USA > New York > New York State's prominent and progressive men : an encyclopaedia of contemporaneous biography, Volume II > Part 8
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Johannes de Peyster, the first of this family in America, according to tradition first visited New Amsterdam, or New York, and West Indies, and some years later, about 1642-45, returned to New York to settle. Soon after his arrival here he rose to the highest positions in the New Netherlands, continuing to hold them during life. His eldest son, Colonel de Heer Abraham de Peyster, filled every office possible under the crown in the province and city of New York. His bronze statue in Bowling Green, a gift to the city of New York from his sixth descendant, General John Watts de Peyster, stands opposite to the site of the projected custom-house, which will be erected facing the statue, upwards of two hundred years subsequent to his official career as Receiver-General of the Port of New York, in the center of the scenes in which he resided, served, commanded, and
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governed. The following inscription on the pedestal of the statue briefly recites his official dignities :
1685, Alderman ; 1691-95, Mayor of New York City; 1701, Comptroller ; 1708, Receiver-General of the Port of New York; 1698, Member of Earl Bello- mont's Council; 1698, Associate Judge of the Supreme Court; 1700, Colonel commanding Regiment of Militia, or City Trained Bands; 1701, Chief Justice of New York ; 1701, President of the King's Council and Acting Governor of New York; 1706-21, Treasurer of the Province of New York and New Jersey.
General de Peyster is in the sixth generation in lineal descent from this illustrious citizen, and in the seventh generation from the first Johannes de Peyster, being the only child of the late Frederic de Peyster and Mary Justina, youngest and best- beloved daughter of the Hon. John Watts II, whose family mansion was at No. 3 Broadway, next door to the corner house, which was the residence of Archibald Kennedy, who married Anne Watts, afterward Countess of Cassilis, whose son Archi- bald was first Marquis of Ailsa.
The General's father, one of the most eminent citizens of New York city, was distinguished for his philanthropy and public spirit, and published many historical monographs. He was graduated from Columbia College in 1816; as a student served in the War of 1812; was bred to the law; was appointed Mas- ter in Chancery in 1820, and continued in office for seventeen years ; was president of the New York Historical Society ; was president of the New York Society Library; was president of the St. Nicholas Club; was president of the St. Nicholas Society ; and was said, in a public print, to have been "an active officer of more societies than any other New-Yorker who ever lived."
Just as the first Johannes de Peyster came out to New Amsterdam to explore before settling, so Robert Watt of Rose Hill, near Edinburgh, Scotland, came to New York to look about him, and then went back to Edinburgh, and “ emigrated to America for good toward the close of the seventeenth cen- tury," settling in New York city. He likewise soon attained the highest official positions, as he enjoyed the highest social rela- tions. He was the brother-in-law of Sir Walter Riddle, Baronet, a creation of King David I of Scotland (1124-53); was the son of John Watt of Rose Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland; writer to
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Federico de Peyster
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the Signet and Lord of Sessions (according to Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage," 1850-54); and was grandson of Adam Watt of Rose Hill, Commissary to Kirkcudbright.
Robert Watt, or Watts (for he added the letter s to his name), was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1680, and died in New York city in 1750. In 1706 he married Mary, daughter of William Nicoll, originally Nicolls, of Islip, Long Island, and of his wife Anne, daughter of Jeremiah van Rensselaer and Maria van Cortlandt. Their son, the Hon. John Watts, great-grandfather of General de Peyster, was one of the founders, incorporators, and trustees of the New York Society Library in 1753; was elected to the New York Assembly; was commissioner in the matter of the New York and New Hampshire boundary dispute; was a leading founder of the New York Merchants' Exchange in 1752; was a member of the colonial committee of correspon- dence ; was long a member of the King's Council; was attorney- general under Governor Monckton in 1762-63; was a founder of the New York Hospital and its first president; and was the king's choice for acting Governor of New York in the event of British success in the Revolution. His estate in New York city, covering several wards, was confiscated on account of his loyalty, and he died an exile in Wales. His wife Anne, sister of James de Lancey, chief justice and Lieutenant-Governor of New York, and more than once acting governor of the province, died three months later of a broken heart in this city.
Their son, the Hon. John Watts, Jr., was born in 1749 and died in 1836. The bronze statue of him, facing lower Broadway in Trinity Churchyard, was erected by his grandson, General John Watts de Peyster. The inscription on its pedestal contains the following summary of this notable New-Yorker's public career :
Last Royal Recorder of the City of New York, 1774-77 (no records after 1777); Speaker of the Assembly of the State of New York, 1791-94; Member of Congress, 1793-95; First Judge of Westchester County, 1806; Founder and Endower of the Leake and Watts Orphan House in the City of New York ; President of the New York Dispensary, 1821-36.
It has often been remarked that General John Watts de Pey- ster inherited, in a remarkable degree, the rugged strength of character of his grandfather, John Watts, as well as a most
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striking similarity of physical form and features. He also in- herited a very large fortune from this gentleman, as well as a smaller amount from his estimable father. On tablets on more than one of the many buildings which he has erected and given for public and benevolent uses, General de Peyster declares that the means and abilities which have enabled him to accomplish whatever good he may have done in the world have been en- tirely derived from, and by him are credited to, his grandfather, John Watts, and his father, Frederic de Peyster.
Even the merest mention of the many notable achievements of General de Peyster himself is impossible in the space which remains. He had as an instructor Professor Lutz, subsequently president of Transylvania University, but is essentially self- educated, having himself mastered, more or less practically, Greek, Latin, French, and German, while also familiarizing himself with Italian and Spanish. He traveled and studied in Europe as a youth, and a little later became foreman of one of the old volunteer hose companies of New York city. In 1845, at the age of twenty-four, he held the rank of major in the State militia in Dutchess County, and was the next year, 1846, commis- sioned colonel of the 111th Regiment. In 1846-47 the State militia, as then constituted, was legislated out of existence, and when afterward reorganized, for "meritorious conduct," Colonel de Peyster was assigned over the heads of numerous seniors in rank to the command of the Twenty-second Regimental District. Dissatisfaction in the ranks of the militia, together with the antirent uproar of those days, united to make it a very critical situation. He gained wide repute as a disciplinarian at this time, was made a brigadier-commander for " important services " - the first appointed by a governor individually - in 1851, and received a medal in 1853 from Governor Hunt, as he had previ- ously a certificate of honor from Adjutant-General Stevens stat- ing that Colonel Willard of Troy, an old officer of the regular army, was the only officer in the State besides Colonel de Pey- ster who had properly and adequately enforced the new law and controlled his troops during this crisis. Meantime, General de Peyster had commenced a careful study of the needs of the militia. He had also begun the acquisition of his remarkable military library, and had established, as he sustained and edited,
JohnWatts.
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a monthly magazine, the "Éclaireur," devoted to the militia. Through his energy were first introduced to American readers translations of such important works as the " Piedmontese Ber- saglieri Rifle Drill and Bayonet Practice " of his friend, General Alessandro della Marmora; Von Hardegg's "Treatise on the Science of the General Staff," and Von Hardegg's " Chronologi- cal Tables of Military Science and History." This could not have been more timely if the coming Rebellion had been foreseen.
Through his exertions at Albany, General de Peyster obtained an enactment from the State Legislature, in 1850-51, providing for the improvement of the New York militia, and the appoint- ment of an inspector-general for the State. Unfortunately, however, a more supple politician was placed in this office. In 1851 General de Peyster was appointed by Governor Hunt brigadier-general of New York State troops, for "important ser- vices." The same year he was appointed " military agent of the State of New York to examine and report on such of the military systems of Europe as should be adapted to the use of his native State of New York." The investigation made by him in Europe under this commission was entirely at his private expense. His two elaborate and invaluable reports were published as a Senate document in the report of the Adjutant-General of the State, and privately by himself. They were the fruitful results of two years of careful and systematic work abroad. The late military writer, Captain Frederic Whittaker, declared that these reports " have been the foundation of every improvement that our State's troops have undergone since that time." They led to the intro- duction of the brass twelve-pounder (the Napoleon gun) in America and of the pearl-gray uniform. They led to the intro- duction into this city, and thence into other cities of the Union, of a paid fire department, with steam-engines; so that General de Peyster may be styled the father of the present system of city fire departments in the United States. The salient features of the present police system in American cities also grew out of the influence and exertions of the late legal authority, Mr. Ge- rard, and of General de Peyster, as a testimonial establishes and records.
On January 1, 1855, General de Peyster was appointed Adju- tant-General of the State of New York by Governor Myron H.
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Clark. He at once inaugurated reforms of greatest moment. He reorganized the adjutant-general's department ; inaugurated rigid economy ; prepared revised regulations for the government of the militia ; recommended proper artillery, one uniform for all the State troops, and muskets of one caliber, thus multiplying the practical efficiency of the troops ; and prepared every branch of the service for emergencies. All this, and more, occurred within two months; for, finding that Governor Clark was in- timidated by the politicians, who opposed General de Peyster's insistence upon honest administration in respect to his own de- partment, the latter resigned in disgust. Good authorities have not hesitated to assert that General de Peyster actually accom- plished more, in those two months, toward preparing the way for making real soldiers of the State militia, than had been accomplished during all the antecedent history of this service.
General de Peyster now began his brilliant series of military studies,-military criticisms, military history, and military biog- raphy,- in which department he stands in the foremost rank in the United States, and, in respect to the wealth and accuracy of his scholarship and of his resources in historical examples, without many rivals in Europe. Sir Edward Cust, the British general and distinguished author of "Annals of the War" (9 vols.) and " Lives of the Warriors " (6 vols.), introduces the last-men- tioned series with a twenty-eight-page dedication to General de Peyster, in the course of which he confesses : "My works were written by me for the use of youths-whose profession has yet to be learned. You address the higher rank of the army, and appear to seek to philosophize the art of war by showing it to be capable, under its most scientific phases, of being less lavish of blood. To both our grievances the remedy is the same : 'practical strategy.' I readily accept from you this expression. It comprises all that can be said or written upon skill in war."
General de Peyster is still, in his old age, as hard at work as ever, surrounded by the evidence of his own labors and by me- mentos of his own past and of past generations for nearly four centuries. He will leave those who come after him to take his story as an example of what an industrious and willing man can accomplish. His life in detail has been told by able and im- partial pens, and to them the curious are referred.
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Fromthe original in the possession of his lineal descendent Major General J. Watts de Peyster painted in Holland about 1684 ...
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OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 1691-695 BORN 8TH JULY1651. DIED 200 AUGUST, 1728
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No attempt can here be made to catalogue the hundreds of published works of General de Peyster in his capacities as mili- tary critic, historical writer, and miscellaneous author. A mere list of the titles of his more important works occupies fifteen or sixteen pages in the Bibliography of the American Historical Association. Besides this partial list, there has been an addi- tional one published of eight pages, while material for at least another twenty-four pages is in manuscript. These many pub- lications include special groups of monographs - on Dutch his- tory, on the American Revolution, on the American Civil War, on the Thirty Years' War, on the wars of Frederick the Great, on Napoleon, on Waterloo, and on the relations of Both- well and Mary Queen of Scots. He is also the author of poems, dramas, and historical novels. His "Life of Torstenson " (1855) was recognized by the gift to its author of three medals from Oscar I of Sweden. From universities he has received the degree of Master of Arts, that of Doctor of Laws (twice con- ferred), and that of Doctor of Literature. He was the recipient of the (1894) gold medal for "scientific and literary attain- ments " of the London Society of Science, Letters, and Art.
He is honorary vice-president of the Numismatic and Anti- quarian Society, Philadelphia, an honorary member of the Clar- endon Historical Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, a life member of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, and a member of the Maatschappij Nederlandsche Letterkunde of Leyden, Hol- land. He is an active, honorary, or corresponding member of about fifty of the leading historical and literary societies of Europe, the United States, and Canada. He has received votes of thanks from the Legislatures of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, for gifts of valuable historical paintings, or other relics, to the respective State libraries of those States. In 1898 he was selected as associate member of the United States dele- gation to attend the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland.
We conclude with a reference to General de Peyster as a man, as the writer has known him, for we believe that the man is still more remarkable than his writings - a remark which will not be lost upon any one really familiar with the astonishing work of his pen. The personal characteristics which most overwhelm- ingly demonstrate this are, no doubt, precisely those which by
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many might easily be misunderstood, and even be considered marks of idiosyncrasy.
The General affords a rare instance of one who has divested himself of that atmosphere of insincerity and artificiality which is the second nature of most men ; and many men, therefore, find it somewhat difficult to breathe in perfect ease, if one may so say, in his presence. It is not that he is not polite, kind, and considerate, but that there is a distinct impression conveyed by his presence that even these mere amenities of life would cease, in his case, the moment they ceased to be real and had to be purchased at the least expense of conventional hypocrisy. And if this is the case in these smaller things, much more is it so in all other respects. The General is exceptionally kind-hearted, and while many have often sought after him from various mo- tives of self-interest, one often has the curious notion that if such motives were completely eliminated, many would flee away from the exposure of the unusually clear atmosphere of simplicity, candor, truth, and honesty which characterizes him.
The General possesses the most astonishing memory, has at command for instant use the widest range of reading which the writer has ever heard of in the case of one individual, always seems able to open instantly at the proper page in the right books for any reference required in an immense library once embracing thirty thousand volumes, is almost an expert specialist in every specialty in the entire gamut of human knowledge, and appears able to apply the lessons drawn from this entire range of investigation to any special line of thought pursued. Yet, even so, the inimitable sincerity of character of which we have spoken seems to us worthy of the most remark.
Hnedice gruett Dieter
FREDERIC JEWETT DIETER
THE Dieter family came from Germany early in the sixteenth century, and settled in Pennsylvania, receiving from the crown extensive grants of land. Its members were conspicuous in the Revolution, and in the political and business affairs of the young republic. In the last generation, Anderson Devereaux Dieter, born at Baltimore, Maryland, on April 18, 1824, a son of a commodore in the navy, and his mother, of old and distinguished French descent, was perhaps the foremost member of the family. In early life he was engaged in commerce in Caracas, Venezuela, and Havana, Cuba. Then he removed to New Orleans, and for more than twenty years was a leader of business affairs in that city, serving also as consul for the Venezuelan government. He established one of the most prosperous and prominent business houses in the South, with branch houses in New York, Liver- pool, and Paris. He owned many large plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi, and had a reputation in two continents for honor and the highest qualities of a gentleman. He removed to New York in 1872, and died here on March 24, 1878.
The wife of Anderson Devereaux Dieter was Emma Grant Hubbard, whose ancestry is traced to Hubba, a Norse king who invaded England in the year 866. Her first American ancestor, George Hubbard, was born in England in 1601, came to this country, and settled in Boston. He was a founder of the towns of Windsor, Hartford, and Westfield, Connecticut, in 1635-36, and was an agent of the colonial government. His descendants have been prominent in the political, business, and social life of the nation. Mrs. Dieter's father was Chester Hubbard, one of the early settlers of Montpelier, Vermont, and a leading business man of that State. Her mother was Julia Granville Jewett Hub-
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bard, daughter of Nathan and Ruth Paine Jewett, and a grand- daughter of Chief Justice Elisha Paine. Mrs. Dieter had great charm of manner, force of character, and brilliancy of mind. She was born at Montpelier, Vermont, on April 17, 1825, and died on October 30, 1896.
The only child of Anderson Devereaux and Emma Hubbard Dieter was Frederic Jewett Dieter, who was born at New Or- leans, and was educated in New York city, at the Vermont Meth- odist Seminary, Harvard, and Boston University. He received the degree of LL. B. from Boston University in 1884, and was admitted immediately thereafter to the Suffolk County bar. Four years later he was admitted to the bar of New York.
Mr. Dieter came at once to New York, and entered the office of Dillon & Swain. That firm had charge of the legal interests of Jay Gould and other leading financiers, and in their office Mr. Dieter acquired a thorough knowledge of corporation law. Since 1888 he has had an office of his own, paying especial atten- tion to corporation and surrogate's law. His energy and in- tegrity have secured for him a large practice. He has been connected with various large corporations, estates, and financial undertakings. He possesses the confidence of his clients, and is known for the care with which he applies himself to all matters intrusted to his charge.
He has been from boyhood a Democrat in politics, and has taken an active interest in that party's welfare. He was a mem- ber of its State Convention in 1892, and has been a speaker in its campaigns, but has never consented to be a candidate for public office.
Mr. Dieter is a member of the Metropolitan, Manhattan, Democratic, and Tuxedo clubs, and of several historical socie- ties and other organizations. He is a member of the West Presbyterian Church of this city, and is not married.
A. J. DITTENHOEFER
MONG the lawyers and jurists of the metropolis there are not many as well known and so well representative of cos- mopolitan Americanism as A. J. Dittenhoefer. He is a man of German ancestry and of Southern nativity, but has for nearly all his life been identified with New York. His parents came to this country from Germany in 1834, his father being a prosper- ous merchant. They settled in Charleston, South Carolina, and there, on March 17, 1836, the subject of this sketch was born. Four years later the family removed to this city, and here he has resided continuously ever since.
In his childhood he manifested a studious disposition, and in the public schools of various grades to which he was sent he made excellent progress in all his studies. From the public schools he went into the Columbia Grammar School, where he was prepared for college. Thence he was advanced to Columbia College, - now Columbia University,-and there pursued his course in brilliant fashion, showing really phenomenal proficiency in Latin and Greek. At the end of four years he was graduated with honors from the academic department of the college, with the degree of A. B. Then he entered upon the study of law, and, at the age of twenty-one, was admitted to the bar of New York.
At the very outset of his career, when he was only twenty-two, he was nominated by the Republican party for a judgeship on the bench of the city court. The Republican party was in the minority in that election and he was not seated. But a few years later he was appointed to a place on that bench by Governor Fenton, to succeed Judge Florence McCarthy, deceased. Not only did he fill the place with eminent acceptability, but he marked it with a fine bit of generosity. Learning that the family
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of his predecessor had been left in destitute circumstances, he turned over to them his entire salary.
At the expiration of the term he declined a renomination, and was elected in 1864 a Presidential Elector for Lincoln and John- son, and had the honor of casting his electoral vote for Abraham Lincoln, with whom he was on terms of friendship. Judge Dit- tenhoefer declined the position offered him by President Lincoln of United States judge for the district of South Carolina, owing to the exacting requirements of his large practice. In 1875 he was a delegate to the Cincinnati convention which nominated Hayes and Wheeler.
Though a Southerner by birth, Judge Dittenhoefer joined the Republican party at its birth, supporting the election of John C. Frémont, the first Republican candidate for President, and for many years has been active and influential in its councils, being chairman for twelve years of the German Republican Central Com- mittee. As a lawyer he has gained high reputation. While his services have been in demand for all classes of legal procedure, and he has been prominent as counsel in many of the most important corporations and commercial cases, he is recognized as an author- ity in laws relating to the drama and the stage. Largely through the efforts of Judge Dittenhoefer, the law giving the license fees collected from the theaters to the Society for the Reform of Juve- nile Criminals was repealed, and this stigma removed from the theatrical profession. The fees have since been given to the Actors' Fund. In recognition of these services he was presented with a testimonial, and, with Dr. Houghton and ex-President Cleveland, was elected an honorary member of the Actors' Fund. He was conspicuous in the defense of the Washington news- paper correspondents, and of Elverton R. Chapman, of the firm of Moore & Schley, and the other persons who were indicted for refusing to answer the questions of the committee of the United States Senate investigating what was known as the sugar scan- dal, and gained a notable victory, of permanent value to the press.
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