Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 89

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

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Lodge, Albany. In January, 1872, he married Miss Alvira E. Reinhart, who was born in the town of Berne, a daughter of Alexander Reinhart, by whom he has had two children: Mrs. Yuba Carhart and Dewitt C. Mr. Main has been one of the trus- tees of Prospect Hill Cemetery and its secretary and treasurer for many years, and to whose untiring efforts and influence many reforms and improvements have been brought about, and the cemetery attained to its high standing. He is also a member of Iosea Tribe No. 341 Improved Order of Men, and its treasurer. Is also a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church and an officer therein.

Springsted, William C., is the son of Henry and great-grandson of Jeremiah Springsted, who came from England and settled on the farm where the Springsteds now live in 1790, and was a farmer. He died in 1813 and left one son, Stephen, who died in 1837, and left five sons and four daughters; Jeremiah, Oliver, John, Stephen, Henry, Lydia, Jane, Sally Ann and Mary. Henry remained on the homestead and is one of the leading farmers of the town. He has one son, William C., who carries on the farm with his father, Henry Springsted. He married Elvira Carroll and had one son and one daughter, William C. and Jane, now Mrs. William D. Fuller. William C. married Carrie A., daughter of Jeremiah Dean, and has one son and one daughter, Dean and Jennie F.

Haswell, Dr. George S., was born in 1868 and is a son of Isaac M. Haswell, who is a farmer. Dr. Haswell was graduated from the Troy High School in 1889, and from the Albany Medical College in 1892. He began his practice in New York and then settled in West Troy, where he has won the confidence of a large circle of people of his native town. Dr. Haswell, although so young, is a Mason of the order of the Mystic Shrine and the Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order. He was elected coroner of Albany county in November. 1896. In 1893 he married Alice, daughter of Edward H. Wiswall of Colonie, by whom he has one daughter, Mildred.

Saxton, Thomas, born at Saratoga Springs, November 18, 1801, son of Nathaniel and Susan (Smith) Saxton. Nathaniel Saxton came from Long Island to Saratoga Springs, where he was a farmer. He spent his last days with his son, Reuben, in Port Byron, Cayuga county, where he died, aged eighty-nine years and eleven months. At fourteen years of age Thomas Saxton came to South Westerlo to live with an uncle, Thomas Smith, and was a clerk in his store. He remained with his uncle until he was twenty-three years of age, when he bought property in the vil- lage, erected a dwelling and engaged in mercantile business, which he followed until 1869, when he sold to R . S. Cryne and Mr. Lockwood. After retiring from mercantile business he turned his attention to farming, which he followed until his death, which occurred in 1890 at the age of twenty-eight. He was a Republican and a very strong temperance man and was for two years supervisor of Westerlo and justice for a num- ber of years. In 1826 he married Sally Baker, who died February 21, 1860, and he married again, April 7, 1862, Sarah V. Cryne, who still survives him, and gives this information. Mr. Saxton was a liberal contributor to all churches, and was a member of Masonic order. Mrs. Saxton's parents were John and Sarah (Van Vorihas) Cryne, of Dutchess county. He was a farmer and shoemaker. He came to Schodack where he married, and his wife died 1838; he then removed to Westerlo, where he engaged in the shoe and tanning business. He went to Wisconsin and engaged in

farming, where he died 1876 at the age of eighty-eight. He was a Republican in politics and a Presbyterian in religion.

Trager, Christopher, was born in Germany and came to America in 1854. In 1859 he came to Bethlehem Center, where he has since carried on a wagon and black- smith shop; he also bought a farm in 1874, which he still owns. He has three sons and six daughters: John M. (who carries on the farm), Augustus, George, Anna, Agnes, Minnie, Louisa, Elizabeth and Maggie. His wife was Elizabeth Lash of Rensselaer county, N. Y.

Trego, Thomas Markley, A. M., M. D., is the only surviving son of James and Maria Trego. He was born in the city of New York, August 31, 1847. His ances- try can be traced back nearly 250 years. His father, who was born in Pennsylvania on January 1, 1815, is of the seventh generation and descends in a direct line from his ancestor, James Trego, who was one and the oldest of three brothers and sons of Peter and Judith Trego, who were born in France about the year 1650. Being Huguenots and of French extraction, they escaped to England in 1685 during the persecution and there formed part of the colony of William Penn, emigrating with him to this country and finally settled in Chester county, Pa. The maiden name of the doctor's mother was Maria Houghtaling oldest daughter of Thomas C. Hough- taling of Albany county, N. Y., who is a descendant of a genuine Holland-Dutch family. His mother, Kathrine Van Bergen, was a descendant of General Salisbury of Catskill, N. Y. Mr. Houghtailing's ancestors were amongst the earliest settlers of that county. The same may be said of the ancestry on Mr. Houghtaling's mother's side, who were of the Van Derzees. The earliest ancestor of this name occurs as grantee in a conveyance bearing the date April 23, 1652. In the spring of 1852 the parents of Dr. Trego removed to the village of New Baltimore, Greene county, where he attended the common school. When he was about fifteen years old his parents sent him to the Brooklyn Boys' Academy, where he remained a year, and in the fall of 1865 he was placed in the Grammar School connected with Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J. After a year's study he was prepared to enter the freshman class of the college, and in 1870 was graduated with honor in the class which celebrated the college centennial. In the autumn of 1870 he commenced the study of medicine in the office of the late Dr. S. Oakley Van Der Poel of Albany. When Dr. Van Der Poel was appointed health officer at Quarantine, New York, Dr. Trego continued his studies with Drs. Thomas and Edward R. Hun of Albany. Upon leaving the office of the latter after nearly a year and a half of study, he en- tered that of Dr. Thomas M. Markoe of New York, meanwhile attending lectures in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1874. After graduation he returned to Albany, having been appointed resident physician in St. Peter's Hos- pital. In the fall of 1875 he resigned this position and opened an office for the gen. eral practice of medicine in Albany. Dr. Trego has greatly excelled in the treat- ment of the diseases of children and is on the staff of the Child's Hospital, Albany Orphan Asylum, Babies' Nursery, and St. Margaret's Home. He is also an attend- ing physician at the Home for Aged Men. In 1881 he was appointed physician to St. Agnes's School for Young Ladies. In addition to his great and deserved prominence in the medical profession he also holds a desirable reputation for accomplishments and broad cultivation in the field of literature. In the summer of 1878 Dr. Trego,

with his father. crossed the Atlantic and visited London, Edinburgh, Paris, Ant- werp, Belgium, Dublin, Berlin and other famous places, In 1878 he was appointed one of the district physicians, and in 1887 was appointed coroner's physician for the city and county of Albany and held the office for three years. In 1881 he married Jessie, the youngest daughter of George W. Carpenter of Albany. Mrs. Trego died after fourteen months of married life.

Weeber, Christian, one of the self-made men of property at Loudonville, is of German birth, having been born at Wuertemburgh in 1839. He was about twenty- five years of age when he turned his face toward this land of promise, and having a predilection for the butchering trade, soon found employment in that line in Al- bany. A business venture in New York resulted in illness and financial disaster, and he returned to Albany, January 1, 1865, and established himself in business in a small way. During the succeeding fifteen years he steadily enlarged his trade and in 1879 was enabled to purchase the handsome place at Loudonville, where he is now so eligibly situated, with forty-five acres of garden land adjacent. Mr. Weeber is a citizen of much natural ability and has taught himself to read and write Eng- lish. He has one son in Denver, Col., and one at Schenectady, both in the market business, and another son in the bicycle trade at Albany ; also two sons and one daughter at home.

Janes, Franklin H., born in Albany, July 19, 1854, is a direct descendant of Guido de Jeanes, a general of the French Confederation, who accompanied Henry II when he left France to assume the English throne, 1154, and who was rewarded by the grant of the manor of Kirtland, Cambridgeshire, England. William Jeanes or Janes, a descendant of Gen. Guido de Jeanes, was born in England, 1610, came to America and arrived at Boston, June, 1637. He was one of the founders of New Haven, the covenant bearing his signature; also of Northampton in 1656; died September 20, 1690. One of his granddaughters was the grandmother of Samuel J. Tilden. Will- iam Janes, the father of William G., Charles H., James E. and Franklin H. was born at Janes Corners, 1806; married Mary A. Hawley; was the founder of Janes- ville, Wis., and a captain of New York militia under Governor Throop. Franklin H. Janes graduated at the Albany Free Academy, 1872. He studied architecture in Boston and Paris, and succeeded to the business of William L. and William M. Woollett in 1881. He was made a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1886. Mr. Janes has designed many notable buildings throughout the United States, and has sent plans to several cities in Europe. His was one of a dozen names mentioned by the Century Magazine as producing the representative types of modern American architecture. In 1881 he married Laura, daughter of David Boyd McHench of Albany, N. Y., and they have one son, David McHench Janes, born October 10, 1882.

Cole, Ashley W., was born November 22, 1841, in the Forest of Bere, Hampshire, England. His father died in 1848 and in 1849 his mother came with her family to the United States. Mr. Cole was educated in the common schools, and soon after- ward worked at the business of manufacturing blacking and ink, and later worked two years in a brick yard. During the war he enlisted in the 10th Regiment of New Jersey Volunteers and at the close of the war, in August, 1865, went into the oil region of Pennsylvania, obtaining employment at Oil City in running a steam

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engine pumping an oil well. While so engaged he completed his studies in short- hand writing, which he had begun in the army. In 1866 he came to New York seeking employment in journalism, and in August of that year was appointed on the staff of the New York Herald. Three years later he became city editor and held that position until his health became impaired. Mr. Bennett then sent him to the West Indies and South America on a tour which occupied sixteen months. This journey required him to visit nearly every West India Island and was extended down the west coast of South America, through the Straits of Magellan and up the east coast. Mr. Cole crossed the Andes twice and experienced various adventures in the form of earthquake, yellow fever and revolution. While at Rio Janeiro he in - terviewed the Emperor Don Pedro, particularly on the subject of the abolition of slavery in the empire, the bill providing for which had just been passed by the Bra- zilian Parliament. Returning to New York he rejoined the Herald staff, and soon afterward became managing editor of the Evening Telegram. In 1874 he left the service of the Herald and joined the staff of the New York Times, soon after- ward becoming financial editor of that paper, and later its Albany correspondent. In 1882 he became private secretary to the late Rufus Hatch, and was identified with that gentleman in the Yellow Stone National Park enterprise, which, however, collapsed in 1884, when the Northern Pacific Railroad went into the hands of a re- ceiver. Mr. Cole then returned to journalism on the staff of the New York Herald, and remained there until the fall of 1887, when he resigned to organize the city staff of the Press and became the first city editor of that paper. In 1888 he went into Wall street as general manager of the Kiernan News Company, a concern whose specialty was the furnishing by ticker and bulletins of information to bankers and railway and financial corporations. In the fall of 1894, shortly after Governor Morton was nominated for the governorship, Mr. Cole was invited to be- come his private secretary, and has continued with him in that capacity until the present time. He has been a member of the New York Press Club for over twenty years and was twice elected vice-president. He is also a mem- ber of the 23d Regiment, N. G., N. Y., of Brooklyn and is now assistant chief of Artillery, State of New York, with the rank of colonel. He has contributed to various magazines sketches of the civil war, of foreign travel and of the Yellowstone country.

Carroll, James H., son of John and Jane (Ballard) Carroll, was born in Albany on the 19th day of September, 1828: His parents were born in Ireland. His father arrived in this country in 1824, came to Albany the next year, and commencing busi- ness in a small way, soon followed his brother in the manufacture of burr mill stones, on Broadway. He also held several positions of trust, and was highly respected. Ilis death occurred from an accident in 1851. James H., the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public and select schools of the city, and in 1844, at the age of seventeen entered the printing office of Joel Munsell and learned the trade, which he followed for nineteen years. Being of an active political mind, in 1862 he was elected supervisor of the old Seventh ward, and afterwards a police commissioner of the city. In 1863 he was appointed to a position in the post office under Postmaster George Dawson, and on the passage of the capital police law, accepted the captaincy of the third police precinct, which he held for nearly two years, resigning in 1867,

purchasing an interest in the coal business with his brother-in-law, T. C. Rafferty. He also became interested in the Albany Stove Company, and held the position of its president and treasurer for several years, and is now one of the executive com- mittee of St. Peter's Hospital. In 1894 Mr. Rafferty died, when he assumed sole charge, and has the most complete shed or pockets for coal now in the city. He is one of the five living members of the original Republican County Committee, and is in the enjoyment of good health. On the 28th of August, 1851, he married Jane Rafferty, daughter of the late Charles Rafferty of the city, by whom he had seven children, three now living: J. Ballard, Dr. Terence L. and Mary Ann.

Pitkin, Wolcott H., son of John R. and Sophia M. (Thrall) Pitkin, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., December 22, 1838. Both parents were from Litchfield county, Conn. Mr. Pitkin's childhood was spent on his father's farm in Jamaica township, Queens county, N. Y. In 1849 his mother died and the family was broken up. His father then made the farm into building lots and incorporated the village of Wood- ville, later known as Woodhaven, and he had previously incorporated the village of East New York, now the Twenty-sixth ward of Brooklyn. Soon after the death of his mother, Mr. Pitkin was sent to live with his uncle who owned a dairy farm in Torrington, Conn. Here under the good discipline and instruction of his uncle he learned to do all kinds of farm work and inculcated habits of industry. Schools were open during the winter months only and inasmuch as the facilities for obtain- ing an education were so limited, Mr. Pitkin, after a year or two of this farm life, was sent to Marlboro, Mass., where his father had arranged for him to attend the public schools and work an hour or two each schoolday and a part of each Saturday in the large shoe factory of C. D. Bigelow & Bro. In this way he acquired a knowl- edge of books and of business, and at the age of nineteen, with the advice and as- sistance of his elder brother, a wholesale dry goods merchant of New York city, he obtained employment with. the wholesale boot aud shoe jobbing house of William Smith, Brown & Co., as junior stock clerk. He remained with this firm until the war of the Rebellion crippled industries, and stranded his employers' business. He soon engaged and became interested in the business of the East New York Boot, Shoe & Leather Manufacturing Co., which was founded in 1858 by his father at East New York, L, I., with sales department in New York city. Levi B. Howe, repre- senting his own and the Bigelow and Trask interests, was president, F. Eugene Pitkin secretary and treasurer, and John R. Pitkin, the father of Wolcott H., was vice-president of the company. At this time the company held contracts for the labor of some one hundred and fifty convicts in the Albany County Penitentiary and for the labor of two hundred and fifty boys in the Providence, R. I., Reform School. Mr. Pitkin was sent to take charge of the work at the latter institution in the latter part of 1859 and was very successful in his management. He also added another contract for the labor of the prisoners in the Rhode Island State Prison and estab- lished another factory in the city of Providence. Early in 1865 the company was offered inducements to move its plant to Albany, N. Y. The labor of some three hundred Albany county prisoners, then employed by C. D. Bigelow & Co., was offered, with additional increase as to the force as required. In 1866 Mr. Pitkin closed the works in Providence and organized six (afterwards ten) work shops in the Albany County Penitentiary. Later it became necessary to again enlarge and an- k

other factory was leased in South Broadway. In 1870 it again became evident that more room could be used to advantage. At this time Mr. Pitkin's brother, George D., became interested in the company. W. H. resigned his office as president in favor of his brother, who managed the finance and credit department until his death in 1586. The property on Hamilton street from No. 222 to No. 236 was purchased in 1570, and the factory was fitted up and equipped with the latest mechanical de- vices used in shoe manufacture This business continued until the spring of 1889, when the contracts for penal labor were closed through adverse State legislation. This depression caused a reorganization of the company when the following direct- ors were elected: F. E. Pitkin, W. HI. Pitkin, E. D. Allyn, Charles T. Whitman and A. R. Sewall. Success attended the efforts of the new company until the spring of 1890 when difficulties arose with the labor unions. These were partly settled in 1891, but the financial depression beginning in 1893 made itself felt in the business. In 1894 and 1895 the business was wound up and all obligations honorably liquidated. October 20, 1868, Mr. Pitkin married Mary Wood, daughter of Henry C. Southwick of Albany, N. Y .. and they have two children, Edith Winifred and Wolcott Homer, jr., now living.

Warner, Jacob A, a well known citizen and landmark, was born in the town of Berne, March 16, 1828. Christopher Warner, his great grandfather, was a native of Germany, came to America with his two brothers, and settled in the town of Berne, taking up land around what is now known as Warner's Lake. Christopher Warner, the grandfather, was born in Berne and was a farmer. In 1765 he and his brother Johannes erected a saw and grist mill in East Berne, it being the second mill in the town. He reared three sons and four daughters. Henry C., the father of John A. Warner, was born in Berne on the homestead near Warner's Lake, November 14, 1793. In early life he was a farmer, but the greater part of his life was spent at coopering, residing all his life at Berne. His first wife was Lena, daughter of Andrew Batcher of Knox, and they had seven children: Rebecca, Samuel, Mary Ann, Elizabeth (who died when three years of age), Hannah, Chris- topher and Jacob A. His wife died in 1834 and he married Mrs. Lane Cole. He died in 1854. Jacob A. Warner received a limited common school education, and when a lad of twelve years of age began work on a farm for others; when fourteen he went to live with an uncle, with whom he remained until eighteen. He then learned the mason's trade and followed this for nine years, when he purchased a small farm in Berne and engaged in farming. After selling this farm he lived two years in Knox on a rented farm and in 1865 he purchased a farm in the town of New Scotland. He sold this farm and in 1867 purchased his present farm of 127 acres, where he has ever since resided. He has been the breeder of many fine horses and also a dealer in horses, and is an excellent judge of oxen, as he found it profitable for many years when ox teams were much in use to deal in those animals, buying and selling many yokes of cattle ; later years he has devoted more attention to the breed- ing of Jersey cattle. In politics Mr. Warner is a Republican and has filled the office of assessor in his town for. fifteen years, and is now filling that office. He has often been drawn as juryman, having sat on the Grand Jury and United States Grand Jury. In 1851 he married Sarah, daughter of Lawrence Clyckman, and their chil- dren were Henrietta (who died when twenty-one), Lawrence and Mary (wife of Charles

Fares of Guilderland). Mr. and Mrs. Warner are members of the Lutheran church in Knox, where Mr. Warner is elder. Lawrence, his son, now has the management of the farm and is interested in the breeding of Jersey cattle and fine draft horses. His first wife was Mary Kipp, second wife. Minnie, daughter of Calvin Beebe of Knox, and they have one child, Earl. He is a Republican and a member of the Patrons of Husbandry.

Higgins, John H., was born in New Scotland, February 7, 1844. His father, John Higgins, was born in England, July 27, 1809. When seventeen years of age he came to America on account of his health, first settling in Dutchess county, where he lived two years, then in 1828 came to New Scotland and engaged in farm work, which he followed many years. His wife was Elizabeth Schermerhorn of Knox, daughter of Abram Schermerhorn, by whom he had two children: Thomas, who enlisted in Co. D, 91st N. Y. Vols., and died in Pensacola Hospital in 1862; and John H .; John Higgins died in October, 1890, and his wife in November, 1866. John H. Higgins attended the common district school and remained on the farm with his father until twenty-one years of age, when he began for himself by assuming charge of a farm for another party and later rented farms for some years. In 1877 he bought his present farm consisting of 102 acres, where he makes a specialty of dairying and fruit growing, having the finest plum orchard in his vicinity. He has also devoted much time tc breeding thoroughbred Jersey cattle and fast horses. In 1863 Mr. Higgins married Mary Ann, daughter of Alex. and Sarah Ann Patterson of New Scotland, by whom he had two children: Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett of New Scotland, and William. His wife died April 25, 1873. His second wife was Emily Albright, daughter of Mrs. Margaret (Hotaling) Albright, and they had one child, Lulu. Mrs. Higgins died July 12, 1894. William Higgins married Nellie Warner, daughter of Franklin Warner, of New Salem.

Martin, Robert, was born in the town of New Scotland in 1838. John, his great- grandfather, was born in Coxsackie, and was left an orphan when quite young. He was a mason by trade, and was a soldier in the English army during the Revolution- ary war. He settled in New Scotland before the war, where he worked at his trade, and later died in New Salem about 1816. His wife was Maria Fralick by whom he had thirteen children. Peter, the grandfather, was born in this town in December, 1781. He was a farmer and became a soldier in the war of 1812. His wife was Christiana Allen, daughter of William and Jennie (Dremmons) Allen, both of Scot- land and pioneers in New Scotland. They had seven children: Margaret, Isabella, Mary, Jennie, William, Avery and John. He died in June 1852 and his wife in 1839. William, the father, was born in New Scotland, October 18, 1806, and came on the farm he now owns with his parents when he was six years of age. When he was thirty years of age he purchased a half of his father's farm of ninety four acres, and in 1851 purchased the other half and has since devoted his time to general farming. He erected all of the buildings and made other improvements on the place. In Oc- tober, 1829, he married Mary Moak, daughter of William Moak and granddaughter of Robert Taylor, a native of Ireland. Their children were Mary, Jane, Peter W., William M., Robert, Harriet A., Rachael, and Alden, who died when twenty-two years of age. His wife died April 19, 1880. Robert has alwaysresided on the home stead; for the past twenty-five years he had charge of the farm, his father residing

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 89

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