Peekskill into two parties, each favoring a different boat. In their haste to outstrip each other, these boats more than onee carried passengers beyond their stopping places, and one morning, each being anxious to have the first ehance of seenring passengers at the towns be- low, they drew out of their landing-place, at Peeks- kill, an hour before the appointed time, leaving fifty disappointed passengers behind. Like the gallant warrior from whom it received its name, the "Koseinsko," was compelled to acknowledge defeat, and left the "Telegraph" in possession of the route. The "Telegraph" ran between Pecks- kill and New York for many years after.

In the year 1845 a bridge was built by Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt across the wide estuary of Annsville Creek, a short distance east of the present

RESIDENCE OF HARVEY P. FARRINGTON,

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railroad bridge. A dock and hotel were also built by him at Roa Hook.

Some of the large stcamboats which could not land at Peekskill on account of the shallowness of the water, inade Van Cortlandt's dock a stopping place, and the people of Peekskill traveled to or from them by way of the bridge. This condition of affairs con- tinued for several years, when the passage of the rail- road along the river in 1849 rendered the landing of steamboats there unnecessary. The bridge was al- lowed to go uncared for, and the moving of ice and the stress of wind and weather soon accomplished its destruction. The hotel was taken down owing to the removal of the valuable gravel on which it was built.

Harvey P. Farrington, who from early life has been connected with the transportation business on the Hudson and other waters adjacent to New York, was born in the town of Harrison, Westchester County, July 21, 1820. His father was also engaged in the same business for many years. At first Mr. Farring- ton ran several sloops, but subsequently used steam vessels and barges for transporting freight. At a later period he became connected with the Knickerbocker Ice Company, Irving Savings Bank and Irving National Bank, being a director in the two last- named institutions. He is also interested in the Broadway Insurance Company, and is one of its present directors.

His home in Westchester County is situated at Croton-on-Hudson, and commands a beautiful view of the river. He married Martha J., daughter of William D. Wells, of Westerly, R. I. Their children are Harvey, Florence, Elizabeth and Jane L. Mr. Farrington's father, David Farrington, died in August, 1876. His mother, Mrs. Elizabeth, is now liv- ing with her son at Croton, at the advanced age of eighty-nine.

After the opening of the railroad, steamboating be- came less profitable, and during the Civil War there was a short interval in which no stcamboat-at least none of importance,-was running from Peekskill. The rates for freight and passage on the Hudson River Railroad, which had at first been moderate, during the war became excessively high. In order to rid Peekskill of the incubus of these heavy charges and establish competition against the railroad, a committee of citizens waited on Messrs. D. and T. Smith, of Nyack, and requested them to run one of their steamboats between Peekskill and New York. They agreed to do so in case they should be guar- anteed proper support. This was promised, and in the year 1865, they began running a steam- boat as requested. In 1866 they built the " Chrys- tenah," and placed her on the route. In 1879 she be- came the property of Alexander M. C. Smith, and now (1884) belongs to his estatc.

In addition to the "Chrystenah " there were run- ning in 1884 from Peekskill the propeller "Sarah

A. Brown," owned by William S. Tompkins and Wil- liam L. Dyckman, and the propeller "Pierre C. Van Wyck," owned and commanded by George Morton and started in 1881.

For many years a ferry was run between Peekskill and Caldwell's Landing to connect with the New York and Albany boats. It was begun by Ward Hunter with a periauger. Then, as business grew more brisk, he obtained a boat which was operated by horses work- ing a tread-mill. Another stride in advance was made by the building of the "Jack Downing," a steam craft, which was owned by Ward Hunter and Samnel Bard, of Caldwell's Landing. They afterwards ran - another boat, called the " Drew," but the building of a dock at Row Hook and the passage of the railroad along the river eventually destroyed their business.

BANKS .- Peekskill contains one national and one savings bank. The former is the older. It was or- ganized under the old State banking laws, May 27, 1833, by the election of the following board of direc- tors : General Pierre Van Cortlandt, Reuben R. Finch, Philip Clapp, James B. Travis, Ebenezer Frost, John Garrison, Aaron Ward, John Owen, Aaron Vork, Joshua Hyatt, Jonathan Morehouse and Joseph H. Anderson. General Pierre Van Cortlandt was chosen president and Isaac Seymour cashier. Its capital was two hundred thousand dollars. It was opened for business, near the northeast corner of Main and Division Streets, in September, 1833, and at its present location, at the southeast corner of the same streets, May 1, 1834. This was probably the first bank instituted in Westchester County, and, during its earlier years, the greater part of the banking bus- iness of Westchester and Putnam Counties was trans- acted there and a good deal of business was received from Rockland County, also. July 11, 1865, it be- came a national bank, under its present title of the " Westchester County National Bank." The total dividends paid to stockholders since that time have amounted to two hundred and forty-two thousand five hundred dollars. The bank has also paid back one hundred thousand dollars of its capital to stockhold- ers. June 20, 1884, the statement of the bank showed the capital to be one hundred thousand dol- lars, the surplus fund seven thousand five hundred dollars, undivided profits nine thousand eight hun- dred and fifty-six dollars and deposits, two hundred and six thousand four hundred and fifty-four dollars. The successive presidents have been General Pierre Van Cortlandt (elected 1833), Isaac Seymour (elected June 26, 1848), Charles A. G. Depew (elected April 7, 1851) and D. F. Clapp (elected January 8, 1878). The cashiers have been Isaac Seymour (elected 1833), D. F. Clapp (elected June 26, 1848) and C. A. Pugsler (elected January 14, 1879).

Dorlin F. Clapp, president of the Westchester National Bank, was born in Peekskill November 9, 1820. His grandfather, Elias Clapp, was a resident of Dutchess County, where he married Mary Dorlin,

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and was the son of Henry Ciapp, whose ancestry is very fully traced in a history of the family by Eben- ezer Clapp, of Boston. Philip Clapp, son of Elias, married Emily E., daughter of James Ferris, of New Castle. Their children were Delia, wife of Stephen D. Horton, ot a well-known family in this county (and after his decease she married. Walter Robinson), and Dorlin F.

The younger days of Mr. Clapp were passed in his native village, and when of suitable age he was sent to a boarding-school in North Salem. When thirteen years old he entered the Peekskill Bank as messenger boy, and with this institution he has been continuously connected, having been first advaneed to the position of book-keeper and teller, elected cashier in 1848 and president in 1875, in which last position he re- mains.

The confidence which is reposed in him by his fellow-citizens, is shown by the fact that he has been chosen by bothi political parties to fill the office of treasurer of the village sinee 1852, and the duties of this responsible position have been performed to the entire satisfaction of the public. There are few who are more thoroughly acquainted with the business af- fairs of this portion of the county.

He married Fannie, daughter of David Hart, of Peekskill. They were the parents of three children -- Phillip, who died December, 1884, at the age of thirty-eiglit; Dorlin, who died in early childhood ; and Fannie, wife of Frank H. MeGavie, now living with her father in Peekskill. Mrs. Clapp died July 1, 1876, and rests with her children in the cemetery of the Baptist Church in Yorktown. Mr. Clapp's father and grandfather were laid to rest in the burying- ground at the Friends' Church in Peekskill, and his mother's grave is at the church at Kirby's Pond, Mount Kiseo, New Castle. Mr. Clapp passes the evening of his days in his native village, and by a life of honorable integrity has justly won the respect of the entire community.

The ancestor of the family is believed to have been Sir Ralph Clapp, of Eduardston, in the county of Suffolk, England, and the coat-of-arms granted to hint is in the possession of his descendants.

The country-seat and summer residence of Mr. Clapp, at Lake Mohegan, is a place of muell rural beauty.

The first movement towards the establishment of a savings bank in Peekskill was made February 3, 1859, at which time a meeting of citizens discussed the sub- ject. April 18, 1859, a charter was obtained for " The Peekskill Savings Bank." Thomas Southard was chosen president; George Dayton and Uriah Hill, vice-presidents; Chauncey M. Depew, secretary ; George Dayton, treasurer ; and William H. Briggs, cashier. Twelve deposits were received June 14, 1859, the opening day, amounting to two hundred and seventeen dollars. The headquarters of the bank were at first in the Westchester County National

Bank building, and were afterwards moved to the corner of Centre and Division Streets. April 21, 1869, the bank was moved to its present location on South Street. In 1884 the assets of the bank were $1,445,- 904.19. Uriah Hill, Jr., was president; Nehemiah S. Jacobs and Jacob M. Shipley, vice-presidents; Coffin S. Brown, treasurer ; Sanford R. Knapp, secre- tary.

THE PEEKSKILL WATER WORKS was completed and put into operation in the year 1875. Most of the work of its construction was performed under the di- rection of a board of water commissioners, consisting of Reuben R. Finch, president ; George W. Robert- son, secretary ; C. F. Southard, treasurer and William S. Tompkins and Gilbert T. Sutton. On a point oc- cupied during the Revolutionary War by an encamp- ment of American soldiers and henee known as "The Campfield," is located the reservoir. It is three hun- dred and seventy-six feet above tide water, is five acres in extent and has a capacity of thirty-one mil- lion gallons. The water is pumped from the Peeks- kill Hollow Brook by means of turbine wheels. The cost of the work, up to the time of its being put into operation, was one hundred and forty-one thousand dollars, the length of the street mains laid was thirty- eight thousand and seventy-five feet and the number of fire hydrants set seventy.six.

The water is of great purity and on evaporating leaves no deposit. The pressure in the pipes varies from one hundred pounds to the square inch in the highest parts of the village to one hundred and sixty- three pounds to the square inch at the docks. In the business portion the pressure is one hundred and ten pounds, which is sufficient to throw a stream from an ineh nozzle to the height of one hundred and fifty feet. At the docks a stream can be thrown one liun- dred and eighty feet high.

THE PEEKSKILL FIRE DEPARTMENT .- There are (1884) in Peekskill five fire companies. Two are en- gine companies, two hose companies and one is a hook-and-ladder company. Owing to the strength of the pressure in the water mains the engines have not onee been called into requisition since the construc- tion of the water works. Each of the engine companies has a hose carriage.

Columbian Engine Company, No. 1, is the first com- pany which was organized in Peekskill and dates its existence from the 8th of June, 1826. In 1827, when the village government was organized, it came under the control of the trustees. The number of members then allowed was twenty-five. William B. Birdsall was the first foreman and the members were the fore- most citizens of the place. The first engine was of the kind known as " goose-nock." It was replaced in 1848 by the " piano-engine," which is owned at pres- ent. In 1884 Columbian Engine Company had forty- nine members. William P. Marshall was foreman, Frank Marshall, secretary and Andrew Ukers, treas- urer. The engine house is situated in Park Street.

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Cortlandt Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1 was or- ganized at a meeting of the trustecs held May 29, 1833, when Frost Horton, Nathaniel Finch, Judson H. Gilbert and nine other members were appointed. At first it was known as the Peekskill Hook and Lad- der Company. The company has fifty-three mem- bers. Charles R. Swain is foreman ; S. Allen Mead, secretary ; and J. Jacob Rembe, treasurer. The house is located on Park Street.

Washington Engine Company, No. 2 was organized September 2, 1840, with George P. Halstead as fore- man. It has fifty-five members. Hiram Blanchard is foreman ; Charles McDade, secretary; and John L. Paulding, treasurer. The engine house is located on Union Street, between Central Avenue and Main Street.

Columbian Hose Company, No. 1 was organized about 1848, but the exact date is not obtainable. It has twenty-nine members. John Dwyer is foreman ; John Rushforth, secretary ; and Robert S. Likely, treasurer. The house is located on Park Strect.

The Centennial Hose Company was organized Jann- ary 7, 1876, with John Smith, Jr., as foreman, Lewis J. Armstrong as secretary and Homer Anderson as treasurer. The number of members is twenty-eight. Odell Dyckman is foreman; Jamcs Gain, secretary ; and Michael Cleme, treasurer. The house is located on Water Street. The chief engineer (1884) is Charles Walker.

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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 96

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