Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume IV, Part 74

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 660

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(III) Jacob, son of Abraham Janse and Maritje (Van Densen) Van Alstyne, was born at Kinderhook, New York, September 8. 1689. He was buried November 4. 1730. He married, October 10, 1722, Pietertje Van Iveren (alias of Myndertse ), born August 22, 1703. daughter of Myndert and Saartje (Bratt) Van Iveren. Children: 1. Jannetje, born November 22, 1723. 2. Reynier, born April 4. 1725, see forward. 3. Sara, born June 4. 1727. 4. Maria, born July 27, 1729.

(IV) Reynier or ( Reinier), son of Jacob and Pietertje (Van Iveren) Van Alstyne, was born at Kinderhook, New York. . April 4, 1725. He settled near Blooming Grove, town of North Greenbush, Rensselaer county, which he bought from the Rensselaers in 1794. He married. November 5, 1748, Cornelia Van den Bergh, born May 24. 1724, daughter of Mat- thias and Cathalyna (Van Deusen ) Van den Bergh. Children: 1. Jacob, born May 28, 1750. 2. Catalyntje, born March 17, 1751. 3. Matthew, born June 3, 1753. see forward. 4. Pietertje, born August 31, 1760.

(V) Mathys (Matthew), son of Reynier

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( Reinier) and Cornelia (Van den Bergh) V'an Alstyne, was born June 3, 1753. Served in the revolution as a member of Tryon county, first regiment, militia (Land Bounty Rights ). He married, March 31, 1782, Rachel De Forest, born March 23, 1764. daughter of Marten and Tanncke (Winne) De Forest, a descendant of the early De Forest family of Harlem and New Amster- dam. Matthew Van Alstyne located in the town of North Greenbush, Rensselaer county, on the homestead farm purchased in 1794. Children: 1. Marten, see forward. 2. Cor- nelia, born February 3, 1788. 3. Reinier, had the old farm. 4. Peter, lived a mile north. He also had three other daughters.

(V1) Marten, son of Matthew and Rachel ( De Forest) Van Alstyne, was born July 19, 1784, died March 23, 1849. He resided in the village of Bath, in North Greenbush, Rensselaer county, New York, where he owned a farm. He also had a scow ferry across the Hudson which he operated in con- nection with Jeremiah Clark. He married and left three children, Matthew M., Eliza J., married A. T. Lansing, and Edward M. Mar- ten, the father, enlisted in the war of 1812, but his company was not called into active service.

(VII) Matthew (2), son of Marten Van Alstyne, was born in Bath, Rensselaer county, New York, in 1810. He married and had issue, including a son Reinier.

(VIII) Reinier (2), son of Matthew (2) Van Alstyne, was born ahout 1840. He lived in the village of Bath, Rensselaer county, New York, where he was engaged in business. He married Alice Catherine, daughter of Edwin and Catherine ( Whitbeck ) Brownall. Child, Matthew, of further mention.

(IX) Matthew (3), son of Reinier (2) and Alice Catherine (Brownall ) Van Alstyne, was born at Bath-on-the-Hudson (Rensselaer ), New York, October 9. 1870. He was edu- cated at Troy Academy, finishing bis studies at Albany high school. He at once entered upon an active business, that has continued without interruption, with the Albany Belting & Supply Company. He entered the employ of that company in a minor position : served well through various promotions until 1910, when he was elected president of the com- pany. He is an energetic, capable man of business and has fairly earned the important position he occupies. IJe is an attendant of the First Dutch Reformed Church of Albany, and in political preference a Democrat. His clubs are the Fort Orange and Albany County. He married, at Albany, Adalain Yerks, born in that city, January 1, 1874, daughter of

George Wilbur and Adalain ( Benjamin) Yerks, of Albany. George W. Yerks was born at Unionville, Westchester county, New York, February 4. 1843, died at Albany, Au- gust 9, 1903 : son of William 11. and Mary A. ( Clark ) Yerks. Mary A. was a daughter of Amos and (Van Warts ) Clark. Through both Clark and Van Warts lines she was of splendid revolutionary stock. George W. Yerks was educated at Claverack Academy and Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. After graduation he entered the employ of the United States government. lle came to Al- bany and established in the fancy grocery business on Broadway, under the firm name of Benjamin & Yerks, and in 1877 became sole proprietor. In 1878 he admitted a partner under the firm name of George W. Yerks & Company. He held offices of honor and trust in the city : was trustee of the Madison Ave- nue Reformed Church and a member of the Fort Orange Club. He died August 9. 1902, expiring as he was leaving the Fort Orange Club. He married, in 1868, Adalain (or Ade- line), daughter of George W. Benjamin. Adalain Yerks was educated at Albany Fe- male Academy and is a member of the Albany Country Club and the Sesame Reading Club. Child of Matthew and Adalain (Yerks) Van Alstyne: Wilbur Yerks, born in Albany. De- cember 14, 1904.

The first record of the BIRDSALL Birdsalls in America is of Nathan Birdsall, who in 1657 lived near the north end of East Hamp- ton, Long Island. In 1666 he purchased five acres of land at Matinecock. Long Island, of Mark Meggs, and in 1667-68 made further purchases of the Indians. In 1678, in com- pany with Captain John Underhill. Matthew Pryor, James Cook and John Peaks, he formed the settlement at Killingworth. Oys- ter Bay, Long Island. In 1679 he purchased a tract at Jerusalem (Little Britain), and in 1679 land at Jerusalem called Birdsall's Swamp. He died 1696. He married. between 1640 and 1650. Temperance Baldwin at New Haven, Connecticut, daughter of Richard Baldwin and granddaughter of Sylvester Baldwin, who died in 1638 while coming to America with his wife, Sarah (Ryan) Bald- win. and his family. From Oyster Bay the family spread to other parts of New York state. being prominent in Westchester, Orange and Yates counties. The Steuben county branch settled at the village of Hammonds- port at the head of Lake Keuka in the town of Urbana, where William Birdsall, grand- father of Rev. Paul Birdsall, of Albany, died,

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aged forty years. He was twice married, hav- ing issue by both wives. His second wife was Maria Theresa Trotwood. Children by sec- ond wife: John, Elias, of further mention, Hugh, Norman and another.

(II) Rev. Elias Birdsall, son of William and Maria Theresa (Trotwood) Birdsall, was born at Hammondsport, New York, February 21, 1830, died November 4, 1890. He was early called to the ministry. for which he prepared at Nashotah School of Divinity in

Wisconsin, where he was graduated Bachelor of Divinity in 1857. In 1889 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Uphold, of Indiana, in the same year. He began his ministerial career at Elkhart and Mishawaka, Indiana, and in 1858 was or- dained to the priesthood of the Protestant Episcopal church by Bishop Uphold. His first call was from St. Paul's, Evansville, Indiana, where he remained from 1861 to 1865. Dur- ing this period he was sent as a delegate to the general convocation of his church, then meeting in New York. In 1865 he accepted a call from St. Athanasius' Church at Los Angeles, being the first settled rector in south- ern California. He later became assistant to Dr. Wyatt at Trinity Episcopal Church, San Francisco, from whence he accepted a call to St. John's Church at Stockton, California, where he served as rector three different terms, leaving on account of ill health each time, and accepting two recalls. During this period he again served as assistant to Dr. Wyatt, president of the standing committee of the diocese of California, then returning to St. John's. In 1880 he was called back to St. Athanasius' at Los Angeles, then became rector of a new church in that city, St. Paul's. This was his last charge. In 1889 he re- moved to Glendale, California, where he died in 1890. ITis work in southern California was most useful and lasting; through his efforts several parishes of the Episcopal church were established and great good accomplished. Ile was highly honored in the ministry and was often sent as delegate to the general convo- cations of the church. He married Cornelia Bennett, born at New Berlin, Otsego county, New York, September 7, 1834, who survives him. a resident of New York City.

(III ) Rev. Paul Birdsall, son of Rev. Elias and Cornelia (Bennett) Birdsall, was born at Evansville, Indiana, June 4, 1862. Ile at- tended Trinity School and the public school of San Francisco, California. In 1882 he matriculated at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, whence he was graduated A.B., class of 1886. He prepared for the priest-

hood at Berkeley School of Divinity, Middle- town, Connecticut, where he was graduated in June .. 1890. In 1886 Trinity College con- ferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts and in 1889 Master of Arts. He was ordained deacon, June 4, 1890, in Holy Trin- ity Church, Middletown, Connecticut, by the Right Rev. Dr. John Williams, bishop of Con- necticut, and to the priesthood of the Pro- testant Episcopal church, May 18, 1891, in St. Thomas' Church, New Haven, Connecticut, by the same bishop. During 1890 and 1891 was deacon in St. Paul's Church, New Haven, Connecticut, and from 1891 to 1893 was rector of the Church of the Ascension in the same city. From 1893 to 1894 he was curate of St. John's Parish, Washington, D. C., in charge of St. Mary's Church. From 1894 to 1899 he was curate of St. Peter's Church, Albany, and in the latter year became rector of Grace Church, of that city. June 11, 1891, Rev. Paul Birdsall married Eliza Gerry, daughter of the late Dr. George J. Townsend, of South Natick, Massachusetts. Children: Townsend, Jean and Paul.

Walter Hendrick Hanson was HANSON born at Saratoga Springs, New York, August 21, 1866. He was educated in the public schools of Fairview, Saratoga Springs district schools, and at Philip's Academy, Exeter, New Hamp- shire. He was engaged in business at Albany, New York, but always has maintained a Sara- toga residence, and was trustee of the village corporation, 1894-96. Mr. Hanson has for many years been engaged in business in New York, being connected with the stock exchange houses of Henry Allen & Company, Bell & Company, and C. H. DeWitt & Company, all of New York City. He was a member of the Albany Burgess Corps with the rank of lien- tenant, 1894-97, resigning in the latter- named year. He is prominent in the Ma- sonic order, belonging to Lodge, Chapter, and Commandery of the York Rite, and is a thirty-second degree Mason of the Scottish Rite. and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He married, June 21, 1880, Annie Gardner, daughter of Daniel S. Lathrop, of Albany. Child, Walter Lathrop Hanson, born January 28. 1891, graduate of Chester Military Acad- emy, Chester, Pennsylvania. Mr. Hanson re- sides at No. 474 Washington avenue, Brook- lyn, New York.

The family name of Peltz is PELTZ derived from the German, and signifies hides, pelts or skins of animals, and was originally applied to a hunter

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or else one who dealt in these. For the first one hundred years in Albany, at the time when the place was known as Beaverwyck, Fort Orange and Rensselaerwyck, the chief men of the colony were engaged in the hunt- ing and traffic of beaver and other skins, and by this means made their fortunes which en- titled them to be classed among the wealthy and most respected merchants or burghers of the settlement in the wilderness. So promi- nent was the trade that the skins of any num- ber of animals passed current as money, and the ancient trading-books of some of these old burghers show that they kept their ac- counts in a peculiar, pictorial fashion, to be understood by the Indians with whom they dealt, and in them the column of figures gave way to lines of rude sketches of various skins, for each variety had its special value.

The progenitor of the Peltz family in America was John Peltz, who came to this country from Hesse, in Germany, and settled first in Philadelphia. He had had his own convictions in the other country about affairs of that period, and to stand by these and not be enrolled in the army in opposition to his principles, he was forced to locate elsewhere, hence he selected this country as a refuge, as had hundreds of others who sought relief from religious persecutions abroad. He was born May 19, 1714. died November 19, 1791. He married, while in Germany, Gertrude Gran. She was born in that country, 1717, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1787. They had among those of their small family a son named Philip.

( II) Philip, son of John and Gertrude (Grau) Peltz, was born August 10, 1762. died at Philadelphia, February 25, 1846. He re- sided most of his life in that city, and accu- mulated a fortune of good proportions. It was he who inaugurated the Peltz Family Bible, which was owned in 1911 by William L. Learned Peltz, of Albany, New York. Ile married (first) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1789, Rebecca Brown, born Jan- uary 2, 1770, died at Philadelphia, January 18, 1830. He married (second) September 24, 1833, Elizabeth Scheiner, who died April 6, 1838. Children: 1. John, born November 21. 1789,

at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where all the children were born), died there May 17, 1790. 2. Philip, June 1, 1791, died in Philadelphia, April 26, 1793. 3. William, September 2, 1792, died February 2, 1826; married, November 4, 1813, Elizabeth Lyle. 4. Elizabeth, March 29, 1794, died February 7, 1836; married, June 3, 1816, George Mar- quert. 5. Richard, see forward. 6. John, April 1, 1797, died April 16, 1797. 7. Re-

becca, February 21. 1798, hed at Philadelphia, February 16, 1830; married, October 16, 1817, Dr. Henry Klapp. 8. Mary, January, 1800: married, August 15, 1816, Samuel Eskel.

(III) Richard, son of Philip and Rebecca (Brown) Peltz, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 1, 1795, died there February 25, 1847. Ile married, in Philadel- phia, February 8, 1816, Sarah Lentz, born May 3, 1797, died in Philadelphia, September 15. 1846. Children: 1. John, died February 16, 1876; married Mary Young. 2. Rebecca, died September, 1904: married Joseph .An- thony. 3. Philip, see forward. 4. Sarah, died in 1892, unmarried. 5. Gertrude, married Samuel Stringfellow. 6. Richard, born July 11, 1832 : married Annie Stevens. 7. Samuel, married Margaret Shelly. 8. Elizabeth, died at Coeymans, New York, married Theodore Robb, of that place. 9. William, married Elizabeth Cole.

(IV) Philip, son of Richard and Sarah (Lentz) Peltz, was born in Philadelphia, De- cember 16, 1823, died in Coeymans, New York, June 26, 1883. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. His parents dying when the children were young, he looked after the welfare of his brothers and sisters. He was a minister of the Dutch Re- formed church, and officiated first at Coey- mans, then at New Paltz, also at Paterson, New Jersey, and other places. He became secretary of the board of missions. Ill health, before reaching advanced age, caused him to retire from active engagements, and he re- turned to his Coeymans home, where he lived an estimable life for the remainder of his days. He married (first) at Philadelphia, Annie Sailor. He married (second) at Al- bany, March 17, 1852, Mary De Witt. She was horn in Albany, February 19, 1819, died there January 15, 1903. She had married previously Stephen Van Dyck, in 1843, who died in 1846, leaving two children, Abraham, who died aged fifteen months, and Sarah, who died the day of her birth. She was the dangh- ter of Rev. John and Sarah (Schoonmaker ) De Witt.

Rev. John De Witt was born December 15. 1788, died at Albany, October II, 1831, and was the son of John I. and Mary ( Breestede) De Witt. He was a man of varied scholarly attainments and of versatile talents. It is said that he was acquainted with nine lan- guages, among them Hebrew and Arabic. He was graduated at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary. He was much devoted to botany and had considerable

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musical talent. He was an eloquent public speaker ; was of fine personal appearance, somewhat over medium height, and had a re- markably handsome head and face, as may be seen from his portrait, the original of which. painted in oil, is in Rutgers College. He had a cheerful temperament, high spirits and gen- ial social qualities. It is a tradition in the family that his father had intended that he should be a lawyer, but he himself felt his vocation to be the ministry. In 1814 he ac- cepted a call to the pastorate of the Reformed Dutch church of Albany, which was then what was styled a "Collegiate Church," a sys- tem, in accordance with the custom in the larger cities in the United Netherlands, of hav- ing under one organization two or more church buildings with as many pastors as there were houses of worship, they officiating alternately in the different church buildings. The Albany church was, in the early part of the nineteenth century, the most important in the denomination outside the city of New York, as Albany was the city of second size and importance in the state. There were, in 1814, two houses of worship belonging to the Albany Collegiate Church, one on the west side of North Pearl street, corner of Orange. finished in 1798, and the other on a large lot extending from Hudson avenue to Beaver street, east of Pearl street, completed in 1810. The latter edifice was an imitation of the Church of St. Martin's-in-the-Field, London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and was regarded (razed about 1890) as a fine exam- ple of church architecture. When Rev. John De Witt became pastor in 1814, the Rev. John M. Bradford, D.D., was his colleague. In 1815 the collegiate form of pastorate was dis- continued, a new corporation was formed for the more southerly church, and the landed property of the old corporation, which was considerable, was divided into two equal parts, each of the church organizations taking one part. It was determined by lot which of the two pastors should take the north and which the south church, and the result was that John De Witt became the first sole pastor of the South Church, then so called, and Dr. Bradford sole pastor of the North Church. On account of the population moving wester- ly, a new edifice was erected on Madison ave- nue, to which the congregation removed in 1881, and the old building sold for mercan- tile purposes. In the interior of the new church was erected a marble tablet to his memory and also one in the Dutch Church of New Brunswick, where he was buried, the latter reading: "To the Memory of the Rev. John De Witt, D.D., Professor of Sacred

Literature and Biblical Criticism in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church, and of Logic and Belles Lettres in Rutgers College, who, after discharging the duties of a Christian Pastor with mnuch zeal and success, during several years at Albany, entered September, 1823, upon his Profes- sional Labour, which he executed with dis- tinguished ability, and died Oct. II, A.D. 1831, aged 41 years and 10 months. This monument, erected by the general synod of the Reformed Dutch church, is designed to express their high regard for the Deceased. Ah! nimium citus decessit." His wife, Sarah Schoonmaker, was the daughter of Tjerck Schoonmaker and Jane Breestede (or Brais- ted), the latter a daughter of Peter Breestede. His second wife, Anna Marcia Bridgen, born October 10, 1796, died at Albany, April 12, 1843, daughter of Charles and Maria (Ten Eyck) Bridgen.

The father of Rev. John De Witt was John I. De Witt, born May 13, 1760, died Febril- ary 19, 1816; lived at Saugerties, New York, where he owned property, which was the site of the Exchange Hotel in 1910, and he mar- ried, July 6, 1782, Mary Breestede, born May 9. 1766, died October 18, 1853, daughter of Peter and Sarah ( Mynderse) Breestede. Re- garding him, Simeon P. De Witt writes: "I can well remember his features. He had the most commanding and noblest physiognomy of any De Witt I have ever seen,-when once seen, never to be forgotten. He was a very intellectual man ; owned a sloop which he used in the transportation business on the Hudson River ; made money rapidly, and at last sold his sloop, and purchased property, mills and farms at Catskill, N. Y. This was of course before the era of steamboats." John I. De Witt's father was Captain John Lucas De Witt, born April 18, 1731, died May 27, 1803 ; married, May 13, 1758, Anna Maria De Witt, born March 8, 1730, died July 1, 1814, daughter of Peek and Maria (Dunges) De Witt, whose name was otherwise written Tennis and also Deunies, and was the widow of Jacob De Moot. John L. De Witt was called "Captain" and was captain of a mili- tary company during the revolution, which served for the special purpose of protection of the Kingston district, of whom his grand- son. Simeon P. De Witt, writes: "He be- came conspicuous as a captain of infantry under Colonel Pawling in the Northern Divis- ion of the American Army in the war of '76. At the death of his colonel, he acted in that capacity through the war, at the taking of Burgoyne at Schuylerville and Cornwallis at Yorktown, and in many other bloody battles."

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Captain John Lucas De Witt's father was Lucas De Witt, who was baptized September 5. 1703: married, January 17, 1729, Catrina Roosa, baptized February 16, 1709, daughter of Evert and Tietje (Van Etten) Roosa. Lucas De Witt's father was Lucas De Witt, who married, December 23, 1695, Antje De Iva, daughter of Anthony and Jannetje ( Hille- brants ) De Iva (or Delva). This Lucas De Witt was the son of Tjerck De Witt, the progenitor of the family in America, who was born in Holland, died February 17, 1700; mar- ried, April 24, 1656, Barbara Andriese.

Philip and Mary (De Witt) Peltz had issue : 1. John De Witt, born, Coxsackie, New York, June 26, 1853: died at Albany, New York, May 7. 1904 (see forward). 2. Sarah, born. Coxsackie, June 26, 1853 (twin) : died at Coeymans in 1883, unmarried. 3. Rich- ard, born September 19, 1857: died at Pater- son, New Jersey, July 23, 1859.

(\') John De Witt, son of Philip (q. v.) and Mary (De Witt) Peltz, was born in Cox- sackie, New York, June 26, 1853, died at his home, No. 323 State street, Albany, New York, May 7, 1904. He passed his boyhood and received the rudiments of early education in New Paltz, New York, where his father was pastor. After that he entered Rutgers 'College, from which institution he graduated in 1875, and, engaging in the study of law, graduated from the Albany Law School in 1876. He studied law in the office of De Witt & Spoor, a then famous law firm in Al- bany. On account of the ill health of his wife, he removed to Colorado Springs, where he engaged in practice and became the city attorney and leading corporation counsel. His wife died in 1888, but he remained there until the fall of 1890, when he returned to Albany. and resided there until his death. He en- joyed a very extensive law practice, with offices in the Volckert Building on State street. He was a member of the State Bar Association and the second vice-president of the Albany County Bar Association. He was vestryman of St. Peter's Episcopal Church ; trustee of the Albany Rural Cemetery Asso- ciation and of the Union Trust Company ; first vice-president of the Albany Exchange Sav- ings Bank : director of the Albany Insurance Company : trustee of Rutgers College, and a member of the Fort Orange Club of Albany and of the University Club of New York City. Ile was a progressive and patriotic citizen, a good lawyer, kind and affectionate husband and father, a true and sincere friend. The announcement of his death was made that morning at a special term before Justice D. Cady Herrick, by Hon. Simon W. Rosendale,

and a large number of the members of the bar were present. After remarks by Justice Ilerrick, Mr. Rosendale and Corporation Counsel Arthur L. Andrews, all of whom spoke feelingly of the loss sustained by the Albany bar, court was adjourned out of re- spect to the memory of Mr. Peltz.

He was vice-president of Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, which placed on its records a minute expressive of the sad loss to that body by his death, stating that he was an excellent citizen, one whom the people had frequently desired to run for the office of mayor of Albany, one who could well be proud of his ancestry as well as of his own clean record ; who did always what was for the best in life ; liberal in culture, a gen- tleman in his treatment of others and a law- yer the equal of any in his city. The Albany Insurance Company recorded its estimate of him as "an upright citizen, loyal friend in perfection of manhood," and that "truth and honor lived in him, for he was just, honor- able. courageous, gentle and yet strong." The board of the Union Trust Company spoke of him as a faithful director, showing pro- nounced interest in that institution's welfare. The directors of the National Commercial Bank resolved: "For many years a member of the executive committee, no one was more faithful in attendance, more willing to apply his labors and influence in its behalf. His record in this city is one worthy of emula- tion and his life's history may well stand as an encouraging example to the young men of this day and generation. Depending upon his own efforts and exertions, he was a generous and helpful friend, responding to the great confidence placed in him, and was at the head of our largest business concerns."

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Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume IV, Part 74

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed Publication date: 1911 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 660

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 660