USA > New York > Orange County > Newburgh > Newburgh; her institutions, industries and leading citizens, historical, descriptive and biographical > Part 32
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NEWBURGH.
John Alsop, admitted 1734. He lived in New Windsor, and re- moved from the county about 1744. His son, John Alsop, jr., was a member of the Colonial Congress of 1776, but resigned on the adop- tion of the Declaration of Independence. His daughter was the mother of Governor John A. King.
John Chambers, admitted 1735. He was the son of William Cham- bers, who obtained the patent for lands on the south side of Quassaick Creek in 1712. He removed to New York, and was appointed member of the Governor's Council (1752-63), and Associate Judge of the Supreme Court (1751-66.)
Cadwallader Colden, jr., of Coldenham, son of Governor Colden, was admitted to the bar in 1753.
George Clinton, admitted 1767. He was the first Governor of the State of New York, and died while Vice-President of the United States.
Phineas Bowman, admitted 1790. He served in the war of the Revolution as captain of a Massachusetts regiment, and settled here after the disbandment of the army. He was a man of high attain- ments and rose rapidly in his profession. In 1798, while a member of the Legislature, he secured the passage of the law erecting the present County of Orange.
Jonathan Fisk, admitted 1800. He was born in New Hampshire, in 1773, studied law in New York City, and came to Newburgh in February, 1800. In 1809 he was elected Representative in Congress, and again in 1814. From 1815 to 1820 he was United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The town records, the files of the newspapers of his time, and his own manuscripts bear testi- mony to the commanding position which he occupied and to the superiority of his abilities.
Jonas Storey, admitted 1801. He was born in Norwich, Ct., 1778, and came to Newburgh in early manhood. For forty years he main- tained a distinguished place in his profession.
William Ross, admitted 1801. He was the son of Robert Ross, of Rossville, Newburgh. He was elected member of Assembly in 1808, 1809, 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814. He was Speaker of the House in 18II. He served in the State Senate from 1815 to 1822. In ISII he was appointed Master in Chancery, and from 1816 to 1819 he was a member of the Council of Apportionment.
Walter Case, admittted 1802. He was a member of Congress, 1819-22, and Surrogate of the county, 1823-27.
Samuel R. Betts, admitted 1810. He was circuit judge in 1823.
General Gilbert O. Fowler, admitted 1810. He was the son of Dr. David Fowler, of Newburgh, and was graduated from Colum- bia College. He was appointed Master in Chancery 1816; judge of Orange Common Pleas 1828 and 1833. In November, 1833, he was elected to the Legislature and was instrumental in securing the passage of the charter of the Highland Bank, and the charter of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. He was elected President of the Highland Bank at its organization, and served in that position till his death. He held several important military commissions.
David W. Bate, admitted 1811. He was born in Shawangunk and was an officer in the war of 1812-15. On his return from the army he formed a partnership with William Ross (Ross & Bate) and resumed the practice of his profession. He subsequently formed a partnership with Thomas McKissock. In 1847 he was elected County Judge.
Samuel W. Eager, admitted 1813. He was a native of Mont- gomery, and moved to Newburgh. He was justice of the peace, postmaster and police justice of Newburgh, and Member of Congress in 1850. He wrote the " History of Orange County," in 1847.
Peter F. Hunn, admitted 1814. He was born in New Jersey, 1794, and graduated at Columbia College. His father having receiv- ed the appointment of cashier in the Bank of Newburgh (1811) he came to Newburgh and entered the office of Jonathan Fisk. When admitted to the bar he removed to Sullivan County, and was subse- quently Surrogate, Master in Chancery and District Attorney of that county. He returned to Newburgh in 1837, and practiced his pro- fession till his death. He possessed varied talents and attainments.
Thomas McKissock, admitted 1818. He was born in Montgom- ery in 1790, and studied law with Ross & Batc. Subsequently for
many years he was the partner of Judge Bate, under the firm name of Bate & McKissock. He was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court in 1847, to close up the business of that court under the old constitution; and in 1849 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Very few men enjoyed more fully the confidence of the people, and there was none to whose legal opinions greater deference was paid.
Hon. John W. Brown was born at Dundee, Scotland, October II, 1796, and died in Newburgh September 6, 1875. His father was a miller, and left Scotland with his family for this country when John was about five years of age, taking up his residence first in Put- nam County. He remained there but a short time, however, and removing to Newburgh engaged in the flouring business in that part of the place then known as New Mills. The lad early showed a strong inclination for study, and received a common-school educa- tion here. Leaving school, he entered the law office of Jonathan
HON. JOHN W. BROWN.
Fisk, one of the ablest members of the Orange County Bar at that time, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1822.
At about this time he became conspicuously active in most pub- lic matters of local interest. As early as 1817 he with others was instrumental in forming a military company known as "The Bell Button Corps," from the buttons worn on their uniform. In 1824-26 he was colonel of the militia of the district.
Soon after his admission to the Bar he was elected Justice of the Peace, and in the list of Trustees of the Village of Newburgh we find his name recorded as Clerk of the Board from 1821 to 1825 inclusive. In 1832 he was elected to represent the district in Congress, and was re-elected in 1834. In 1846 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention of the State.
He was a jurist of eminence and distinguished ability. One of the celebrated cases in which he was engaged as counsel was the famous fourth trial of Polly Bodine, of Staten Island, on the charge of murder. It caused great excitement throughout the eastern por- tion of the State. Judge Brown was one of the counsel for the de-
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fendant, and succeeded by his powerful advocacy in securing her acquittal.
As a politician he was of wide influence in the counsels of his party. He was noted as a political speaker, and his famous contest in the Polk and Dallas campaign of 1844 with General Leslie Combs, of Kentucky, was but one of the many brilliant achievements of his career. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he took a decided stand as a war Democrat.
In November, 1849, he was elected Justice of the Supreme Court for the Second Judicial District, and at the expiration of the term of eight years he was re-elected, so that he occupied that position sixteen years in all. In addition to his duties in this capacity he served as associate Justice of the Court of Appeals during the last year of each of his two terms as Supreme Court Justice. Distinguished as he was as an advocate, he was far more distinguished as a judge. One of his decisions which made a great stir at the time was that declaring unconstitutional the canal loan bill.
Personally, he was gentleman of the old school. Steadfast integ- rity characterized all his dealings with his fellow-men. He appre- ciated the value of money, and his charges for legal services were always moderate, else abundant wealth, instead of a simple compe- tence, would have resulted from his large practice. A strong man when aroused in any emergency-one who could sway a jury or awe a mob-he was remarkably kind and sensitive.
Judge Brown left written directions for his funeral, and the entire service connected therewith was in accordance with the noble simplic- ity of his whole life. The services were held at his residence, con- ducted by the Rev. W. K. Hall, D. D., and were very brief and very simple, consisting only of the reading of a few passages of scripture and a prayer.
His son, William R., is at present Warden of Sing Sing Prison. The other son, Hon. 'Charles F. Brown, adopted his father's pro- fession, became District Attorney of the county, County Judge, Supreme Court Judge, and is now, by special appointment of the Governor, a member of the Second Division of the Court of Appeals.
James G. Clinton, admitted 1825. He was the son of General James Clinton, of New Windsor, and half-brother to De Witt Clinton. He was Master in Chancery, and Representative in Congress. He died May 28, 1849, in his forty-fifth year.
William C. Hasbrouck, admitted 1826. He was born in 1800, and graduated from Union College. In early life he was principal of an academy in Tennessee, and of the Farmers' Hall Academy, at Goshen. He completed his legal studies with William Ross, of New- burgh, and rose rapidly to high rank in his profession. He was fre- quently nominated for offices, but his party being in the minority he was never elected but once, when he was sent to the Assembly, and there was chosen Speaker of the body. He was a man of high bear- ing, spotless character, and a chivalric sense of honor and duty.
Hon. John James Monell was one of the most prominent men of his time in this section. A successful practitioner at the bar, active in politics, in education, and in all matters of public interest, an able speaker and writer, he filled an important place in the community. He was the eldest child of Samuel and Elvira Monell. His birth was near Coldenham, in this county, February 24, 1813. There was nothing in his boyhood to note, except the marked purity of his morals. He was prepared for college by that eminent scholar and mighty preacher, the Rev. James R. Willson, D. D., and was gradu- ated at Union College in 1833. He then came to the village of Newburgh and studied law in the office of Hon. John W. Brown, and was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court in 1837. He went out into his profession with deep earnestness, and rose to high respecta- bility at a time when the bar of Orange County was illustrious for its ability. He retired from active practice at a comparatively early age, choosing rather to act as a counsellor and to manage important trusts. It was through him that the New York Herald premises were sold to James Gordon Bennett. and he was called in as adviser to William
Cullen Bryant in his later years, becoming afterward the President of the Evening Post Association. He never held any public office ex- cept that of County Judge for a single term, to which he was elected in 1859, though he had been a candidate for the Thirtieth Congress. His early political life was among the Democrats, his latter with the Republicans; but his object first and last was the good of his country. He believed in party action without being a partisan. In all things he followed the dictates of his judgment and conscience.
The lawyer's arguments are seldom published, and the memory of them soon passes away; but whatever he does for the upbuilding of the community in which he is, lives on. Judge Monell took a large part in so many things that were for the good and prosperity of this city, that he cannot pass out of memory. He was one of the or- ganizers of the Union Presbyterian Church, of the present free school system, the gas light company, the savings bank, the Quas- saick Bank, the alms house, and our earlier railroad corporations, and filled important places in them all. He was the associate of
PHOTO, BY WHIDDIT.
HON. JOHN J. MONELL.
Enoch Carter in securing to the State the old Headquarters, at the dedication of which he delivered an eloquent address. He took an active part in founding the old Newburgh Library, and subsequently the Mechanics' Library. Indeed, there was no undertaking of a public nature occurring in the period of his activity in which he did not have a part. He gave much of his time and energy to the various railroads and turnpikes which were built or projected, and many will remem- ber his able address at the opening of the Short Cut Railroad.
His rare gifts as a public speaker made his services largely sought for on almost every occasion of public interest. In the public debates on various exciting political and social questions he was almost always a participant, and an adroit and skillful champion of the cause he es- poused. So, too, he was often heard upon national anniversaries as well as at the bar and in political assemblies. His fine presence, bright blue eyes, his clear, sonorous voice, his fertile fancy, his ready com- mand of language-all combined to make him attractive and popular as a public speaker. His published addresses were very carefully prepared, and we see in them clearness, force and rhetorical beauty.
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NEWBURGH.
Stormy as were the scenes in which Judge Monell acted in law and politics, he was happy in his social life. " His home was a little par- adise." He built " The Glen" before his marriage. There he brought the wife of his young manhood. She was Mary E. Smith, of Connecticut. Her mother was a Goodrich, a sister of " Peter Parley." She had the genius of a poet, and wrote the patriotic ode which was sung at the dedication of Washington's Headquarters. Andrew J. Downing lived but a short distance away; he made his abode beauti- ful, and drew to him many admirers. His wife was Caroline E. DeWint, daughter of John Peter DeWint, of Fishkill, whose mother was the grand-daughter of President John Adams. The two friends had their frequent meetings, and the two households were as one. Mrs. Monell and Mr. Downing died, and subsequently Judge Monell and Mrs. Downing married, and moved (about 1865) to the opposite shore of the Hudson, where they enjoyed many happy years at their country seat " Eustatia." But he still continued his interest in the welfare of Newburgh, and was almost a daily visitor here.
Judge Monell had always blended somewhat of literary labor with his professional work, and he naturally sought the society of literary people. It was not, therefore, strange that as he withdrew from the practice of his profession this literary taste increased, and that he numbered among his warmest friends such authors as Downing, Headley, Cook, Lossing, Bryant, Curtis, Park Godwin and James Freeman Clarke. The love of Revolutionary history had then taken a hold on him. There were still living officers and soldiers of the Rev- olution, from whose lips he heard the stories of other times. In his little volume "Washington's Headquarters, Newburgh," there is much of historical value. He watched closely the approach of the centennial years. He presided at the centennial meeting at Fishkill, April 19, 1876; he gave a stirring address at the centennial meeting in Newburgh, April 19, 1883; he was chairman of the Fishkill cen- tennial committee, and presided at the celebration in old Fishkill June 2, 1883. He wrote a patriotic letter for the New Windsor cele- bration a little later, and likewise noted with thoughtfulness the cen- tennial in this city.
Judge Monell died April 22, 1885, aged 72, and his remains lie buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Mrs. Monell and Miss Mary E. Mo- nell (a daughter of the first marriage) still reside at " Eustatia."
William Fullerton, admitted 1840. After practicing his profession for a number of years in Newburgh he removed to New York, where he was associated with Charles O'Conor, and from that point has risen to the highest rank at the bar in that city, but he still retains his residence in Newburgh.
Stephen W. Fullerton, admitted 1844. He won great distinction at the Orange County Bar, and filled the offices of District Attorney and County Judge. For a number of years he was associated with Charles H. Van Wyck, afterwards United States Senator from Nebraska. A number of years ago Mr. Fullerton removed his business headquar- ters from Newburgh to New York, where he has acquired renown in his profession.
The members of the bar in this city at the present time are as fol- lows :
Anthony, Walter C.
Barclay, David
Brewster, Eugene A.
Ketcham, Reeve
Brewster, Eugene A., Jr.
Leeper, Joseph M.
Cassedy, Abram S.
McClung Benjamin, ¿
Cassedy, William F.
A. S. & W. F. Cassedy Cassedy, Frank H.
S
Strahan & McClung, McCroskery, Lewis W. Y. Mullenneaux, M. H. Roosa, Elmer E.
Chatterton, Charles L. ¿
Round & Chatterton,
Round, Seward U.
Round & Chatterton,
Seeger, A. H. F. Shafer, Jesse F.
Fowler, Nehemiah Goldsmith, John K.
Sterrit, L. S. Strahan, James L. Strahan & McClung,
Graham James G.
Taylor, Grant B.
Thornton, Howard
Waring, C. L.
Ward, Warner E. L. ¿ Esmond & Ward.
HON. JAMES G. GRAHAM was born at Shawangunk, Ulster
County, N. Y., October 29, 1821. His ancestors were originally Scotch, but he is descended from a branch of the family that emigrat- to the North of Ireland; representatives of the family fought in the battle of the Boyne. His great-grandfather came to America and settled at Shawangunk about 1725, and is buried in the churchyard at St. Andrews. His grandfather, Dr. James G. Graham, during the Revolution served in detachments that were called out to repel the attacks of Indians and Tories on the settlements of the west side of the Shawangunk mountains, and was afterward a member of the State Senate for eight years. His maternal grandfather, Alexander McKay, was a Revolutionary soldier, and fought in the defense of Fort Montgomery. His father was George G. Graham, M. D., an eminent physician and citizen of Ulster; for many years he was the Supervisor of his town, a Member of Assembly in 1840, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1846.
James G. Graham attended the common schools of his native town, was fitted for college at the Newburgh Academy, and gradu- ated from Columbia College in 1840. Early in life he manifested a preference for the profession of law, and on completing his literary education he entered the office of Bate & McKissock, one of the lead- ing law firms in Newburgh, to be- gin his studies for the bar. He was admitted in 1843, and at once enter- ed upon the prac- tice of his profes- sion in the County of Ulster, with an office at Shawan- gunk. His success was immediate and pronounced. A hard student, he master- ed the foundations and framework of law, as he has since explored the "great streams and cur- rents and tides of authority."
He gained re- pute not only as a safe counselor, but the natural oratori- cal power and in- tense inborn patri- otism that have HON. JAMES G. GRAHAM. ornamented, and even directed, his whole career, were unconsciously exhibited in luis earliest public addresses. While yet but a young man he was fre- quently requested to speak on important occasions, and to lecture be- fore literary and benevolent societies. In 1844 he spoke in every town in Ulster in the interest of Henry Clay, and four years later, when but twenty-seven years old, he was elected to the State Assembly. During the Rebellion he was an unfaltering and uncompromising sup- porter of the Union cause, and at many recruiting meetings in both Orange and Ulster his patriotic utterances fired the hearts of the men who became their country's defenders. He was the attorney of the Wallkill Valley Railroad during its construction, and addressed pub- lic meetings at Kingston, Rondout, Saugerties and New Paltz in its interest.
In 1866 he was returned to the Assembly from Ulster County. It was in that year, to find larger opportunities for professional practice, that he came to Newburgh. Ten years later he was sent to the As- sembly from this county, and again the following year. Mr. Graham's legislative career has been useful and honorable; he was a member of the leading committee, Ways and Means, at three different sessions;
Dickey, William D. Dimmick, Samuel E. Esmond, Darwin W. } Esmond & Ward,
Graham James G., Jr. Gardner, John M. Headley, Russel
llirschberg, M. H.
Hyndman, William H. Johnston, Arthur M.
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NEWBURGH.
he served as Chairman of the Committee on Insurance and on General Laws, and was also a member of the Judiciary and other important committees.
Of the State Homeopathic Asylum at Middletown he was selected for a Trustee in 1873, and has held the position ever since, the only survivors of the Board to which he was first appointed being Hon. Grinnell Burt, and Hon. M. D. Stivers. He was named as a Trustee of Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh in 1874, and has con- tinued a member, and its secretary, ever since. At the organization of the Newburgh and Shawangunk Plank Road Company in 1852, he was elected a Director, and for several years past he has been its President. When the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands was formed in 1884 he was one of its incorporators, its President for two years and now a Vice-President.
He was Corporation Counsel in 1873 and '74, and again from 1885 to '90. With M. H. Hirschberg and A. S. Cassedy he was appointed on a committee to revise the City Charter; and after several months' lahor they reported a new charter, containing provisions for important changes in the plan of municipal government; their report was adopted by the Council, and the charter sent to the Legislature for enactment. During the Centennial Celebration in this city in 1883, he was chairman of the General Reception Committee, composed of foremost citizens of the place.
Judge Graham is distinguished in his profession, and out of it, as an orator. No other man of his time in the county has achieved greater popularity in that respect. Multitudes have heard his voice at many eventful celebrations; and in public halls, at the bar and in the sacred temple his words, grave or gay, always evince the thought- ful, comprehensive and scholarly mind. His orations at the several Centennial Celebrations of 1883, at the farewell to the Old Academy and at the dedication of the New, at the dedication of the Moffat Li- brary at Washingtonville, his address on Patrick Henry, and his eulogies of Winfield, Gedney and Scott, may be taken as typical pro- ductions-earnest, graceful, picturesque. Fluent in speech, rich in poetic expression, graceful in compliment, his sentences measured and rhythmical, he is a wonder-worker in words. Judge Graham, as we have tried to show, is a man of the times, and helpful to his com- munity, filling a place few others could fill. His has been in truth a well-spent life and an honorable career, and he has earned the esteem of his fellows, and he can look back upon many a "word fitly spoken," which have been indeed "apples of gold in pictures of silver."
Mr. Graham's wife is Margaret J., daughter of Israel Knapp, formerly of Walden, Orange County. They have two children, James Gilbert and Helen C.
EUGENE A. BREWSTER was born in the City of New York, April 13, 1827. His father was Timothy Brewster, a member of the family of that name now numerously represented in Connecticut, on Long Island, and in Rockland and Orange Counties. Timothy Brewster and family came to Newburgh in 1831, and until his death, in 1836, carried on the lumber business at the foot of Fifth Street, and a store at the corner of Water and Fourth Streets. In 1836 the fam- ily moved to West Troy, where they remained about two years, re- turning in 1839 to Newburgh, where Mr. Brewster has ever since re- sided.
Mrs. Juliet Brewster, the mother, resided here till her death in 1881, at the age of eighty-eight. She was a woman of energetic character and good judgment, and was greatly beloved. Her son's only school- ing was for a few years in the Newburgh High School, of which Or- ville M. Smith was principal. It stood on the spot where School No. 2 now stands. That higher education which has won him renown in his profession was acquired by unceasing private study. After heing first a pupil and then an assistant teacher at the High School (till August, 1843,) he entered the law office of the Hon. John W. Brown. In 1848 he was admitted to practice as attorney and coun- selor; in 1850 he formed a partnership with Nathan Reeve, which continued till 1855, since which time he has had no business partner. His life has been chiefly devoted to the practice of the law.
Thereto he has applied himself with singleness of purpose, craving, seemingly, honor in no other field. Because of his great learning in the law and the clearness of his vision into legal intricacies, his long experience in connection with many important cases, and his nnyield- ing, even stern integrity, there is none but will accord him the chief place among his fellows as a wise counselor and safe defender.
June 1, 1859, he married Anna W., youngest daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Brown. They have two sons and one daughter living.
Mr. Brewster has served on the Board of Alms House Commis- sioners, on the Board of Education, at different times, fourteen years, and for a short time on the Board of Trustees of Washington's Head- quarters. He has been for many years the counsel of the Alms House Board, and is now Corporation Counsel. He drew up the original City Charter, and explained and defended it at a public meeting in January, 1865. He strove unsuccessfully to include the so-called " fifth ward." With some alterations it was passed by the Legisla- ture in April, 1865. He successfully resisted in the courts the attempts
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