Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I, Part 66

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

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ter of William Sager, and had four sons and four daughters. Their son, Peter Slingerland, was a farmer and a member of the New York state legislature, serving under two elections to the assembly. He married Rachel Mosher. Their daughter, Susan Slingerland, married John A. S. Loucks. Their children are: I. Elizabeth L., married Ambrose J. Wiltsie, of Feurabush, Albany county, New York. 2. Anna S., wife of John V. D. H. Bradt, a farmer of Feurabush. 3. James Harris, of further mention. 4. De Ette, died in in- fancy. 5. Estelle. 6. John A. S.

(VII) James Harris (2), son of John A. S. and Susan (Slingerland) Loucks, was born at Feurabush, town of New Scotland, Albany county, New York, November 13, 1877. He was educated in the public schools, graduated from Albany high school in 1897. Until 1905 he was engaged in farming. In that year he began the study of law with Harris & Rudd, lawyers, of Albany, New York. In 1909 he was graduated from Albany Law School (Union University) and was admitted to the bar the same year. He is still associated with the law firm of Harris & Rudd. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Patrons of Husbandry, and the Albany Club. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Jerusalem Reformed Church at Feurabush. He married, September 19, 1907, Sarah B. Creble, of Feurabush, daughter of Francis and Sarah (Callanan) Creble. They have one child, Frances Elizabeth Loucks, born April 5, 1909.

(The Creble Line).

(I) Francis Creble was born in 1794, died in 1848. The farm on which he was born was located by his grandfather prior to the rev- olution. His father lived and died on the same farm, where in 1819 he built the present farm dwelling. He was an expert wood worker. He married Mary A. Bush.

(II) Henry, son of Francis and Mary A. (Bush) Creble, was born on the old farm, 1810, died there 1897. He served in the New York state assembly, and was a well- known, influential man. He married Ann Eliza Houck, born in Bethlehem, Albany county, New York, 1812.

(III) Francis (2), son of Henry and Ann Eliza (Houck) Creble, was born on the old homestead at Feurabush, July 1, 1844. He married, in New Scotland, Sarah Callanan, born February 27, 1850, daughter of David and Harriet (Simmons) Callanan.

(IV) Sarah B., daughter of Francis (2) and Sarah (Callanan) Creble, a graduate of the State Normal College, married James Harris Loucks (sce Loucks VII).

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The paternal ancestor of the

TIBBITS Tibbits family of Troy, New York, herein considered, was Henry Tibbits, of Warwickshire, England. He was of Kingstown, Rhode Island, where he died in 1713. In 1663 he and others of Nar- ragansett Colony petitioned to be placed un- der the protection of Connecticut. In 1665 he and others petitioned the general assembly of Rhode Island for accommodation of land in Kings Province. June 22, 1670, he was ap- pointed constable by the Connecticut authori- ties, and the inhabitants were desired to yield obedience to Connecticut rule. May 20, 1671, he took the oath of allegiance to Rhode Is- land. In 1672 he bought, with five others, a tract of land of Awashuwett, chief sachem of Quohassett, in Narragansett. May 2, 1677, he and others having been imprisoned by Con- necticut authorities, the Rhode Island assem- bly sent a letter of protest threatening that if Connecticut "persisted in disturbing the in- habitants with illegal and forcible intrusion," they would be under the necessity of complain- ing to "His Sacred Majesty," the King of England. In 1678 he was again appointed constable, receiving his appointment this time from the Rhode Island authorities. In 1679 he signed with others a petition to the king praying that he "would put an end to these differences about the government thereof," etc. In 1687-88 he was a grand juror. In 1688 he and Daniel Vernon were appointed highway commissioners. In 1690 he was a conservator of the peace. In 1702 he was on the subscription list for erection of a Quaker meeting house on Mashapang. In 1705 he was elected deputy to the general court. He married, in December, 1661, Sarah Stanton, who died in 1708, daughter of Robert and Avis Stanton. Children: Henry (see for- ward) : Ann, married Samuel Fones : George, married (first) Mary - , (second) Alice Sherman, (third) Sarah Bliven; John, mar- ried Elizabeth Hall; Mary, married Edward Greene; Sarah, married William Hall; Mar- tha, married Benjamin Stanton ; married William Tanner.

(II) Henry (2), son of Henry (1) and Sarah (Stanton) Tibbits, died in Kingstown, Rhode Island, December 27, 1702. He was made a freeman of the colony of Rhode Is- land, 1696, and May 1, 1700, was fined twen- ty-five shillings for taking part in rescue of prisoner from a deputy sheriff. He married Rebecca - -, who died 1752. Children : Thomas, Henry, William (see forward), Re- becca, Avis and Dinah. His will was admin- istered by his widow Rebecca, whose own will was proved August 10, 1752. She named her

son William as executor. To her grandson Thomas, son of Thomas, deccased, she left "my mansion house and land where I dwell, housing, orchards, fencing, etc., with liberty for my two sons to pass and repass through land"; to her daughters, Avis Rice, Rebecca Green and Dinah Tibbits, the remainder of estate equally, and Dinah to live in house while single; to son Henry five shillings; to. son William twenty shillings, they both hav- ing had by deed. Inventory was £530. Is.

(III) William, son of Henry (2) and Re- becca Tibbits, was of Warwick, Rhode Island .. He married and had two sons, John and Wil- liam (2).

(IV) Jolın, eldest son of William Tibbits, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1737. He was a resident of Lansingburg, Rensselaer county, New York, subsequent to 1780, and later removed to Lisbon, St. Lawrence county, New York, where he died January 27, 1817. He married, January 7, 1760, Waite. Brown, born in Warwick, Rhode Island, Sep- tember 3, 1741, died in Lisbon, New York, March 10, 1809. They were the parents of ten children.

(V) George, eldest child of John and Waite- (Brown) Tibbits, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, January 14, 1763. His birth- place was the old Tibbits homestead farm on the western shores of Providence bay or river, which for a long time bore the name of "Tib- bits Point," now the city of Warwick. When he was five years of age his parents removed to the town of Cheshire, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on a farm of three hundred and fifty acres. John Tibbits purchased and located near the headwaters of the Hoosic river. Here the family remained until about 1780, when they removed to Lansingburgh, Rensselaer county, New York. George was now about seventeen years of age, and ambi- tious to make his own way in the world: In 1784 his opportunity to enter mercantile life came, through the kindness of Francis Atkin- son, importer, of New York, who furnished him credit to the extent of $1,000. This was his "first stepping stone to my future progress. in life." A location was secured in Lansing- burgh and thus the business house of Tibbits was started. According to advertisements and other authorities, the house dealt in dry goods, grain, whale oil, etc. From 1784 until 1787 he was alone in the business and was success- ful. In 1787 he admitted his brother Benja- min as a partner, under the firm name of G. & B. Tibbits. Benjamin died September II, 1802, and his place in the firm was taken by another brother, Elisha, the firm remaining so constituted until 1804, when George Tibbits

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retired. The business was removed from Lansingburgh to Troy in 1797, occupying the northwest corner of River and Congress streets, and Mr. Tibbits resided in a dwelling then situated at the northeast corner of the same streets. During his private business ca- reer, which ended in 1804, he gave himself en- tirely to its management and constant de- mands. He was a successful merchant, in- terested in many business undertakings, and acquired a large landed estate. He was a di- rector of the Rensselaer & Saratoga Insur- ance Company ; president of the Rensselaer County Agricultural Society ; director of the Troy Turnpike Railroad Company ; director of the Farmers' Bank (the first banking in- stitution in Troy) : in fact, was officially con- nected with the numerous activities that were then making Troy noted among the cities of the Empire State. After 1800 he began his distinguished public career that only termina- ted with his death. He was elected fire war- den of the village of Troy in 1798, serving also in 1801 and 1808; in 1800 he was a trus- tee of the village, and in 1808 chief engineer of the fire department. In 1800 he was elected a member of the house of assembly, and again in 1820. From 1803 to 1805 he was a mem- ber of the National House of Representatives, serving in the Eighth Congress from the Tenth Congressional District of New York. In 1815-16-17-18 he was a member of the Senate (New York state). He was a Federalist in politics, and in 1816 was the candidate of that party for lieutenant-governor of New York, on the ticket with Rufus King, the candidate for governor. Their Democratic opponents, Daniel D. Tompkins and John Taylor, were the successful candidates.

Mr. Tibbits was foremost in the effort to prevent bridges from being built that would interfere with Hudson river navigation, and, until the railroads changed traffic conditions so radically, no bridges were built. During his term as mayor of Troy he pushed to suc- cessful issue the plan for supplying the city with water from Piscawen creek. He was always an earnest advocate of the doctrine of protection, and it is believed that he was the first writer in the United States to publicly indorse and urge the passage of a tariff act for protective purposes. Under the signature of "Cato" his essays appeared in the Phila- delphia Inquirer. He was a delegate to the Harrisburg convention of 1827, and a mem- ber of the committee appointed by the con- vention to prepare a memorial to congress urging the passage by that body of protective measures. His arguments in favor of a tariff for protection were so strong and comprehen-

sive, that few points have ever been added to them since. In 1824 he was one of the com- missioners appointed under the act of April 12, 1824, to "examine into all matters relating to the economy, government and discipline" of the prisons of New York state. Their report, bearing date of January 15, 1825, was regard- ed as of the greatest value not only in New York, but in other states of the Union, while from England came the highest praise. Wil- liam Roscoe, the English historian, an earnest advocate of the abolition of slavery, wrote in complimentary terms of "the extraordinary and it may be said unexampled labor and at- tention the commissioners have bestowed in the examination of the state prisons." In 1825 the same three commissioners. George Tibbits, Stephen Allen and Samuel M. Hop- kins, were appointed as commissioners to build a new state prison. They were empow- ered to "purchase a site, procure necessary material, and to employ convicts from Auburn to erect a new prison." They selected and purchased a site at Mount Pleasant (Sing Sing), now Ossining, and on May 24, 1825, with one hundred convicts from Albany, be- gan the erection of that since famous prison. While this work was in progress the commis- sioners were required to again investigate abuses at Auburn prison, and their report formed the basis of important prison reforms, and in 1828 the legislature empowered them to erect a separate prison at Sing Sing for fe- male convicts. His connection with prison reform and management was a particularly valuable service Mr. Tibbits rendered his state.

His connection with the construction of the Erie canal is another imperishable monument to his memory. He was a warm friend of the measure from the first, and while a member of the state senate he drew up and caused to be presented to the legislature a system of finan- cing the enterprise. The plan so proposed by him was incorporated in the general law of the state, which was passed April 15, 1817, and to him belongs the sole credit of originat- ing the system under which funds were pro- cured for the prosecution of this great under- taking. Hon. Robert Troup, in a letter pub- lished in 1822, addressed to Brockholst Liv- ingston, one of the justices of the supreme court of the United States, in speaking of Mr. Tibbits' connection with the work, said: "He drew up a plan of finance, establishing a dis- tinct and permanent fund for the completion of both canals and pointed out various sources of revenue which was substantially the same with that afterward established by the legis- lature." Again in 1829 his wise counsel con-

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cerning canal funds resulted in additional prosperity to the state, particularly the Onon- · daga salt section.

In 1830 Mr. Tibbits was elected mayor of Troy and served through successive re-elec- tions for five years. In 1833 Hon. Henry Clay visited Troy, and it was Mayor Tibbits' pleasant duty to welcome officially the "great apostle of protection," whose views and his · own were the same on this vital question. He was a careful and conscientious official. His practical wisdom, his personal services and untiring energy, were devoted to the interests of Troy; the public water and fire service were greatly improved and will ever stand to the credit of his administration. In 1835 he rendered almost his last great public service to his city and section when he opposed with all his force and energy the attempt made to divert the canal route from Troy and the towns adjacent. In the discharge of his du- ties as legislator and public official he spoke seldom in public, and never unless he had a message to convey, but when he did speak he was listened to with attention. As a writer he was distinguished for great strength and force in argument. He was of an intensely religious nature, caring little for externals, but had within the faith that satisfies. He was for forty-four years, from 1805 till his death, a vestryman of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Troy. He died July 19, 1849, at the age of eighty-six years ; he was a great suf- ferer in his later years.

Mr. Tibbits married, March 9, 1789, at Lansingburgh, New York, Sarah Noyes, born at Charleston, South Carolina, January 14, 1767. (See Noyes). Children: 1. George Mortimer (see forward). 2. Caroline Eliza- beth, born 1800, died 1879: married, 1818, Jacob Lansing Lane. 3. Oliver Noyes, born 1805. died 1829.

(VI) George Mortimer, son of George and Sarah (Noyes) Tibbits, was born at Lansing- burgh, New York, December 5, 1796. While still an infant his parents removed to Troy. . and he was educated in the schools there un- til sent to Lenox, Massachusetts, where he was prepared for college by a Mr. Gleason. He graduated from Union College in 1817. and shortly afterwards went abroad for a year, spending much time in a walking tour · of Scotland. On his return to Troy he studied law for a time in the office of Hon. John P. Cushman, but finding the confinement of such a life injurious to his health, he was unable to continue his studies. After his marriage in 1824 he removed to Hoosac, New York, where his father owned land, to which he afterwards greatly added. They lived on what was

known as the Pfister farm, which had for- merly belonged to a Loyalist whose property was confiscated during the revolution, and there Mr. Tibbits built a brick dwelling, which was remodeled in 1860, and is now a free- stone mansion. He carly became interested in stock raising, and imported a celebrated breed of cattle known as the Teeswater Dur- ham, which was especially valuable for the dairy, and also, about 1830, a number of Sax- ony sheep, thus originating one of the largest flocks in that part of the country. He was always interested in wool growing and in the improvement of the fleece of sheep. Although living so much in the country, where he could gratify his taste for an outdoor life and his love of horseback riding, Mr. Tibbits and his family spent some months in each year in Troy at the home of his parents, which is now the property of the Day Home Association. He later built for himself a house on First street, which he occupied for the first time in 1849, and from then on spent more of his time in Troy. Though never a public man, Mr. Tibbits had a jealous regard for the good name of his city and strove earnestly for its welfare, being ever ready to aid in any under- taking which promised to increase its pros- perity and generously contributing to its works of benevolence. He was a director of the United National Bank, of the Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad, and a trustee of the Troy Orphan Asylum. He was a strong ad- vocate of a protective tariff, the development of the resources of the country and the en- couragement of home manufactures. In poli- tics he was a Whig and then a Free Soiler, and from its beginning a member of the Re- publican party. When the civil war broke out, his enthusiasm for the cause of the Union knew no pause, and he supported the govern- ment in its efforts to suppress rebellion with his means and with his influence. He aided his son, William B. Tibbits, in every way in his power. In 1866 Mr. Tibbits, with his wife and a family party, made a second trip to Europe, where they traveled leisurely through Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and also visited Egypt and the Holy Land. He was a man of cultured taste, fond of books and of beautiful things, and thor- oughly enjoyed the opportunities which life in the old world affords. Mr. Tibbits was a sincere, earnest Christian, pure and upright in character, and industrious and scrupulous in his way of living. He joined the Episcopal church as a young man, and was regular and devout in public worship, while maintaining in his own household the order of family pray- er. He was for many years a vestryman of

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St. John's Church, Troy. He died July 19, 1878, at his home in Troy.

Mr. Tibbits married, May 30, 1824, Sarah, daughter of John Rutger Bleecker, of Albany, New York, and his wife Eliza Atwood. John R. Bleecker was the son of Rutger and Cath- erine (Elmerdorf) Bleecker. Rutger Bleeck- er owned practically the whole of what is now the city of Utica ; he was the son of John Rut- ger and Elizabeth (Staats) Bleecker, and grandson of Rutger and Catalina (Schuyler) Bleecker. The ancestor of the Bleecker fam- ily was Jan Jansen Bleecker, who came to Al- bany, New York, in 1658. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Tibbits: 1. George, born April 12, 1825, died, unmarried, March 4, 1875; re- ceived degree of civil engineer from Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute, class of 1841 ; Bachelor of Arts from Union College, class of 1845; Master of Arts from Union College in 1848; member of Rensselaer county bar ; al- derman of Troy, 1858-61; a war Democrat, 1861-65. 2. John Bleecker (see forward). 3. Blandina Dudley, born 1829, died 1833. 4. Eliza Atwood, born 1831, died April 6, 1870; married, May 16, 1853, John Hobart Warren, of Troy. 5. Edward Dudley, born and died in 1833. 6. Charles Edward Dudley ( see for- ward). 7. William Badger (see forward). 8. Caroline, born 1846, died 1847. 9. Sarah Noyes, born November 8, 1847, died May 30, 1883; married, January 15, 1878, John Woo] Griswold, born August 29, 1850, died January 2, 1902; children : Sarah Bleecker, born April 15, 1879, married, October 2, 1901, Sanborn Gove Tenney, of Williamstown; Elizabeth Hart, born June 17, 1880, married, October 14, 1903, Chester Griswold, of New York; John Augustus, born September 23, 1882, married, October 20, 1909, Hélène Robson.

(VII) John Bleecker, second son of George Mortimer and Sarah (Bleecker) Tibbits, was born January 18, 1827, died July 8, 1898. He was educated at Bartlett School, College Hill, Poughkeepsie Preparatory School, and Union College, graduating therefrom with the de- gree of Master of Arts in 1846. After his graduation he served as tutor for two years in Union College, instructor in classics. He then engaged in the grain business in the city of Troy with Pliny Moore, continuing the same for five or six years, after which he assisted his father in the management of the estate, particularly at Hoosac and Schaghticoke, his father having large land holdings in both places. He resided in Troy during the winter months and in Hoosac during the remainder of the year. Subsequently he began studying for the ministry, and was ordained October 18, 1866, by Bishop Horatio Potter, of New

York, to the deaconate, and began building uIp- All Saints Episcopal Church at Hoosac, which church was built by his father and mother. The nave was built in 1864, the chancel and tower completed in 1872, and the chimes were. made at Florence, Italy; Mr. and Mrs. Tib- bits also put in the organ. John B. Tibbits served as perpetual deacon from choice, and did not take the order of priesthood. He. worked in the parish and vicinity for years, and was regarded as a saint by the surround- ing country folk. He also established several missions around Hoosac, and during this peri- od resided at Hoosac all the time. From 1871 . to 1879 he resided at Bennington, Vermont,. still continuing his work at Hoosac, and after the latter date he returned to Hoosac and lived in the old Tibbits country seat. In the. spring of 1891 he took up his residence in the- rectory at Hoosac with his son, Rev. Edward Dudley Tibbits, remaining till his death.

Mr. Tibbits was much interested in electric- apparatus and dynamos. He was an expert electrician and inventor, inventing and devel- oping the Arago disc dynamo, on which he- secured patents ; in the great electro exhibi -- tions in Paris, France, 1882, he won the gold medal, the first prize, for his electric inven- tions. His dynamos and especially electric- lighting were acknowledged to be superior to. anything shown. So prominent was the siic- cess of the light that Sir Sylvester Armstrong and other prominent electricians formed a syndicate (recognizing Tibbits' inventions as being the best) for the purpose of purchasing his patents and opening up the manufacturing of the inventions. They offered, through his agent, Robert Mackie, the sum of £200,000 sterling for the patent, but he refused the offer,. not wishing to turn over his patents to a trust, desiring to turn them over to municipal gov- ernment ownership for the production of light and power for the use of the public at a small cost. He was also the inventor of an incan- descent and arc light. Thus his patents be- came common, and were adopted and used generally. He was the first to use tungsten ( a metallic substance) as the basis for a metal- lic filament for incandescent lighting, now in common nse. He had an experimental station at Hoosac. He also discovered the manufac- ture of white lead by electrolysis. He mar- ried (first ), January 8, 1850, Amelia Abby,. born January 23, 1828, died February 18, 1869, daughter of Le Grand and Esther ( Bouton) Cannon. Children : 1. George Mor- timer, born April 30, 1851, died February I, 1882. 2. Le Grand Cannon (see forward ). 3. Edward Dudley ( see forward ). He married (second ), June 1, 1871, Mrs. Ada West Conk-

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ling, daughter of John and Emma West, of Bennington, Vermont, and widow of Daniel Hubbell Conkling, of Bennington.

(VII) Charles Edward Dudley, fourth son of George Mortimer and Sarah ( Bleecker) Tibbits, was born at Hoosac, New York, At- gust 18. 1834. He was educated under pri- vate tuition at Troy and Hoosac, was for a time a student at the boarding school of Mr. Bartlett, at Poughkeepsie, and later took a ·course at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. In 1851 he made his first visit to Europe, crossing the ocean in a sailing vessel. He saw at that time the first International Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. This was the first of many voyages, as since then he has traveled extensively. He has been largely occupied with the care of his own and of family property. He was president of the Walter A. Wood Mowing & Reaping Ma- chine Company, of Hoosick Falls, from 1892 to 1895, when he resigned, and for a number of years was a director of the company; he is also a director of the United National Bank of Troy. He is a trustee of the Troy Orphan Asylum, and was chairman of the committee which selected the plans for the asylum build- ing on Spring avenue. He was president in 1879 of the Young Men's Association, and is a trustee of the Troy Public Library, which now carries on the work formerly done by that association. As trustee of the library he chose the design from which the Memorial Library Building on Second street was erected by Mrs. Mary E. Hart. Mr. Tibbits was chosen chairman of the committee of one hun- dred citizens who were charged with making arrangements for the public celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the naming of the city of Troy, in January, 1889.

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Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I, Part 66

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