Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I, Part 27

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 656

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ticket of the county. He was made chairman of the Democratic city committee in 1900, and 1903-06, was a member of the grievance com- mittee of the New York State Bar Associa- tion. He is a member of the American Society of International Law ; belongs to the Reformed Dutch Church, of Delmar, New York; James Ten Eyck Lodge, No. 831, Free and Accept- ed Masons, and is a member of the Fort Orange Club. He married, September 3, 1889, at Berne, Albany county, New York, Kate, daughter of Zeb. A. and Lucy E. (Gallup) Dyer, both of Berne, New York. She was born at Berne. Child: Abraham Cuyler, born at "Whitehall," Albany, July 10, 1890; gradu- ate of the Albany Academy, class of 1905; entered the United States Naval Academy, May, 1908.

(VIII) Cuyler, son of Abraham Cuyler and Margaret Matilda (Haswell) Ten Eyck, was born in Albany, February 26, 1866, and fol- lows the profession of an artist. He married, Albany, March 3, 1895, Eva Mary Wieland, born in Albany, August 24, 1869, daughter of Frederick G. and Catherine (Fisher) Wieland. Children : Julia Dent Grant, born in Bethle- hem Centre, Albany county, New York, May 12, 1896; Albert Vander Veer, born in Beth- lehem Centre, March 18, 1898; Hester Ganse- voort, born Albany, February 6, 1900.

(VIII) Peter Gansevoort, son of Abraham Cuyler and Margaret Matilda (Haswell) Ten Eyck, was born in Whitehall Place, Albany, November 7, 1873. He was the last person born in the old, historic mansion, Gansevoort Home, built a century before Mr. Ten Eyck's birth, and known as "Whitehall," located in the town of Bethlehem, Albany county, New York. His earliest education was received at the Albany Boys' Academy, which pre- pared him for entrance to the Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute in Troy, where he studied engineering. Following his profession, he has advanced along these lines, civil engineer in charge of the work of laying out Beaver Park in Albany, under the superintendent of parks ; inspector of signals on the Mohawk division of the New York Central line, and then supervisor of signals for the same; engi- neer of signals, in charge of both the con- struction and maintenance of all signals on the New York Central line; engineer of sig- nals of the Federal Railway Signal Company, and vice-president and general manager of the last named company ; also frequently acting as consulting railway engineer. He is a Demo- crat in politics. Was a member of the Third Signal Corps of the Third Brigade, National Guard, State of New York. He joined the Del- ta Phi fraternity and is a member of Master's

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Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. He is con- nected with the following clubs; Transporta- tion, New York City; Fort Orange, Albany ; University, as trustee; also a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, American Railway Engineering and Mainte- nance of Way Association, Railway Signal As- sociation, Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society. He is a member of the Second Dutch Reformed Church, of Albany. Mr. Ten Eyck married, in Albany, April 15, 1903, Ber- tha Floretta Dederick, born in Albany, July 31, 1875, daughter of Peter Kells Dederick, of Albany, inventor and wholesale manufac- turer of agricultural implements, and at one time was said to have received the third great- est number of patents issued in the United States to any one person. He was born in Claverack, Columbia county, New York, Feb- ruary I, 1838, son of Philip W. Dederick, born in Claverack, January 24, 1806, died in Al- bany, and Anna Maria Kells, born in Clave- rack, February 24, 1810; died in Albany, who were married in Claverack, December 28, 1833. Her mother's maiden name was Marietta Michael. She was born in Clav- erack, December 24, 1843, daughter of John Lewis Michael, born in Claverack, De- cember 12, 1815, died in Claverack in autumn of 1872, and Elizabeth Miller, born May 5, 1818, at Humphreyville, died in Claverack, Oc- tober 9, 1906, who were married in Claverack, April 22, 1834. Child : Peter Gansevoort Ded- erick, born in Yonkers, New York, April 3, 1905.

OLCOTT The Olcotts, of Albany, New York, descend in a direct, un- broken male succession from Thomas Olcott, the emigrant ancestor of the Connecticut branch of the family, who was among the first settlers of the town of Hart- ford, and one of the founders of the trade and commerce of the colony of Connecticut. He came from England with the Winthrop company in 1630. There is reason to believe that he was one of the "goodly company" of men, women and children who, in June, 1635, left Newton and other settlements in Massa- chusetts to plant a new colony in the Con- necticut valley. They came through the wild- erness until they reached the mouth of the Chicopee river, near what is now Springfield, and followed down the banks of the Connecti- cut to the spot where, in the autumn before, the settlement of what is now Hartford, but then called Suckiange, was commenced. Mr. Olcott had been educated in England, was a merchant, and brought with him the experi- ence and fruits of successful enterprise. In

common with Edward Hopkins, Richard Lord, William Whiting and others he engaged in trade, for which the Connecticut was supposed to afford great facilities, especially in the traf- fic of furs. Mr. Olcott first located himself on a lot on the east side of the Public (now State House) Square. He subsequently became the purchaser of one of the lots assigned to Edward Hopkins in the original distribution of the town among the first settlers. This lot comprised the whole square fronting on Main street and bounded by Pearl, Trumbull and Asylum streets. On the southeast corner he erected a dwelling for his own occupation, which continued in the family for several generations. Thomas Olcott died in 1654, aged about forty-five years. His wife, Abi- gail, died May 26, 1693, aged seventy-eight years. Children : Thomas, see forward; Sam- uel; John, baptized February 3, 1639; Eliza- beth, baptized December 7, 1643; Hannah.

(II) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (I) and Abigail Olcott, emigrant, was born about 1635. There seems to be no record of his death-that he lived to advanced age and until the year 1719 appears by the land records of Hartford, wherein is recorded a deed of land from him to his son, Thomas Olcott, Jr., dated February 14, 1719. His wife, Mary, died May 3, 1721, at Windsor, Connecticut. Children : Abigail, died March 14, 1688, at Springfield, Massachusetts; Mary ; Thomas, see forward ; Samuel, died May 10, 1693; John, drowned May 25, 1685; Timothy, born 1677, died April 5, 1754; married (first) ; (second) Mary Field, widow of Ebenezer Field, and daughter of Ebenezer Dudley, of East Guil- ford, Connecticut; she died April 20, 1740; (third) Elizabeth - -, who died August 29, 1764.

(III) Thomas (3), son of Thomas (2) Olcott, of Hartford, married, 1691, Sarah Foote, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, who died July 24, 1756, in the eighty-sixth year of her age. Children : Abigail, died at age of eight- een years; Sarah, born December 12, 1694; married a Mr. Dean, of Plainfield, Connecti- cut ; Mary, born November 21, 1696; married a Mr. Stoughton ; Cullick, born April 18, 1699, died 1732: Nathaniel, born September II, 1701 ; married Hannah, daughter of Nathaniel Pitkin, of East Hartford; Josiah, born March 2, 1703, died February 8, 1785; married, May 15, 1740, Penelope, daughter of Rev. Jonah Beckwith, of Lyme, Connecticut : Margaret, born April 12, 1705; married Richard Ely, of Lyme, Connecticut ; Hannah, born August 4, 1707; Elizabeth, born November 17, 1709; married Colonel John Pitkin, of East Hart- ford, Connecticut, brother of Governor Wil-

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liam Pitkin, and great-grandson of William Pitkin, one of the first settlers of Hartford; a child, born 1712, died in infancy ; Thomas, see forward.

(IV) Thomas (4), son and youngest child of Thomas (3) Olcott, of Hartford, was born in 1713, died May 3, 1795. He was a resi- dent of Stratford, Connecticut. He married (first), 1736, Sarah, daughter of John Easton, of Ilartford. She died March 30, 1756; mar- ried (second) Sarah, widow of Hezekiah Thompson, of Stratford, Connecticut, and daughter of Zachariah Tomlinson, November IO, 1757. She died May 11, 1811, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. Children by first wife: Josiah, born July 17, 1737, died at age of ten years ; Sarah, born August 17, 1742; married Thomas Hawley, of Stepney ; John Easton, born July 24, 1749; married Hannah Sands. of Long Island, New York. Chil- dren by second wife: Thomas, born October 3, 1758; married (first) Mary, daughter of An- drew Thompson, of New Haven, Connecticut ; (second ), March, 1821, Lucy Mitchell; Josiah, see forward; Hannah, born January 25, 1762; married, about 1780, Beach Judson of Strat- ford, Connecticut ; Mary, born April 3, 1763; married, March 18, 1784; Cap- tain Nehemiah Gorham, who served in the revolutionary war; Anna, born 1765; married, August 30, 1769, Isaac Bronson, of Bridge- port, Connecticut.

(V) Josiah, son of Thomas (4) Olcott, was born at Stratford, Connecticut, July 19, 1760, died in Hudson, New York, January 24, 1860, in the one hundredth year of his age. He was educated in New Eng- land, and settled in Hudson, Columbia county, New York, then a thriving city, with a large fleet of sea-going vessels largely engaged in the whaling in- dustry, that annually brought to the city many tons of whalebone and many thousand barrels of whale oil. In 1785 he engaged in the manufacture of cordage with Thomas Jenkins ; built a rope walk six hundred feet in length, and did an extensive business in the making and wholesaling of rope of all kinds and sizes. After the death of his partner he continued the business alone. He was a shrewd and capable business man of energy and direct purpose. The qualities that made his own life a success were transmitted to his posterity as will be seen in the following generations. His long and useful life ended in Hudson and covered a century which saw the colonies cmerge from dependencies into a great united independent nation. The second war with Great Britain, the war with Mexico, had ter- minated just as the nation was plunging into

the great civil war. He married Deborah, daughter of Thomas and Deborah Worth, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, June 7, 1794. Chil- dren : Thomas Worth, see forward; Frederick, born January 16, 1797, died March 29, 1816; Ann Maria, born November II, 1798; married, September 27, 1819, Richard I. Wells, of Coxsackie, New York; Alfred, died in in- fancy; Ophelia, born February 18, 1803, died October 10, 1839; married, December 28, 1836, William Henry Folger, of Hudson, New York; Theodore, born May 28, 1805; married (first), May 5, 1834, Eliza Yates; (second), October 1, 1840, Mary Jenkins; Jane Matilda, born March 28, 1806, died April 9, 1837 ; Or- rin, died in infancy; Horatio Josiah, born January 4, 1810; married, September 6, 1831, Harriet M. Leonard; Egbert, born October 18, 1812, died May 22, 1873; married, Sep- tember 5. 1837, Mary E. L. White; Mary, died in infancy ; Caroline and Cornelia, twins, born December 4, 1818; the former named died March 26, 1885, and the latter Novem- ber 13, 1899.

(VI) Thomas Worth, son of Josiah and Caroline (Worth) Olcott, was born in Hud- son, New York, May 22, 1795, died March 23, 1880, in Albany. He was educated in the Hudson schools, and began his long and successful career in finance as a clerk in the Columbia Bank of Hudson, where he re- mained two years. He rapidly grasped the fundamental principles governing monetary law. His active mind and quick, decisive char- acter made him an unusually valuable em- ployee, and when the Mechanics' and Farm- ers' Bank opened its doors for business, July 29, 18II, he was one of the clerical force. On that date began his remarkable connec- tion with that institution; a connection last- ing nearly seventy years, the last forty-four years of which were spent in the president's chair. His rise was rapid; six years after the bank opened its doors for business, he became cashier ; nineteen years later, in June, 1836, he was elected president. The Me- chanics' and Farmers' Bank, whose success, in a large degree must be, and is, by general consent, credited to the genius of Thomas Worth Olcott, was the third bank incor- porated in Albany and was chartered osten- sibly for the benefit of the mechanics and farmers of Albany county. Its charter pro- vided that none but mechanics and farmers should be elected as bank officers, but some years later was amended so as to authorize the president and directors without reference to their occupation or business. It is a noted fact, and one that created considerable discus- sion and comment, that the entire first board

Thomas Wellicht.

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of directors were Democrats. It had been understood that two Federalists would have a place on the board and they were later substituted. Mr. Olcott was the fifth presi- dent, and at his death he was succeeded by his son Dudley, who is the present incum- bent (1910). The first period of the bank's history ended by expiration of charter in 1833. At the expiration of the second charter in 1853 the bank closed up its affairs, when the stockholders received one hundred and fifteen per cent., besides their stock in the new bank, which renewed the charter for twenty years and went into operation again with the same officers.

During the civil war the bank closed up its affairs and organized in 1865 under the Na- tional Banking laws, having previously oper- ated as a state bank. In 1868 they again chartered under state banking laws, aban- doning the national system. The career of the bank has been one of unvarying pros- perity excepting only a short period in 1817 when the capital became impaired, owing to the financial troubles growing out of the de- pression following the war with Great Brit- ain, 1812-14. In 1855 the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank was incorporated with Thomas W. Olcott as the first president, suc- ceeded in 1880 by his son Dudley. While Mr. Olcott was eminently the man of affairs, and held a position in the financial world second to none and was recognized as a great banker, his obligations to his city as a citizen did not rest lightly upon him. He was an active, as well as a leading member of the boards of several of the public charitable and educational associations that have made Albany famous. His private benevolences were many and cannot be recorded; his pub- lic service can. He was vice-president of the first board of directors of Albany Law School organized in 1851, the fourth school of its kind organized in the United States. In 1855 he was elected president of the board, continuing until his death in 1880. He was president of the first board of directors of Dudley Observatory, a scientific institution founded through the munificence of Mrs. Blandina Dudley, widow of Charles E. Dud- ley, with the co-operation of leading citizens of Albany. The observatory profited greatly through the generosity of Mr. Olcott and that of his sons, the latter furnishing the funds for refitting Olcott Meridian Circle (named for its donor), housing it in a suitable building and remounting it on the new site. He was president of the Albany Agricultural and Arts Association ; president of Albany Hospital, in which he took a deep and lasting interest ;

trustee and president of Albany Girls' Acad- emy; trustee of the Boys' Academy; presi- dent of Albany Cemetery Association.

In addition to these institutions, all of which he served faithfully, giving largely of his rare executive ability and unerring judgment, his purse was ever open for all good causes, carn- ing him the title of the "most charitable man in Albany." Returning to his business life he was president of the Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad Company, afterward merged into the Boston & Albany system, and later trustee of the sinking fund commis- sion, appointed to retire the bonds issued by the city of Albany to aid in the construc- tion of the road. The retirement of these bonds was successfully accomplished under the guidance of Mr. Olcott and is still re- ferred to as the "greatest piece of financiering ever accomplished in Albany." When Sec- retary Chase was perfecting plans for a Na- tional Bank system he held frequent inter- views with Mr. Olcott and was largely guided by his wise counsel. In 1863 he declined a flattering offer from President Lincoln of the position of first comptroller of the currency, but he declined all public office except such as related to the promotion of education or other local interests.

During his business life he developed a won- derful quality of quick, decisive action ; strong in his opinions, he was always open to con- viction and ready to accept the views of others. His ability to judge human nature and read men was another marked quality. His courage was another attribute that rend- ered him conspicuous ; nothing daunted him and failure was a word with which he was unacquainted. He was identified with the Christian life of Albany as member and trus- tee of the Second Presbyterian Church. His political life was inconspicuous. In early life and up to 1860 he was a Democrat ; then for the remainder of his life a Republican. He was strongly Union in his sentiments and served on the committee having in charge the recruiting and equipping of the One Hun- dred and Thirteenth New York Regiment (Seventh Regiment, New York Volunteer Ar- tillery). His only other public offices that can be construed as political were as bridge com- missioner to select the site of the lower bridge across the Hudson at South Ferry street, and his appointment to the state board of regents. His home in Albany was in the midst of a plot of about three acres of ground and there he gratified his love for flowers and plants to the fullest extent and spent his hours of lei- sure in their cultivation. He was quiet, un- ostentatious and domestic in his tastes and

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habits, giving little evidence of being the wealthy and distinguished financier. He died at his home in Albany in his eighty-fifth year, continuing his active business life until his last illness.

He married Caroline, daughter of Daniel Pepoon, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, August 17, 1818. She died March 12, 1867. Chil- dren : 1. Frederick Worth, born August 10, 1820, died November 2. 1822. 2. Thomas, born December 31, 1821, died August 27, 1873; married (first), April 3, 1844, Lucia Marvin Fowler, who died August 25, 1850; (second), October 5, 1853, Harriet M. Leon- ard, who died January 13. 1861 : (third), Feb- ruary 19, 1863, Emma McClive. 3. John Josiah, born March II, 1823, died April 10, 1899. 4. Robert, born July 26, 1824, died May 10. 1859. 5. Mary Marvin, born April 11, 1826, died April 25, 1892. 6. Theodore, born May 1, 1828, died February 27, 1907; married, October 2, 1856, Ann Hazleton May- nard. 7. Alexander, born August 10, 1829, died April 21, 1887; married, May 21, 1856, Catherine Amanda Mallory. 8. Grace, born April 5, 1834, died August 7, 1834. 9. Dud- ley, died in infancy. 10. Dudley (2), see forward. 11. Frederick Pepoon, see forward.

(VII) Dudley, son of Thomas Worth and Caroline (Pepoon) Olcott, was born in Al- bany, New York, September 21, 1838. He was educated in the Albany Boys' Academy, and afterward attended the Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute in Troy, where he took a course in civil engineering. In 1858 he be- came connected with the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank, of Albany, as ac- countant. This position he held for seven years, when he became assistant cashier of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank, later cash- ier. For thirteen years he was cashier of this bank, until December 31, 1878, when he was chosen vice-president. In March, 1880, he was elected president, succeeding his father. Under his wise and able management the bank has continued its successful life, and is one of the strong, conservative financial in- stitutions of the state. He is thoroughly versed in the laws governing finance, is de- voted to the institution over which he pre- sides, and is recognized everywhere as one of the clearest-headed and ablest financiers of the state. He was president of the Albany Bank- ers' Association, and represents the Mechan- ics' and Farmers' in the leading bank associa- tions of the country. In 1861 he toured Eu- rope, since which time his service has been continuous, saving only his annual summer vacation, which is spent in Canada. The con- nection of the Olcotts, father and son, now

covers the period of a full century, 1811- IQII. Seventy-five of these years have seen them occupying the president's chair. This is both a wonderful and an unusual record, probably unequaled in point of continuous service. Mr. Olcott has no outside business interests although he is devoted to the welfare of many of the leading public institutions of Albany. He is a member of the board of gov- ernors of the Albany Hospital ; president of the Albany Cemetery Association; trustee of Home for Aged Men; trustee of Albany Or- phan Asylum ; trustee of the Albany Academy for Girls, and aids other good causes by his influence and liberality. He served his state one term as paymaster general, appointed by Governor Fenton in 1867. He served the city of Albany as park commissioner, was treasur- er and later president of the commission dur- ing its entire existence. Politically he is a Republican, but his devotion to business pre- cludes all idea of public office. He is a mem- ber of the Fort Orange and Country clubs, Al- bany, and of the Metropolitan, Union League, and Down Town clubs, of New York City. He is fond of the solitude of the great woods, and each summer, for the past thirty-one years has spent his vacation at Ristigouche river, Canada, where his favorite sport. salmon fish- ing, is his daily occupation. Mr. Olcott's home is the old family mansion in Albany, in the midst of the beauties created and loved by his father, which he perpetuates and continues in loving remembrance. He is unmarried.

(VII) Frederick Pepoon, son of Thomas Worth and Carolina ( Pepoon) Olcott, finan- cier, who died at his home, "Round Top." near Bernardsville, New Jersey, April 15, 1909, was born in Albany, New York. Febru- ary 23, 1841. Upon graduation from the Al- bany Academy he entered the bank of which his father was the head, and there secured the training and knowledge in financial mat- ters which characterized his business career and placed him in the highest rank of modern, conservative financial men. For a time he was engaged in the lumber business, also a partner with Blake Brothers & Company, bankers and brokers. In 1882 he accepted the nomination and was elected comptroller of the state of New York, which position he occupied for a term of two years. In 1884 he declined the Democratic nomination for governor and accepted the presidency of the Central Trust Company, of New York City, where he remained until 1905; retiring in that year on account of ill-health to his favorite residence and farm. "Round Top," Bernards- ville, New Jersey. In addition to his connec- tion with the Central Trust Company, Mr.

Dialy Scott

FP Olcott

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Olcott was president of the Galveston, Hous- ton & Henderson Railroad, a director of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad and other railroads, of the Bank of America and of the Morristown Trust Company of New Jersey. Personally Mr. Olcott was known as a man of broad, philanthropic ten- dencies, taking personal interest in the politi- cal and social welfare of the community, and ever ready to assist those less successful in the battle of life. He was greatly interested in horticulture, and his gardens were famous for the production of choice plants and rare flowers. He was also a breeder of trotting horses. Mr. Olcott was a member of the Union League, New York Yacht, Metropoli- tan. Manhattan and Down Town clubs, of New York, and of the Morristown Club. He married Mary Esmay, by whom he is sur- vived, together with a son, Dudley, and one daughter.

PRUYN The Pruyn arms: "Shield: A field of gold or saffron, on which are placed three martlets of natu- ral color, without beaks or feet, turned to the fore part (dexter side), one in the base of the shield and the remaining two in chief, at either side. Crest : A barred or tournament helmet adorned with a mantling of gold or saffron and black, on the top of which, on a twisted band (wreath) or diadem of the an- cient kings, of the same colors, between two wings of yellow or gold, is placed a martlet like those on the shield; but having feet and beak, looking toward the dexter side, like all of these are seen depicted." (The last phrase refers to a drawing given on a Dutch parchment of 1527.)

(I) Johannes (John) Pruyn, a Hollander, was the progenitor of the family in America. It is believed that his immediate family was confined to two sons, Francis (see forward), and Jacques, Jacus or Jacob. The latter was enrolled among the "Small Burghers" of New Amsterdam, April 18, 1657. He purchased a house and lot "outside of the Gate of this city" February 19, 1659, from Sybout Classen. Those of the first three generations in this country varied at times the spelling of the family name, appearing as Pruyn, Pruyne, Pryne and Pruen.

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Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I, Part 27

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed Publication date: 1911 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 656

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 656