Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 59

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374

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General Marvin was married on the 24th of September, 1868, to Miss Katharine Langdon Parker, daughter of the late Judge Amasa J. Parker, 1 of Albany. They have had six children: Selden E., jr. (military secretary, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Gov. Levi P. Morton), Grace Parker, Langdon Parker, Edmund Roberts, Richard Pratt (deceased), and Katharine Langdon.

THE NEWMAN FAMILY.

CHARLES NEWMAN, when a young man, came with his widowed mother from near Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, and settled in Albany, then a city of 1,000 or 2,000 inhabitants. As early as 1770 he established himself in the wool and leather trade on Broadway, near State street, where the business has ever since been conducted by the family.

Henry Newman, his son, was born in Albany September 20, 1780, and upon reach- ing a responsible age entered his father's establishment, of which he subsequently became sole owner. This business he personally conducted at No. 457 Broadway, the present location, for about seventy years. He died May 24, 1874, at the advanced age of ninety-four, probably being at that time the oldest native of Albany. His career was one of uninterrupted success, and he exemplified the sterl- ing qualities of industry, perseverance, steadfastness of purpose, and strict honesty, in his business and in private life. His word was always good; his integrity was never questioned; his character was above reproach. Modest and unassuming in his manners, he enjoyed unbounded confidence and the highest respect, and was often urged to accept positions of honor and public trust, but always de- clined them in view of the higher duties recognized as due to his family and his business. One of his chief characteristics was unswerving fidelity to duty in every department of life. He was an exemplary Christian, a loyal friend, and a true citi- zen, taking a keen interest in the advancement of all public affairs and the prosper- ity of his native city. In politics he was a staunch Democrat and never failed to vote. For more than thirty years he was a trustee and treasurer of the First Lutheran church, whose financial prosperity was largely due to his sagacity and foresight. He was one of the first shareholders and long a director of the Mechanics' and Farm-

1 See sketch of Judge Parker in this volume.

JOHN L. NEWMAN.

ers' Bank, and for many years an active member of the Albany Fire Department. Mr. Newman married Miss Elizabeth Humphrey, sister of George and William Humphrey, old-time merchants of Albany, and after her death he married Miss Mary A., daughter of Aretas and Jane (Humphrey) Lyman, of Sand Lake, Rensse- laer county, N. Y. Mary Lyman was descended from (1) Richard Lyman, born at High Ongar, England, in 1580, who came with Elliott, the missionary to the Indians, in the ship Lion to New England in 1631. Her great-grandfather, Capt. Joshua Lyman, born February 27, 1704, died September 11, 1777, was fourth officer at Fort Dummer under Captain Kellogg between 1728 and 1740, active in the French and Indian wars, captain in Col. Israel Williams's regiment in the campaign of 1759, and held important offices in Northampton and Northfield, Mass., being selectman from 1747 to 1768. Her grandfather, Col. James Lyman, born June 9, 1748, died January 25, 1804, entered the Revolutionary army as corporal in Capt. Samuel Merriman's company of Col. Phineas Wright's regiment September 22, 1777, was present at the battle of Saratoga and Burgoyne's surrender, served at Fort Ticonderoga, became lieutenant in Capt. Seth Pierce's company of Colonel Murray's regiment at Claver- ack and West Point in October, 1780, being there at the time of the Arnold treach- ery, ranked as colonel in 1795, and was selectman of Northfield from 1782 to 1804. Capt. Aretas Lyman, father of Mrs. Newman, was born in Northfield February 4, 1773, and settled in Sand Lake, N. Y., where he conducted a lumber and milling business. Henry Newman was survived by his wife and nine children.

Charles Newman, his eldest surviving son, was born in the capital city April 21, 1828, received his education in the Boys' Academy, and read law with J. & I. Ed- wards. He was admitted to the bar about 1849, but soon afterward associated him- self in business with his father, becoming successively the latter's partner and suc- cessor. In 1866 his brother, John L. Newman, became a partner with him, retiring in 1880, when his sons, William Page and Henry Newman, were admitted under the firm name of Charles Newman & Co,, making the fourth generation of the family that has been connected with the house, which has had a continuous existence of more than one hundred and twenty-five years, being the oldest wool house in the United States. Charles Newman is one of Albany's representative business men. He is a director in the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank and vice-president and trustee of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank, was formerly president of the Albany and Watervliet Railroad, was trustee for some years of the Second Presbyterian church, and is a member of the Sons of the Revolution, a charter member of the Fort Orange Club, and a member of Masters Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and Temple Chapter No. 5, R. A. M. In 1850 he married Mary E. Page, daughter of Rev. William Page and Francis Sheldon Page. and their children are Mrs. Willis G. Tucker, William Page, and Henry Newman.

Major John Ludlow Newman, son of Henry and Mary A. (Lyman) Newman, was born in Albany on the 21st of February, 1836, was educated at the Albany Academy, and when eighteen entered his father's wool and leather store, with which he was identified for twenty-six years. In 1866 he became a member of the firm of Charles & John L. Newman, under which name the old established wool business of his father was conducted until 1880, when he withdrew and engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods at Cohoes, N. Y., in partnership with William P. Adams. The firm of Newman & Adams consumed about half a million pounds of wool annually and

employed a large force of skilled workmen. . Major Newman retired from active business in 1891, after a successful career covering thirty-seven years. He is presi- dent of the National Bank of Cohoes, having been a director since 1878 and vice- president since 1893 until his election to the presidency in January, 1895. This is the oldest and most successful banking institution in Cohoes.

Being a descendant of ancestors who had fought in the French and Indian wars during the Colonial times, and in the War of the Revolution, Major Newman felt it his patriotic duty to "fight in defense of the flag" in the Civil war. In 1862 he re- cruited a company for the Forty-third New York Volunteers, and with the regiment joined the Third Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Army Corps (General Sedgwick's), as captain of his company. He served under Mcclellan in the Army of the Potomac, and also under Burnside at Fredericksburg December 13-15, 1862, and under Hooker in the Chancellorsville campaign May 2-4, 1863, being wounded in the charge on Marye's Heights on May 3. On this occasion Major Newman was recommended for honorable mention in " General Orders" for gallantry and bravery. On May 4 he was at Salem Church fight and Banks Ford, and on June 9 in another skirmish at Fredericksburg. Then commenced the memorable Pennsylvania campaign, culmi- nating in the decisive and brilliant victory at Gettysburg. Major Newman's regi- ment, the Forty-third New York, commanded by Lieut .- Col. John Wilson, held in this battle an important position near Wolf's Hill, at the right of the Union line, in front of the confederate General Ewell, and participated in that terrible battle of the 2d and 3d of July, 1863. November 7 he was at the battle of Rappahannock Station and November 27 at Locust Grove. He participated in the Mine Run campaign, and in the spring of 1864 made a forced march with the Sixth Corps to Madison Court House. He was promoted major of the Forty-third regiment and in June, 1864, was honorably discharged. He received the "Gettysburg Medal " from the State of New York.

He was one of the first members of the Albany Zouave Cadets (now Co. A, 10th Battalion N. G. N. Y.) in 1861, an organization which had the proud record of send- ing eighty commissioned officers to the Union army. Some years afterward he was elected vice-president and later president of the Old Guard, an organization formed of men and officers of the old Albany Zouave Cadets, and has ever since been one of its leading members. He is also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, the Society of the Army of the Potomac, and the Society of the Sixth Army Corps, of which he was elected vice-president during the reunion at Gettysburg. He is a charter member of George S. Dawson Post. No. 63, G. A. R., and was appointed ordnance officer on the staff of Gen. T. Ellery Lord, Third Brig- ade, N. G. N. Y., but declined the honor. He is a member of the Sons of the Revo- lution through his great-grandfather, Col. James Lyman. He was vice-president and curator of the Albany Young Men's Association, a trustee of the Albany City Homoeopathic Hospital, a trustee of the First Reformed (Old North Dutch) Church, and secretary of the old Albany Club. Many of these positions he resigned when he engaged in business in Cohoes. He is a member of the Fort Orange Club, a trustee of the Albany Historical aud Art Association, and has always taken an active in- terest in the advancement and material welfare of his native city, where he has always resided.

Major Newman was married on the 8th of October, 1872, to Miss Evelina Egberts

Steele, daughter of Oliver Steele, of Albany. Mrs. Newman's mother was Anna Egberts, a daughter of Anthony Egberts, a descendant of Rip Van Dam, one of the early colonial governors of New York; she was a sister of Egbert Egberts, a mer- chant of Albany and " the father of the knitting industry of the United States," be- ing the inventor of the knitting machine and a wealthy manufacturer of Cohoes. Major and Mrs. Newman have two children : Clarence Egberts Newman and Evelyn Newman.

Rev. Frederick Mayer Newman, youngest son of Henry Newman, was born in Albany October 31, 1840, was educated at the academy and Professor Anthony's Classical Institute, and in 1860 entered Union College, from which he received the degrees of A. B. and A. M. He wasgraduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1867, and for two years was missionary pastor at Port Henry, Essex county, having been licensed and ordained by the New York Presbytery. He spent a part of the year 1871 traveling in Europe, and for four years thereafter was pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Saratoga Springs. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Society of Union College and the Albany Institute, a life member of the Albany Young Men's Association, and a member of other honorary societies. Since 1880 he has resided in Albany, being engaged in literary pursuits.

JOHN I. SLINGERLAND.

THE Slingerland family of Albany county, of which Hon. John I. Slingerland was one of the most distinguished members, is descended from (1) Teunis Corneliuse and Engeltie Albertsie (Bradt) Slingerland, of pure Dutch stock, who emigrated to America from Amsterdam, Holland, in 1650. He was one of the first settlers of Beverwyck (Albany), Kenwood, and Onisquatha (Slingerlands), where he purchased from the three tribes of Indians represented by the signs of the Wolf, Bear, and Turtle about 10,000 acres of land located in what are now the towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland. Much of this land is still owned and occupied by his posterity, large tracts of it having always remained in the name. He was born in 1617. His second wife, whom he married April 9, 1684, was Geertie Fonda, widow of Jan Bicker. The line of descent from the original pioneer to the subject of this sketch is as follows: (2) Albert, born 1666, died 1731, married Hester Becker; (3) Johannes, of Opisquatha, born 1696, married 1724 Anne Slingerland ; (4) Albert, of Onisquatha, born 1733, died 1814, married 1760 Elizabeth Moak : (5) John Albert, born 1768, died 1850. married Leah Brett; and (6) John I., of Slingerlands. These and others of the family were mainly agriculturists-prosperous, substantial citizens, respected and esteemed, and prominent in the affairs of their several localities.

Hon. John I. Slingerland was born March 1, 1804, in New Scotland, Albany county ; when a young man he took up his residence at Slingerlands (in the town of Bethle- hem), which place was named after the Slingerland family, and received a good com- mon school education. As a business man he devoted nearly his whole life to agri- cultural pursuits, residing on the site of his birth-the old family homestead. He ac- cumulated a handsome competency, and was universally respected and esteemed, not honored only by those who enjoyed his acquaintance but by all who knew of him. He

was honored for his social qualities as well as for his Christian faith. His was an un- usually warm heart, and his purse was always open to the wants of suffering humanity. To the rich and poor, high and low, he was their friend, their leader -- ever faithful and conscientious in the discharge of duty, and true to the best interests of his community and its inhabitants. No man was ever more popular among his constituents, and probably no man in the county stood so high in public esteem and confidence. As an illustration of his great popularity it is cited that, on one occasion, when he was a candidate for Congress, he received every vote in one of the towns of his district. He was honest ; his word was never questioned; and even his political opponents accorded him that confidence which unswerving honesty always merits.

Mr. Slingerland was one of the foremost politicians of his time-not in the sense in which the word politician is now used, but along the lines of honorable leadership, pure and unselfish in its motives, and ennobling because of its lofty aims and public benefaction. In 1843 he was a member of the Assembly, and in 1860 he again rep- resented the first assembly district of Albany county in that body. In 1847-49 he was a member of the 30th Congress from the thirteenth Congressional district. He served with distinction in these bodies, winning for himself lasting credit and honor, and for his constituents a number of measures for their permanent good. In each position he was faithful, honest, straightforward, and upright. In the trying times of slavery agitation he never lost sight of the fundamental principle of freedom. to which his votes and influence were ever directed, and to which he made every other political course subordinate. Loyalty to country and home was one of his chief characteristics. In a ringing letter of August 12, 1856, he boldly and fearlessly de- nounced "those twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery, ' and advocated the election of John C. Fremont for President-an act which placed his name among the founders of the Republican party. His public life was unstained, his honor unsullied ; and he exemplified those convictions bequeathed to him by an ancestry who poured out their blood in the cause of liberty and conscience.

Locally Mr. Slingerland was ever active in advancing public interests. He was one of the principal founders of the village of Slingerlands, named after his family, and was chiefly instrumental in securing the post-office and other institutions. But his greatest effort in this respect, and one that overreached all others in its subse- quent benefits, was the Susquehanna division of the D. & H. railroad, which he, more than any other man, secured for the place. He zealously labored for the con- struction of this line along its present route, locally and in the State Legislature, by having bills passed, appropriations, &c .; and to him is due the chief honor of successfully attaining the desired ends. He died, where he had always lived, on the 26th of October, 1861.

Mr. Slingerland was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Van Derzee, who bore him three children; John, deceased; Harmon Van D., of South Bethlehem ; and Miss Maria of Albany. By his second wife, Sally Hall, he had Elizabeth (Mrs. Adrian Safford), of Albany, and William, of Slingerlands. John Slingerland, a farmer on a part of the old homestead, was a prominent Republican, a good public speaker, and a highly respected citizen. He married Betsey, daughter of Joel Wicker Andrews, a manufacturer who made the steam apparatus which ran in Charles R. Van Benthuysen's printing-office in Albany the first steam printing press in America. She was a descendant of Lieut. Robert Andrews, an officer in the Revolutionary

A. B. VAN LOON, M. D.

war, and of John and Mary Andrews, who came from Ipswich, England, to Farm- ington, Conn., in 1640. They had three children: Cora E. (Mrs. Clinton Cook), of New Scotland; Cornelius H., of Slingerlands; and John I., who died young.

Cornelius HI. Slingerland, born in Slingerlands, April 23, 1861, received a private school education, and when seventeen began learning the printer's trade with George Wilkinson in Albany. Two years later he established his present printing-office in Slingerlands, where he has successfully built up, from a modest beginning, a pros- perous general commercial printing business. He is a Republican, and a member of Masters Lodge, No. 5, F. & A. M., of Albany, and of the Sons of the Revolution. In April, 1883, he was married to Miss Nellie B. Mattice, of Slingerlands, a lineal descendant of one of the members of the Boston tea party. They have one daughter, Mary.

ARTHUR B. VAN LOON, M. D.

DR. ARTHUR B. VAN LOON, eldest son of William H. and Caroline M. (Stark) Van Loon, was born in Albany, December 23, 1868, and is of Holland Dutch descent. His father, a native of Troy, N. Y., has been for several years an active citizen of Albany. His mother was descended from General Stark of Revolutionary fame. Dr. Van Loon was graduated from the Albany High School in 1888, read medicine with Dr. W. E. Milbank, and was graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1891, delivering the class oration. He was graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College in 1892 and for one year was interne in Ward's Island Hospital. While in New York he took a special course in the Carnegie Laboratory (connected with Bellevue College), and in 1893 began the active practice of his profession in Albany; since then has made gynecology a speciality. He is a member of the surg- ical staff of the Albany Homeopathic Hospital, a member of the Albany County Homeopathic Medical Society, the New York State Homeopathic Medical Society and the American Institute of Homeopathy. April 11, 1895, he married Caroline S., daughter of the late John Phillips, of Albany.

M. J. ZEH, M. D.

MERLIN J. ZEH, M. D., a physician of Watervliet, N. Y., who, though a young man, has become eminently successful in his profession. He was born in the town of Knox, Albany county, August 2, 1867. He is the son of the late Elias Zeh, a prom- inent farmer of Knox. His mother was Annie E. Osterhout of the well known pioneer family, named elsewhere in this work.

Dr. Zeh received his preliminary education at the Knox Academy, after which he taught school for a short time. He next read homeopathy with Dr. Tuck, a success- ful practioner of Berne, N. Y. In 1885 he studied pharmacy and eclecticism with Dr. Archie Cullen, late of West Troy, passing the State Board of Pharmacy Feb- ruary, 1887.

In 1886 he read medicine under the supervision of Dr. Shiland of West Troy, and the late Dr. John Swinburn of Albany, and entered the Albany Medical College, where he pursued a full course, graduating March 21, 1889.

The following month he began practice in West Troy, where he is held in high esteem.

In 1890 he married Miss Charlotte B. Cullen, a sister of Dr. Archie Cullen. He has one son, Arthur P., and a daughter, Florence J. Dr. Zeh is a member of the following societies: New York State Medical Association, the Medical Association of Troy and Vicinity, the Rensselaer County Medical Society, the I. O. O. F., the Wyoma Council Royal Arcanum, the Troy Yacht Club, Olympian Senate, Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order, associate member of the Walter A. Jones Post, G. A. R., and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He has held the office of city physician for the past three years.

ISAAC W. VOSBURGH.

THE late Isaac W. Vosburgh, of Albany, was a lineal descendant of Abram Pieterse Vosburgh, who came from Holland and settled at Beverwyck (now Albany) in 1652. With this original ancestor came three brothers, who located in Kinder- hook, Claverack, and the Mohawk Valley respectively. Abram P. married Gertruy Pieterse Koeymans, or Coeymans, and had a son Isaac, who married Anna Janse Goes in 1686. Abraham, son of Isaac, married Geertje Van Den Berg in 1719, and their son Isaac, born 1720, died 1785, married, in 1759, Catherine Staats Dort. Their son, William Vosburgh, born 1772, died 1839, was a contractor, and in 1799 married Mary McDonald. Mr. Vosburgh was therefore descended from one of the oldest Holland Dutch families of Albany, and from his ancestors inherited a liberal meas- ure of their thrift and noted characteristics.

Isaac W. Vosburgh was born where his ancestors had lived for four generations, in Albany, on the 21st of December, 1801, his parents being William Vosburgh and Mary McDonald. He received a common and private school education, and on February 3, 1823, became a clerk in the hardware store of George Humphrey, who in 1825 was succeeded by the firm of Humphrey & Co. Mr. Vosburgh remained with this concern for six years. On January 1, 1829, he formed a partnership with Lansing Pruyn and Abram F. Wilson and purchased the hardware business then conducted by John Pruyn and located where the post-office building now stands. The firm of Pruyn, Wilson & Vosburgh conducted a successful trade until 1842, when Mr. Wilson retired and the name was changed to Pruyn, Vosburgh & Co. This co- partnership continued business until 1860, when Mr. Vosburgh retired permanently from active life, being at that time one of the oldest hardware merchants in Albany. The last store occupied by his firm was the east half of the store now owned by the Albany Hardware and Iron Company on State street.

Mr. Vosburgh, during a long and active career, was uniformly successful, and re- tained the confidence and respect of all who knew him. He took a deep interest in the welfare of his native city, was prominently connected with several charitable and commercial institutions, and gave liberally of both time and means for the ad-

vancement of public interests. He was one of the founders of the Dudley Ob- servatory and served as treasurer from its inception until about 1882, when he re- signed on account of ill-health. He was also one of the originators of the Albany. Rural Cemetery, was a trustee from its organization until his death, and was for many years chairman of its executive committee. He was long a trustee of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank and of the Second Presbyterian church. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican, but never sought nor ac- cepted public office. During the war of the Rebellion he staunchly supported the Union, and although at that time he was beyond the age limit and could not have been drafted, he nevertheless recruited and equipped and sent a substitute for each member of his family, who served with honor in the nation's cause. Mr. Vosburgh died in Albany, September 29, 1888.

He was married in 1841 to Miss Sarah Jane, daughter of Wiley Fletcher, of Al- bany, a descendant of William Fletcher, who came from Yorkshire, England, to Concord, Mass., in 1630. She was born in 1818 and survives him. Their children were Mrs. William Irwin and Mrs. Caldwell R. Blakeman, of New York city; Mary MeD. and Miles Woodward Vosburgh, of Albany; Fletcher Vosburgh, who died July 30, 1895, at the age of thirty-nine; and two who died young. Miles W. is a general shipping agent in Albany, conducting the business established by the late William McElroy in 1840.

SAMUEL BALDWIN WARD, M. D.

SAMUEL BALDWIN WARD, M. D., son of Lebbeus Baldwin and Abby Dwight (Par- tridge) Ward, was born in the city of New York on June 8, 1842, and is of English descent. His great grandfather, Samuel Ward, born August 27, 1724, moved from Virginia to Morristown, N. J., where he married Mary Shipman, and where he died April 15, 1799. Silas Ward, son of Samuel, was born in Morris county, N. J., in 1767, and died in 1862. He married Phoebe Dod of a New Jersey family distin- guished for its literary and scientific attainments. Lebbeus Baldwin Ward, their son, was born April 7, 1801, and died in New York city June 15, 1885. He was a man of practical education, of studious habits, of trustworthy judgment and of great mechanical ability. He erected the Hammersley Forge in New York and won a wide reputation as a builder of engines, and later as a manufacturer of heavy wrought iron forgings. He was an early commissioner of the metropolitan board of police, a member of the State assembly in 1851, and a member of various commis- sions appointed by the municipality of New York to construct important city works. With his brothers John D. and Samuel S. he also built the first steamboat and the first railroad ever operated in Canada, the firm doing business in Montreal from about 1820 to 1838. Lebbeus Baldwin Ward married Abby Dwight Partridge, who was born in Hatfield, Mass., the daughter of a noted clergyman, and whose ancestors were descended from the best Puritan Pilgrim stock.

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 59

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374