Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume II, Part 63

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866- ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 716

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on the land which his father had given him when he abandoned the study of medicine ; by a turn of fortune David McConnell sud- denly lost the greater part of his property, in- cluding what he had not yet deeded to his son. Discouraged, John went west to seek his for- tune, taking as his bride Maria Louisa Edes,. of Cambridge, Mass. They went first to Pe- oria, Illinois, and later to Chicago. Five chil- dren were born to them: Elizabeth Stone, died July 5, 1877; Luther W., a well known business man of Chicago, died January 14, 1907 ; Helen Agnes, died November 4, 1895 ; Joseph Bradley, a young poet of some prom- ise, died August 4, 1871). Mary (4), the only living child of this union, the only one to. carry on the blood, married, in Chicago, Au- gust 6, 1878, Anthony Houghtaling Blaisdell.

On her mother's side she was a member of the Edes family, of Puritan blood, descending from an Edes who came over in the "May- flower." Later one of the family, then editor of a newspaper, held the celebrated "tea party" at his house ; some of the chairs in which the patriots sat are now in the possession of the Washington branch of the Edes family.

The maternal grandmother of Mary McC. Blaisdell descended from Captain George Barbour, born in England, in 1615, died in America, in 1685. He came to this country in 1635, was deputy to the general court, a captain in King Philip's war, and was one of the founders of Medfield and the puritan leader of Dedham, Massachusetts. He mar- ried, and had issue : 2. John, son of George. 3. George (2), son of John. 4. John (2), son of George (2). 5. Hannah, daughter of John (2), married a Loker. 6. Abigail, daughter of Hannah (Barbour) Loker, married Jona- than Smith. 7. Elizabeth, daughter of Abigail Barbour (Loker) Smith, married Amos Edes. 8. Maria Louisa, daughter of Elizabeth Bar- bour (Smith) Edes, married John McConnell. 9. Mary, daughter of Maria Louisa (Edes) McConnell, married Anthony Houghtaling Blaisdell, August 6, 1878. 10. Robert Van Bergen, son of Anthony H. and Mary (Mc- Connell) Blaisdell, born July 4, 1879, mar- ried, October 19. 1907, Marguerite Virginia Briggs. II. Anthony Van Bergen, son of Robert Van Bergen and Marguerite V. (Briggs) Blaisdell, born March IO, 1908.

The progenitor of the Brass fam- BRASS ily of Albany, New York. was Charles W. Brass, born in Brem- en, Germany. He came to the United States at an early age and was connected with a prosperous mercantile business in New York City. His residence was in Brooklyn, New

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York, where he died April 19, 1863, aged 45 years. He was buried in Bunton Thor cemetery in his native city, Bremen. He mar- ried Anna, daughter of Dr. John W. and granddaughter of Dr. William Bay, promi- nent physicians of Albany, New York. From 1863 to 1869 Mrs. Anna (Bay) Brass resided in Munich, Germany, removing in the latter year to Binghamton, New York, where her son was educated. She died April 20, 1892, aged sixty-two years.

Mrs. Anna (Bass) Brass, was of distin- guished ancestry on maternal as well as pa- ternal lines, being descended from Governor Robert Treat, of Connecticut, and from Dr. Samuel Stringer (of further mention), and through his wife from the Van Der Heydens so closely connected with Albany county and the early settlement of Troy. Dr. Samuel Stringer was a native of Maryland and was educated in Virginia where a medical school had just been started, and subsequently in Philadelphia. He served in the medical de- partment of the British army in 1755, receiv- ing his appointment from Governor Shirley. He accompanied General Abercrombie in 1758 and was present when Lord Howe fell in ad- vancing to the attack on Ticonderoga. He served with the British army until the war closed, and then settled in Albany, New York, where he married and remained in the practice of his profession until the outbreak of the revolution. He received from congress the appointment of director-general of hospitals in the northern department. In his capacity of medical director he accompanied the army for the invasion of Canada. He was the friend and family physician of General Schuyler, and suffered ill favor with him. He was re- moved from his position, which called forth an angry remonstrance from the general to congress. In 1777 he returned to Albany where his after life was spent, and died there July II, 1817, in his eighty-third year. He was a unique figure as he always adhered to the dress of the "olden time," cocked hat, knee breeches and shoes with large buckles. He was a physician and surgeon of high dis- tinction and of high local repute as a citizen. He was a charter member of Masters Lodge, No. 5. Free and Accepted Masons, Albany, and worshipful master 1768 to 1781, excepting years 72-75 and 76. In 1776 he purchased the land upon which the Masonic Temple now stands and later deeded it to his lodge. He married Rachel Van Der Heyden, of the early Dutch family of that name. On the paternal side Anna Bay was of Huguenot ancestry. The forbears fled from persecution in France to Holland, thence going to Ireland. They

later emigrated to the American colonies, set- tling in Maryland in 1720.

(The Bay Line).

John Bay, son of the emigrant, was born in Maryland in 1743. He was edu- cated for the law, graduated from Princeton College, and settled in Albany, New York, where he practiced his pro- fession as early as 1785, when his name ap- pears on a list of lawyers present at a "Court of Common Pleas held for the city and county of Albany at the City Hall in Albany, Tues- day, January 10, 1785." He was in Albany much earlier than that date, as he had a son born there in 1773, and during the revolu- tion was a member of the committee of public safety there. In 1779-80, he was a member of assembly from Albany county. He was a member of assembly from Columbia county in 1788-94-95, and presidential elector in 1792. He was an able and accomplished law- yer, a man of courteous and cultivated man- ners, while his home was an abode of a most generous and open-hearted hospitality. He died in Claverack, Columbia county, New York, in 1818. Claverack had been his home since 1785, and his legal place of bus- iness since 1786 when he was admitted to the Columbia county bar. He married Ann Wil- liams, who died in Albany in 1845, at the age of nearly one hundred and two years, and had issue.

(II) Dr. William, son of John Bay, was born in Albany, New York, October 14, 1773, died September 7, 1865, just as he was round- ing out his ninety-second year. While yet a lad his father removed to Claverack where he obtained his early and preparatory educa- tion. He attended Princeton College (his father's alma mater), where he remained un- til his senior year, when ill health compelled him to relinquish his college course and forego his degree. In 1794, having decided upon the profession of medicine, he became a private student of Dr. William Pitt Smith, an eminent physician and health officer of New York, who died in the discharge of his duty in 1795. During the four months that elapsed before the appointment of Dr. Smith's successor, young Dr. Bay filled the position. On being relieved he placed himself under the preceptor- ship of Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchell, with whom he remained until his graduation in May, 1797. He at once began practice at his home in Claverack where he gained great skill and reputation. In 1810 he removed to Albany where he associated with Dr. McClel- land, who died a few months later leaving Dr. Bay in a field of large practice. He be- came a leading practitioner and was long

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known as a skillful and experienced physician, a sympathizing friend, a safe counsellor and a faithful Christian gentleman. Upon the completion of his half century of practice the members of the profession of Albany gave him a public dinner in honor of the occasion and as a token of appreciation. Only two physicians of the city were absent from the dinner which was given in Congress Hall, March 30, 1847. He continued in active prac- tice thirteen years after the dinner, making a period of sixty-three years in all. In 1797 he married Catherine, a sister of Judge Wil- liam W. Van Ness, of Columbia county, and a descendant of Cornelis Hendrickse Van Ness, the founder. They lived to celebrate not only their golden wedding, but eighteen years longer. She died January 24, 1864. For sixty-five years they had been members of the same church and they lived lives of perfect devotion. "Never shall I forget the scene as the aged husband, with tears in his eyes and a sad oppression upon his heart, held the hand of his wife as her spirit was struggling to be re- leased from its earthly tabernacle and soar away to the skies. But how short was their separation. * *

* In a little more than a year and a half he follows her to the realms of the blessed." (From Dr. B. P. Statts' address before the Albany County Medical Society). Dr. Statts said further, "During a residence of forty-five years in this city I have never heard a word of reproach against him, but on the contrary have heard hundreds bless him for his kindness and good treatment towards them. May we all live as he lived and die as he died."

(III) Dr. John W., son of Dr. William and Catherine (Van Ness) Bay, was born in Clav- erack, Columbia county, New York, November 26, 1799. He entered Princeton College, and later was graduated in medicine from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, in 1823. He located in Albany, where he rose to eminence in his profession. He practiced there about twenty-five years. He filled the office of censor for two years and was elected president of the Albany Coun- ty Medical Society in 1837. In 1849 he aban- doned his profession and spent several years in California. He died in 1877. He married, June 2, 1823, Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Richard S. Treat (see Treat VI), of Albany, and a granddaughter of Dr. Samuel Stringer, of Albany, previously recorded.

(IV) Anna, daughter of Dr. John W. and Elizabeth (Treat) Bay, was born October 13, 1829. She married (first) September 16, 1852 Charles W. Brass, who died April 19, 1863.

She married (second) August 21, 1865, Louis Stahl. They settled in Binghamton, New York, and later removed to Seward, Nebras- ka. Children of first marriage: An infant, born and died November 25, 1853; Rev. Wil- liam Charles John, born August 22, 1857; Emily C. E., born November 26, 1858; Rich- ard William (q. v.). Children of second mar- riage: George Louis Stahl, born June 14, 1866; died July 1, 1890; Louis Stahl, July 12, 1869, died August 16, 1869.

(The Treat Line).

The Treat family was founded in

Connecticut colony by Richard Treat, who was born in 1584 in Pitminster, Som- erset, England, baptized in the Pitminster church, August 28, 1584. He was of Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1669. and was living October II of that year. The in- ventory of his estate was presented to court March 3, 1670. He married, April 27, 1615, in Pitminster, England, Alice, baptized May 10, 1594, in Pitminster, daughter of Hugh Gaylard. There is no record of the death of Alice Gaylard, but she survived her husband. Richard Treat was the son of Robert, and grandson of Richard and Joanna Trott, all of Pitminster. The name was spelled various ways in early New England records-Trott, Trotte, Trat, Treat, Treate and in other in- genious ways. Richard Treat attained social prominence in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he was known as "Mr." He is of rec- ord there 1631. He was deputy in 1644, and annually re-elected fourteen successive years thereafter. He was elected assistant, or mag- istrate, eight terms, 1657 to 1665, and was one of the patentees to whom King Charles II granted a charter April 23, 1662, for the colony of Connecticut. He was a member of Governor Winthrop's council, 1663-64. He was a man of wealth for the times, and owned a great deal of land. He and his wife Alice had ten children, all born and baptized in Pitminster, England.

(II) Governor Robert Treat, son of Rich- ard and Alice (Gaylard) Treat, was born in Pitminster, Somerset, England, where he was baptized February 25, 1624-25; died in Mil- ford, Connecticut, July 12, 1710. He removed from Wethersfield to Milford, Connecticut, in 1639. In 1653 he was deputy and lieutenant. In 1665 he was again deputy and cap- tain of the train band. In 1666 hie went to Newark, New Jersey. There he was town clerk and for five terms, 1667- 1672, was elected to the colonial legisla- ture. In 1672 he returned to Connecticut, where he was placed second in command of the forces of New Haven county and com-

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missioned major. He led an unusually active and useful life ever after, both in military and civil offices. He was one of the foremost men of his day and grappled with hard and trying conditions successfully. His public life may be thus summed up: Deputy from Mil- ford six years ; from Newark to the New Jer- sey assembly five years ; magistrate in the New Haven general court and assistant in that of Connecticut for eight years; to these twenty years in legislative halls must be added seven- teen years in the chair of deputy governor, and thirteen in that of governor, not including the two years under Governor Andros. His incumbency in the two offices for over thirty years is not equalled in the history of Connec- ticut or any other state where the office was elective. He was a man of wealth, with which he was very liberal. He married (first) Jane Tapp; (second) Mrs. Elizabeth (Hollings- worth) Bryan, being her third husband. He had by his first wife eight children.

(III) Captain Joseph Treat, son of Gover- nor Robert and Jane (Tapp) Treat, was born in Milford, Connecticut, September 17. 1662, died August 9, 1721. He was a noted Indian fighter. He was sergeant, ensign, lieutenant and captain of the Milford company ; deputy, justice of the peace, commissioner and a mem- ber of the church. He married (first) Fran- ces, daughter of Richard and Mary (Pantry) Bryan, and granddaughter of Alexander Bryan, the emigrant. He married, (second) (his father, Governor Treat, performing the ceremony) Mrs. Elizabeth Merwin. He had seven children by his first, and five by his second marriage.

(IV) Rev. Richard Treat, son of Captain Joseph and his second wife, Elizabeth ( Mer- win) Treat, was born in Milford, Connecti- cut, September 28, 1708, died in Abington, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1778. He was graduated from Yale, class of 1725, and re- ceived from his alma mater, in 1776, the de- gree of S.T.D. He was admitted to full com- munion in the Milford church in 1730. He preached three years in New Jersey and Penn- sylvania, and on December 30, 1731, was or- dained over the church at Abington, Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Philadelphia Presbytery, 1732- 42. He was a very pious man and a peace- maker, dying full of good works. He was one of the trustees of the College of New Jersey (Princeton) from its charter organiza- tion in 1748 until his death. He married (first) Mary Thomas ; (second) Mrs. Rebecca Leech, widow of Isaac Leech. There were five children of the first marriage.

(V) Rev. Joseph Treat, eldest son of Rev.

Richard and Mary (Thomas) Treat, was bap- tized in Abington, Pennsylvania, April 21, 1734, died 1797. He was graduated from Princeton in 1757. From 1758-60 he was tutor in the college. He was licensed to preach by the New Brunswick, New Jersey, Presbytery in 1760, and he supplied the pulpit in New Brunswick during 1760-62. In Oc- tober, 1762, he was called to the First Pres- byterian Church of New York City as assis- tant to the pastor, Rev. Dr. Bostwick. Upon the death of the latter, October, 1763, he suc- ceeded to the pastorate, which he continued until the summer of 1784. He was an ardent patriot and held a commission as chaplain in Colonel Malcom's regiment, issued May 8, 1776. The New York convention, August 26, 1776, resolved "That Mr. Treat continue his services as chaplain to Colonel Lasher's and Colonel Malcom's battalions in Brigadier- General Scott's brigade ; his pay to commence from the time of calling said brigade into service." After the war he preached and or- ganized new churches in New Jersey. He was a popular and successful minister and preacher. He married Mrs. Elizabeth (Bry- ant) Woodruff, buried in Albany, New York, where her gravestone reads, "Mother of Rich- ard Treat," and her age is given as seventy- six years. They had four children.

(VI) Judge Richard Samuel Treat, son of Rev. Joseph and Elizabeth (Bryant-Wood- ruff) Treat, was born in New York City, Au- gust 18, 1769, died in Albany, New York, May 22, 1837. He was a prominent and in- fluential citizen of Albany. March 13, 1826, he was appointed judge of the court of com- mon pleas by the governor of New York. The same year he was elected to represent his ward (third) in the Albany city council. He married, in 1794, Gertrude Stringer, who died February 15, 1839, in her sixty-eighth year. She was the daughter of Dr. Samuel and Rachel (Van Der Heyden) Stringer, before mentioned. Children of Judge Rich- ard S. and Gertrude (Stringer) Treat: I. Elizabeth, born January 30, 1795, died March 10, 1837; married, June 2, 1823, Dr. John W. Bay (see Bay III). 2. Samuel Stringer (I), died in infancy. 3. Samuel Stringer (2), born April 27, 1798, died February 29, 1832, unmarried ; graduated from College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, New York City, M.D., class of 1822 ; practiced in Albany in associa- tion with Dr. J. Eights ; died of consumption, leaving a large estate inherited from his grandfather, Dr. Samuel Stringer. 4. Rachel Stringer, died unmarried. 5. Richard Joseph, born May 30, 1802, died May 5, 1839. He was a merchant of Albany.

HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS

(VII) Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Rich- ard S. and Gertrude (Stringer) Treat, mar- ried Dr. John W. Bay.

.(VIII) Anna, daughter of Dr. John W. and Elizabeth (Treat) Bay, married Charles W. Brass and had four children.

(IX) Richard William, son of Charles W. and Anna (Bay) Brass, was born in Brook- lyn, New York, January 28, 1861. He is of the second generation of his name in the Uni- ted States, fifth in the line of Bay and Stringer and ninth in the line of Treat. His mother lived in Munich, Germany, for a few years after his birth, and later came to Bingham- ton, New York, where he received his educa- tion and began the study of law under M. J. Keeler. He removed to Albany, New York, where he completed his legal studies under Judge A. B. Vorhees, and was admitted to the New York bar at the fall term held in Saratoga in 1883. May 1, 1884, he formed a law partnership with Judge Vorhees (his old preceptor), which continued until 1888. Since that time he has practiced alone, oc- cupying offices in connection with E. W. Rankin. He has a satisfactory practice, is trustee of estates and administers important trusts. He is also director and was formerly for fifteen years treasurer of the Brandow Printing Company. He is a member of New York State and Albany County Bar associa- tions ; the Albany Camera and Aurania clubs; the Albany Burgess Corps, Old Guard Com- pany B, Washington Continentals, Albany In- stitute and Historical and Art Society, Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution ; Masters Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons, and Albany Chamber of Commerce. He is a Republican in politics, and belongs to the Unconditional and Capital City Repub- lican clubs. He was elected in the fall of 1907 justice of the city court, of Albany, New York, for the term of six years beginning January I, 1908, and is highly regarded in the city, where he is well known. He mar- ried, June 2, 1886, Harriet C., daughter of Jacob Neville, a merchant of Middleburg, Schoharie county, New York. Children: Harold Neville ; Gertrude Stringer, deceased ; Janet Elizabeth ; Karl Van Ness.

YOST The history of the Yost family dates back prior to the revolution- ary period and continues down to the present day. The first of the family of whom there is record is Peter Yost, who was a tanner and an early settler on lands secured from Sir William Johnson in (then) Albany, now Fulton county, New York. He married and Irad issue. Peter Yost (2) came

to Fulton county in 1781. He was one of the early millers of the county, and owned a grist mill. He was also a large land owner of the county and a man of influence. He was a member of St. Patrick's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which Sir William Johnson was the first worshipful master, in 1766. In 1820 Peter Yost's son Nicholas held the same high office in the same lodge. Peter Yost (2) was born in 1740 and died in 1811. He married and had four sons: John J., Nicholas, Jacob (see forward), and William.

(III) Jacob, son of Peter Yost (2), was born in 1775 and died in 1857. He inherited lands from his father and was a prosperous farmer and tavern keeper. He was considered one of the solid, substantial men of his day. He married Catherine Buzzard, born in 1777, died April 14, 1855. Children : John B., born April 22, 1800, of whom further; Peter, born 1803, died March 1, 1850; Laney ; Margaret ; Jane; Hannah; Eliza, born 1821, died April 13, 1850.

(IV) John B., son of Jacob and Catherine (Buzzard) Yost, was born April 22, 1800, died August 2, 1872. He attended the com- mon schools, and was reared to the occupation of a farmer, the business which he followed all his active years. He became a large land owner and a man of prominence. He was a lifelong Democrat and a member of the Epis- copal church. He married Mary Ann Sny- der, born 1805, died October 9, 1863. Chil- dren: 1. Catherine. 2. Charles. 3. Peter. 4. Henry S., born June 14, 1830, died September 24, 1899. 5. Edward; was foully murdered March 6, 1875 ; he was found dead in his room in the bank building of David Hays in Johns- town, with two bullet wounds through his head. His gold watch and diamond pin were gone, together with a large sum of money. A former partner, Frederick Smith, was charged with the murder, tried, and acquitted. Notwithstanding rewards aggregating $6,000 were offered, the murder of Edward Yost remains an unsolved mystery. 6. John Jay. of whom further. 7. Mary, married David Hayes ; three children. 8. Cornelia, married Charles Stuart. 9. Abram, married Elizabeth Whit- row. 10. Rhoda, born June 30, 1849, died November 12, 1851.

(V) John Jay, son of John B. and Eliza- beth (Snyder) Yost, was born in Johnstown, Fulton county, New York, 1839. He was educated in the public schools and Johnstown Academy. For two years after leaving school he was in the employ of Barney Groff. 1le then went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was a wholesale glove dealer, later until 1002 a dealer in deer skins. He was very suc-

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HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS

cessful in his business affairs, and in 1902 retired. He resided in Johnstown, New York. He was a member of St. Patrick's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Johnstown, and the Fulton County Historical Society, and was a communicant of the Episcopal church. He adhered to Democratic principles, the po- litical faith of his ancestors. He died Octo- ber 31, 1910, after a lingering illness.

This French Canadian-Amer-

NADEAU ican family was originally seated in France, from whence came Pierre and Jean Nadeau. They settled in Canada at a very early date and formed a family. One of these brothers was the great-great-great-grandfather of Charles Ma- gloire Nadeau, of Cohoes, New York. Of the three generations here traced the first two remained in Canada. With the third genera- tion settlement in the United States began. (I) Alexis Alexander Nadeau was born at Rougemont, province of Quebec, Canada, in 1790, died in St. Johns, June 8, 1883, aged ninety-three years. He was a captain in the Canadian militia. His wife was Céleste Derome, born in Canada.

(II) Moses, son of Alexis Alexander and Céleste (Derome) Nadeau, was born in prov- ince of Quebec, Canada, July 12, 1825, died August 10, 1855, at Montreal, Canada. He was a carpenter and builder. He married Salome Durocher, born in Quebec, Canada, August 9, 1828, died in Cohoes, New York, April 11, 1883, daughter of Joseph Durocher, born at L'Acadie, province of Quebec, in 1800, died at Cohoes, January 17, 1876, and his wife, Louise Granger, born at L'Acadie, province of Quebec, April 13, 1801, died in Cohoes, January 1, 1887.

(III) Charles Magloire, son of Moses and Salome (Durocher) Nadeau, was born at St. Johns, province of Quebec, Canada, in 1851. He was not quite five years of age when his father died, and in 1866 his mother and her family came to the United States, settling at Cohoes, New York, their objective point before starting. Charles M. was then fifteen. He had received the benefits of good schools in Canada, where after leaving the parochial instructors he attended St. Hya- cinth College, a branch of which was located at St. Johns. At the age of fifteen he entered a dry goods store, where he was employed as clerk for a year previous to coming to the United States. In Cohoes he continued the same employment in the dry goods store of Rodney Wilcox, at Cohoes, where he re- mained sixteen years. After leaving the em- ploy of Mr. Wilcox he engaged in business

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Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume II, Part 63

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866- ed Publication date: 1911 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 716

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866- ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 716