USA > New York > Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I > Part 11
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(VII) Hon. Thomas Jefferson Van Al- styne, son of Dr. Thomas Butler and Eliza Shepard (Giles) Van Alstyne, was born in
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Richmondville, Schoharie county, New York, July 25, 1827, where his father was then a practicing physician. He first studied at the public schools, until, by his natural inclina- tion for serious application and a strong de- sire for knowledge, he had prepared him- self thoroughly for a higher education. At the age of thirteen, while visiting the house of his brother-in-law, a Baptist in Cayuga county, he conceived the purpose of acquir- ing an education which should fit him to make his own mark in the world, so he entered the Moravia Academy. After that he completed his preparation for college by attending Hartwick Seminary. With six of his com- panions he matriculated at Hamilton College, from which he was graduated in 1848, re- ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in 185! that of Master of Arts. In the college course his class standing was good, and he excelled especially in mathematics. So assiduous was he at this age, on entering upon maturity, that he applied himself at the same time to a course in law, under instruc- tion from Professor Theodore W. Dwight, who subsequently became eminent in the law department of Columbia College. After grad- uation he entered the law office of Harris & Van Vorst of Albany, then a well-known legal firm of the Capital city. By diligent attention to the business of this office, he was enabled, with his knowledge of the prin- ciples of law which he had previously ac- quired, to pass a most satisfactory examina- tion before the close of the year, the exam- ining committee for the court consisting of Hon. John H. Reynolds, Hon. John K. Por- ter and Orlando Meads. He was admitted on March 6, 1848, and continued his studies in the same law office until the year 1850, when he opened his own office, continuing to practice alone until 1853, when he formed a partnership with Matthew McMahon, which association continued through four years. In 1858 Mr. Van Alstyne formed a partnership with Mr. Winfield Scott Hevenor, of Al- bany, and had its office in the Douw Build- ing, Broadway and State street, until the death of Mr. Van Alstyne.
His political life was notable. He was ever a Democrat of the staunchest kind. He was elected judge of Albany county in 1871, and presided for twelve years. He was elected congressman in 1882, after a hard-fought contest in the political arena, where his foren- sic powers shone brilliantly and his sturdi- ness of character combined with a manly posi- tiveness won for him a notable victory. The city was at that time considerably stirred in politics .. The mayoralty contest of that pe-
riod, Swinburne vs. Nolan, will remain in local history as a political battle waged with fearful animosity and an unpleasant degree of venom exhibited on both sides. On tak- ing his seat in the forty-eighth congress, he was appointed a member of the committee on claims, and also on the committee on expenditures of the department of justice. He was credited with being thoroughly attentive to his duties as the public's representative, and his term will be remembered by his con- stituents as one giving abundant satisfaction to political friends and foes alike, for he arose above his party strife once he was elected. His party renominated him at the end of two years ; but the dissension in his party pre- vented his chance for being elected, and his opponent, Dr. John Swinburne, known as the "Fighting Doctor," with an enormous follow- ing among the poor, was chosen. He was nominated for mayor of Albany and elected November 2, 1897, and served from Janu- ary 1, 1898, to 1900. He had as opponents General Selden E. Marvin, Hon. George H. Stevens, Robert H. Moore and George Du Bois. His vote was 8,172; that of General Marvin, 6,014, and of George H. Stevens, 6,012.
He was a Mason of prominence, associated with the fraternity for many years and when a young man actively concerned in all its affairs, officiating frequently on committees because of the value of the services he could render through able advice. Entered Mount Vernon Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, October 4, 1855; Master Mason, November 19. 1855; master, 1858-61 ; marshal, 1865. He was a prominent member of the Emman- uel Baptist Church, and a life member of the Young Men's Association, in which he had shown great concern, as his interest seemed to center naturally in the welfare of young men of the city. Often he found it a pleas- ure to converse and consult with them, and in this particular trait his genial character was seen at its very best. He was a member of The Albany Institute and one of the most aggresive in the movement which resulted in the combination of the two bodies forming the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society. As a trustee he was the most reg- ular of all upon the board in attending meet- ings and his keen interest was felt decisively. Whenever discussion of important business showed tendency to delay, he was ready be- fore the tabling of a motion with a resolu- tion, in which he forcefully, cogently and sagaciously pointed the solution, thus bring- ing matters to a direct issue by his terse amendment, uttered in phraseology as one
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would present salient features of a legal brief.
Judge Van Alstyne was fond of travel, and was wont to bring back with him rare sou- venirs of countries visited, and in this way made a collection of rare, old china. Friend- ly intercourse with him was a source of pleas- tire, as his intellectuality lent a decided charm and made the moments pass worthily. He was a man of nnusually large physique, broad-shouldered. and giving an appearance of unusual strength throughout his bearing. His features bore the stamp of ruddy health ; his eyes were ever bright and sparkling as with ready wit actuating his thoughts, and he walked with a firm. elastic step, which was a noticeable characteristic.
Mr. Van Alstyne died at his home, No. 289 State street, in the early morning of October 26. 1903, of heart failure. He had never missed regular attendance at his office until that time and in all sorts of weather might have been seen taking his afternoon recrea- tion in driving about the country roads, a habit which no doubt gave him his large share of health. So soon as Mayor Gaus re- ceived intelligence of the death, he ordered that the flags on the City Hall, police stations, schools and fire houses be lowered, and the first to call a meeting for action on his de- mise was the Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution. The Fort Orange Club, of which he was charter member, lowered its flag, and the Albany Institute and His- torical and Art Society held a special meeting that afternoon. The Albany County Bar As- sociation assembled in the supreme court on October 29, President William P. Rudd in the chair, and an address was delivered hy Judge D. Cady Herrick, a life-long friend, while the committee prepared resolutions. Hc said in part: "My acquaintance with him dates back to the time when, after I began the practice of law. I became located in an adjoining office, where I had excellent op- portunity to study his remarkable personality, and up to the time of his death our relations were always close and sometimes intimate. Eminence in his profession did not fill the measure of his honorable ambition. He rep- resented his home constituency in the Legis- lative halls of the Nation, and as the crown- ing event of his political career, rendered efficient service to his fellow citizens as their chief magistrate. Honest and faithful in the discharge of every trust, public or private, attentive and conscientious in the performance of every duty, official or self-imposed, his in- tegrity was manifest at all times and in all places, and on every occasion. He was strong mentally, strong morally, and strong physic-
ally-there was no hypocrisy in his nature, and as time rolled on and I grew to under- stand him better, I liked him more. A pe- culiarity in his nature which no doubt many of you have observed, when we were assem- bled here on such sad occasions as this, was the tenderness with which he spoke in mem- ory of those with whom he had had many conflicts in life. In private life. a man of domestic habits, literary tastes and scholarly attainments, a student of books and a lover of nature. In his conversation and public utterances he was frank and candid, adopting the honest and forcible manner of stating plain truths rather than the methods of po- lite insincerity. He was a good citizen and neighbor, an affectionate husband and pa- rent, and a true friend." Mayor Gaus and the heads of departments of city government assembled previous to the funeral and drew up resolutions.
Judge Van Alstyne married (first), Al-1 bany, September 3, 1851, Sarah, born Feb- ruary 29. 1832, died September 25, 1859, daughter of Reuel Clapp, of the Albany firm of Clapp & Townsend, and Sarah (Coon) Clapp, of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Mar- ried (second) N. Louisa Peck, of Albany, born July 14, 1842, died November 12, 1884, daughter of Samuel S. and Eliza M. (Col- lum) Peck. Married (third) February 17, 1886, Laura Louisa, daughter of William and Lydia (Van Derbilt) Wiirdemann, of Washington, D. C., the former of whom was a prominent manufacturer of astronomical and mathematical instruments. Children of first wife: 1. Thomas Butler, born June 3, 1852; married. May 7. 1879, Anna Richards, of Washington, D. C., daughter of Lysander and Content (Clapp) Richards. 2. Charles Ed- win, born July 18, 1855. died July 10, 1858. Child of third wife: 3. William Thomas, born July 28, 1887 : educated in Albany Acad- emy and Yale University, graduating in class of 1910, after which he entered Columbia Law School of New York City.
The family name of Sanders SANDERS is to be found in English rec- ords earlier than the year 1500, where it is also frequently spelled Saun- ders; but those who have taken special in- terest in following the history of the branch of the family which came among the early settlers to America, declare that it is an al- teration or abbreviation by the Hollanders for the Scottish name Alexander, whence they originally emigrated, going first to Holland at the time of religious persecution. The name is derived from the Greek, and signi-
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fies an aider or benefactor of men, from the words meaning "to aid" and "man." I betokens a powerful auxiliary. If derived from the somewhat similar surname, Sand or Sands, it would then signify sense, or wit. The Sanders Arms-Shield: Sable, a chev- ron ermine, between three bull's heads, ca- bossed, argent. Crest: A demi-bull erased, gules.
The family occupied a prominent position before coming to this country, and the rec- ords show that the men were not alone thor- oughly educated, but possessed a determina- tion of character which could lead them to suffer death for a cause in which they believed themselves to be in the right. Laurence San- ders, who died a martyr, was the son of Thomas Sanders, of Harrington, Siebertoft, Northamptonshire, England, by his wife, Margaret Carr, daughter of Richard Carr. He was elected in 1538 from Eaton, Scholar of King's College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. in 1541 : M.A., in 1544, and later, it is said, became B.D.
Laurence Sanders was cited to appear be- fore the vicar-general for having married March, 1553-54. He was born in Oxford- shire, where his father owned considerable land. He entered holy orders toward the end of the reign of Edward VI, and became one of the famous preachers of the earliest Reformation period. While fearless in de- nouncing the corruption of the men who pro- fessed to represent the pure principles of the ancient Christian church, he was not one of the class of preachers who disgust the thoughtful by violence and religious hysteria. He was summoned before the crown authori- ties on trumped-up charges, and when it was found that he fearlessly continued his work and prcached for reformation, he was im- prisoned and finally burned in Coventry in 1555. His widow and his son and daughter escaped to Holland. Reliance is placed in this line of descent because the coat-of-arms on an ancient tablet in Allhallows Church in London is identical with that on old pieces of silver and other family heirlooms handed down in the Sanders family in this country.
(I) Thomas Sanders was the progenitor of this family in America. He was a silversmith in Amsterdam, Holland, and it is on record that he was in this country in 1640, for he married Sarah Cornelise Van Gorcum in New Amsterdam (New York City) in December, 1639. He received a patent from Kieft, the Dutch governor, for a house and twenty-five morgens of land on Manhattan Island; but in 1654 removed to Beverwyck, where he bought a house and lot, which he sold later
on to Jan Van Aecken. It is probable that he returned to New Amsterdam. Children : Robert, baptized in New Amsterdam, Novem- ber 10, 1641, see forward; Cornelis, baptized in New Amsterdam, November 25, 1643; Cor- nelis, baptized in New Amsterdam, Novem- ber 17, 1644; Thomas, baptized in New Am- sterdam, July 14, 1647, was a bolter of New York, and his children were born there, name- ly: Robert, October 4, 1696; Styntje, De- cember 26, 1697; Robert, January 1, 1700; Jacob, October 19, 1701 ; Elsje, October 27, 1703; Anneke, January 30, 1706; Maritje, May 13, 1708; Jacob, June 9, 1712 ; Beatrix, September 25, 1715.
(II) Robert, son of Thomas and Sarah Cornelise (Van Gorcum) Sanders, was bap- tized in New Amsterdam, November 10, 1641. He attained considerable prominence as a man of wealth and through his dealings with the Indians in public matters. He was a great land owner before his death. He came to Beverwyck, (Albany, New York), before 1654, with his father. In 1667 he was a silversmith, as his father was before him, probably serving apprenticeship under his gui- dance, and in 1692 was a merchant. He was admitted a "Freeman" in 1698.
Robert Sanders acted an invaluable part in the colonists' dealings with the Indians, and the Dutch settlers always gave him a most prominent part because they realized his abil- ity to transact matters amicably. Whenever there was a disturbance the inhabitants relied on him to take a major share in bringing peace out of threatening trouble. When, on July 1, 1689, authentic news reached Albany that William and Mary had succeeded to the throne of England, Mayor Pieter Schuyler called a meeting of the council, and it was voted to proclaim their majesties without de- lay. The proclamation was made at the fort in English and Dutch, amid the firing of cannon. All went well for the space of near- ly a month, when there was a rumor that Jacob Leisler intended to establish authority over the city, and to turn out the officials. War was proclaimed between England and France, and a convention was held in Albany on August I, to consider the situation so as to prepare. Fifty persons were required, each to hang a gun, powder and balls in the church, and new palisades were erected to keep out the enemy expected to come from Canada, where the French had their strongholds. There was great excitement. Men were sent out to procure fighters, and Robert Sanders was selected to enlist Indians along the Hud- son river and at Esopus to serve as scouts, knowing the trail to the north. A subscrip-
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tion provided pay for one hundred men, and only three hundred and sixty-seven pounds, English money, was pledged. A few months later it was announced that "ambassadors from Onondaga and Oneida" were on their way to Albany, desiring to be heard in con- vention so as to determine on which side the Five Nations were to be allied, and at the Indian council to be held it was necessary for somebody of ability to come and represent the province. It was decided that some of the wisest Mohawks should represent the city in conjunction with Robert Sanders, because he understood the language and could act as a fair interpreter.
In 1690, Robert Sanders and Colonel Pieter Schuyler were commissioned to attend an- other important council of the Five Nations, which should decide about the return of all prisoners taken to France. On February 8, 1693. Albany was startled by the report that the French had fallen on the Mohawk cas- tles, and Lieutenant Johannes Schuyler was despatched to Schenectady with a troop of cavalry ; but Albany could not spare any quantity of its soldiers as it feared attack from the French who designed to take the city as part of the program to capture the province for France. Lieutenant Sanders was sent out with Lieutenant Schuyler to locate the enemy and reported that they had oc- cupied the two lower villages. Major In- goldesby sent several hundred men to Al- bany, who proceeded to Schenectady, and Governor Fletcher arrived there with two hundred and eighty men from New York. In this campaign the French lost thirty-three, with twenty-six wounded, and were driven back to Montreal.
Robert Sanders acquired land a mile square in Dutchess county, the tract including the site of Poughkeepsie. Governor Thomas Dongan on June 2, 1688, issued a patent of confirmation to Colonel Pieter Schuyler, the first mayor of Albany, for two tracts on the east side of the Hudson river, for which a patent had been previously granted by Gov- ernor Lovelace, the first being just south of the Livingston Manor; the second, a long reach on the Hudson bounded on the south and east by Wappinger creek, and Colonel Schuyler sold the tract on the long reach, Au- gust 30. 1699, to Robert Sanders and Myn- dert Harmense (Van der Bogert), who owned the tract adjoining north, on which site the city of Poughkeepsie now stands.
That Robert Sanders also acquired other important tracts at other localities in New Netherland is shown by the following peculiar record signed by Harmen Vedder at Albany,
August 21, 1670: "Appeared before me, Lu- dovicus Cobes, Secretary of Albany, etc., in the presence of the honorable Heeren com- missaries, etc., Mr. Jan Verbeeck and Mr. Abraham Staats, Herman Vedder, who de- clares that in true right, free ownership, he grants, conveys and by these presents makes over, to and for the behoof of Robert San- ders, the half of the land called Stone Arabia with all his title thereto, free and unencum- bered, with no claims standing or issuing against the same, save the lord's right, with- out the grantor's making the least pretension thereto any more, also acknowledging that he is fully paid and satisfied therefor, the first penny with the last, by the hands of Robert Sanders, and therefore giving plenam action- em cessam and full powers to said Robert Sanders, his heirs and successors or assigns, to do with and dispose of said portion of land as he might do with his patrimonial estate and effects.'
Robert Sanders married Elsje Barentse. Children : 1. Helena, born June 23, 1674; married, September 20, 1704, Johannes Lan- sing, born January 1, 1675. died August 10, 1771, son of Gerrit and Elsje (Van Wyth- horst) Lansing. 2. Barent, born May 8, 1678; see forward. 3. Maria, married, November 24. 1689, Gerrit Roseboom, son of Hendrick Janse Roseboom, who was sexton of the Dutch church before 1674. 4. Sara, married Hendrick Greefraadt. 5. Elsje, baptized July 13, 1683; buried December 31, 1732; married Evert Wendell, Jr., born in 1660, son of Evert Janse Wendell, who came from Emden, Hol- land.
(III) Barent, son of Robert and Elsje (Ba- rentse ) Sanders, was born May 8, 1678, bur- ied in the old Dutch church, June 22, 1738. It was during his lifetime that the ancient Glen-Sanders house at Scotia, Schenectady county, New York, was built, which became the Sanders homestead for six generations, in fact, it was crected when he was thirty-five years old, in 1713. This house but replaced the older, almost upon or near the same site, and of the self-same material, but half a century later. It is, in 1910, in admirable condition throughout, and attracts visitors daily to it despite the fact that it is at least a mile from the city of Schenectady. The original mansion was built about 1659 by Al- exander Lindsey Glen, founder of that family in America, who was one of the original "Fifteen Proprietors" of Schenectady. He was born about 1610, near Inverness, Scot- land, and when he crossed to Holland because of religious persecution, the Dutchmen called him Sander Leendertse. He was a partisan
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in the days of Charles I, and had to flee to Holland to protect himself, where he was warmly received. He later emigrated with his wife, Catherine Dongan (Catalyn Doncas- sen ), and the early Dutch settlers to New Netherland. He was a man of liberal educa- tion, which he received in Scotland, and pos- sessed a large fortune ; was typical in physique and temperament of his native heath, and was known as a strong man. He was the agent of the Dutch West India Company at Fort Nassau on the Delaware river, in 1643, and in 1646 was granted land at Graves End on Long Island. In 1658 he removed to Sche- nectady, where he commenced building his stone mansion.
This was the first house built upon the north bank of the Mohawk river for the entire one hundred and thirty-five miles of its length. It was constructed close to the water's edge and against the side of a steep slope leading to the broad, sandy plateau on which the village of Scotia stands. It was located about three-quarters of a mile west of the old Glenville bridge leading across the Mohawk to Schenectady. Herein for genera- tions were deposited important colonial docu- ments. It stood about one hundred feet south of the present Sanders edifice, and had to be taken down because each spring the high wat- er was an inconvenience and a serious men- ace, so in 1713 much of the same material was used in the construction of the one now occupied by the Sanders family, and the in- roads of the river have obliterated even the outline of where stood the foundations, fill- ing the same in with silt. Between the two sites was the place where the Indians en- joyed burning their white victims at the stake. On the flats to the east the savages grew their corn, as set forth in the title as their "corn- field." He named the place Scotia in mem- ory of the land of his birth. The title was from the Mohawk Indians from 1658 to 1665, and then he obtained a patent from the crown. He was a religious man, and finding it irk- some to drive the seventeen miles to Albany every Sabbath morn, in 1682 built the Dutch Church which was also used as the town hall. Mr. Glen also owned a town lot in Schenec- tady, with two hundred feet frontage on Washington avenue, the residence thereon oc- cupied by his descendants until burned in 1819. He died in 1685, and was buried un- der the church beside his wife, who had died the previous year.
The reason why the house was neither at- tacked nor burned during the great massacre of 1690 is interesting. It was Major John Alexander Glen, son of the former, who built
the present mansion in 1713, and who was alive at the time of the massacre. The Glens were very friendly with the Indians, alive also to rescue a white captive from the sav- ages. One day a party of Mohawks brought to the original house a Jesuit priest who had come down from Canada, where were the French, intending to have him locked up by Major Glen until the following day, when they proposed to torture him before taking his life. Glen pretended to fear the magical powers of the priest, and having two keys to his cellar door told the Indians that they might lock the priest in there, and on hand- ing one key to the redskins remarked that he would have nothing to do with the matter, for he did not believe a key would hold a priest confined so long as there was a key- hole through which he was doubtless able to send his spirit and body likewise. Early the next morning, Major Glen placed the priest in a cask and despatched it in his cart for Albany. This act had its important bearing. It gratified the French of Canada, so when Schenectady was attacked on the bitterly cold night of February 8, 1690, by the French and their savage allies under Seignior Le Moyne de Sainte Helene, it was ordered that no harm be done to the house of the Glens or to any relative. Glen undertook to per- suade the Indians that he had many relatives in Schenectady, whom he wished spared ; but the number increased so extensively that he had to desist or the Redmen, perceiving the ruse, would spare none, as they began to have doubts. In this massacre, now a feature in colonial history, about eighty houses were burned to the ground and some three hundred souls were slain.
The present house is charming in its co- lonial quaintness. The walls are unusually thick and the timbers massive. The latter were cut from trees so large that they were first cut into lengths, and these split into four timbers each two feet square. They are won- derfully dovetailed together and fastened with wooden pins. The doors are wide, and what is peculiar they are made of one mammoth piece of wood, while those leading out are divided in the middle, the upper portion set with small lights of glass. Across the ex- terior, beneath the eaves, are to be seen the large iron letters and numerals, "A O 1 7 1 3." The furniture, silverware and crockery in this house have been in use for generations, and attract much attention by their beauty. In the attic were stored countless documents from which a history might be written; but un- fortunately at the time of the civil war, when paper was in great demand, about a ton was
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