USA > New York > Suffolk County > Portrait and biographical record of Suffolk county (Long Island) New York, Pt. 2 > Part 55
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proprietor of a furniture store. As he had little time to spend in the vessel trade he has given it up.
Mr. Kiernan is Vice-President of the Sag Har- bor Tool Company, is a Director of the Sag Har- bor Brick Company, which is doing a profitable business, and is also interested in the Sag Harbor & Hampton Park Association, where racing and fairs are held, although Mr. Kiernan himself takes little interest in racing. He owns an orange grove in Florida, where he spends his winters. In his political faith he is a Democrat, although he is not an active participant in local politics. Our subject has an ideal residence on Main Street, which is known as the old home of Rear Admiral Stanton of the United States Navy. He was mar- ried in June, 1872, to Miss Jane Fee of Bridge- hampton, and the following children have been born to them: May, Cortland and Nellie: Au- gustus and Rutland, deceased. The family are all members of St. Andrew's Catholic Church.
C LINTON V. B. PEDRICK. Though one of the youngest members of the legal fra- ternity of Suffolk County, Mr. Pedrick is one of the most successful and influential. For some years he has been engaged in the practice of his profession at Smithtown Branch, and in addition to a large clientage in this community he has charge of legal interests in New York, Brooklyn and New Jersey. As an attorney and counselor-at-law, he seizes promptly the salient points of his case, and identifies himself clearly and closely with the interests of his clients.
Born in the city of Brooklyn. December 15. 1870, the subject of this article is a son of Isaac B. and Eugenia (Bunce) Pedrick. His mother was born at Commack and was a daughter of Ed- mund A. Bunce, an active Republican, who for many years was prominently identified with the public affairs of this county and at one time held the office of Collector of Internal Revenue; his home was in Commack, where he died at the age of fifty-two.
The father of our subject was born on Middle Road, this county, in 1845, and spent his boyhood years in Nissequogue and Commack. Soon after attaining mature years he went to Brooklyn and for a short time was employed as clerk in a gro- cery and provision store, but afterward bouglit the business, which he carried on successfully for about six years. Moving then to Williamsburg. a suburb of Brooklyn, he conducted a similar business for several years, when he sold out and accepted the position of manager of the Terry Iron Works. Later he moved to the town of Huntington and bought a farm, upon which he engaged in farming for twelve years, and then selling the place to the Huntington Land In- provement Company, he purchased from the widow of Dr. Dio Lewis the farm which is now his home.
During his residence in Brooklyn, Isaac B. Pedrick took an active and influential part in pub- lic affairs. He has always been interested in all enterprises that will conduce to the welfare of the people, and his co-operation may be depended upon in matters pertaining to the progress of the community. In Brooklyn he was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is now a local minister. He has won the esteem of his fellow-citizens by his honesty as a business man and his kindliness of disposi- tion. He and his wife had three children, namely: Clinton V. B., Harriet, who is with her parents. and Eugenia G., who died in childhood.
The paternal grandparents of our subject were Brewster and Sarah (Howell) Pedrick, both na- tives of this county. The former, who was born in the town of Huntington, was a farmer by occu- pation, which he followed much of his life, though at one time he was engaged in the mercantile business at Smithtown Landing. Prospered in his undertakings, he accumulated some valuable property and was one of the large land owners of his locality.
In the public school at Huntington the subject of this sketch received a fair education. Much of his knowledge, however, has been acquired by self-culture, for he has been a thoughtful reader of historical and current literature, and has in that
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way gained a breadth of learning that is of the highest value to him. At the age of nineteen years he entered the law office of William B. Codling of Smithtown, where he carried on his studies for two years, and later was with Hon. Thomas Young, an attorney of Huntington, for one year. December 14, 1893, he was admitted to practice at the Bar of New York, and February 8 of the following year he opened an office at Smith- town Branch, where he has since engaged in prac- tice. In March, 1894, he was appointed a Notary Public, which office he has since retained.
Mr. Pedrick is a member of the Methodist Church of Smithtown, and is officially connected with the Epworth League. Socially he is iden- tified with Jephtha Lodge No. 494, F. & A. M., at Huntington, and Anchor Lodge, No. 238, I. O. G. T., at Smithtown Branch, of which he is Lodge Deputy. In his profession he has made a specialty of conveyancing and collecting, though by no means limiting himself to these lines.
N ATHAN BRUSH CONKLIN is a farmer, residing one and a half miles east of Hunt- ington. He was born November 23, 1822, at Huntington Harbor, and is a son of George Wood Conklin and Anna W. (Brush) Conklin. being one of five children, of whom three still survive. They are, in order of birth: Henrietta E., widow of George Platt; Nathan B., and Joseph K., who is married and has one daughter, Anna B.
Our subject's father was born in October, 1794, in Huntington, and was a son of Natlian Conklin. lle spent his boyhood days at home, but as he approached manhood he went to New York City. where for a short time he clerked in a mercantile house. Later he conducted a grocery house in the city for a short time, then returned to Hunt- ington Harbor and opened np a general store at this place, which he ran until his death, in July, 1859.
Grandfather Nathan Conklin was the son of Benjamin, and was born in West Neck, about
1768. His early life was spent on the farm. his father dying during the Revolutionary War. The estate was ravaged by the British troops; subse- quently it was sold, and finding himself without a patrimony, Nathan went to sea. He later be- came captain of a coasting vessel, but finally set- tled on a farm at Huntington Harbor. His death occurred in March of 1844.
Our subject acquired his education in the com- mon schools near his home. Up to twenty-one years of age he was in the store with his father, but from that time until his twenty-sixth year he followed farming. In 1848 he removed to the place where he now lives, having built his pres- ent residence on a part of the land which had been in the family for several generations. November 23, 1847, he married Miss Henrietta, daughter of George and Ruth Sammis, of Huntington. They had three children, all of whom have lived to add to the honor of their parents. The eldest daughter, Lavinia H., is a teacher in Morristown, N. J., where she has been employed for eleven years. The others are: George S., who is engaged with his father on the farm, and Eveline M. Mr. Conklin casts his vote both in matters of national and municipal moment with the Republican party. In church relations he and his family accept the liberal teachings of the Universalist Church. For twelve years he has served as School Trustee, and during that time has always endeavored to bring advanced methods into the school system.
G EORGE R. ROGERS, a resident of the village of Huntington, was born here December 27, 1831, a son of Conklin Rogers. (A more detailed sketch of the family will be found in the sketch of Isaac Rogers, a brother of the subject of this article.) George R. was educated in the schools of this village, and spent his boyhood among the charming scenes that characterize this portion of the island. December 14, 1854. he was married to Miss Sarah M. Wheeler. of Westport, Conn., and four years later he removed to that place, where he
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lived for ten years. His home instinct was strong, however, and in 1868 he came back to his na- tive place, and established himself in the drug business, which he has conducted in the same place up to the present time. He has been one of the successful business men of the placc. and has won a standing for himself which is recog- nized on all sides.
Mr. Rogers has taken a lively interest in the de- velopment of the business interests of Hunting- ton, and has not hesitated to give that interest solid financial backing. He is in the steamboat com- pany, the Huntington Water Works, the opera house, and is one of the stockholders of the Long Island Publishing Company of this village. For three years he was Town Clerk, but refused to hold the place any longer. In politics our subject is a lifelong Republican, and religiously is a leading member of the First Presbyterian Church, for several years being a Trustee of that body. He has been the father of two children, only one of whom is now living. Maria married Fred B. Sammis, and died in the fall of 1894, leaving one child, Ruth, who makes her home with her grandfather, the subject of this sketch. Laura married Millard W. Bath, and lives in New York, where her husband is agent for the Studebaker Wagon Company; they have no children.
T HE VAN WYCK FAMILY have been intimately associated with the history of Long Island from a period very early in its settlement, and through all the intervening years its members have been known as among the worthiest and most progressive residents of the is- land. The founder of the family in America was Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck, who emigrated from Holland in 1660 and settled at Midwout (now Flatbush), near the west end of the island, becoming one of the patentees of that tract of land. The old records show that he took the oath of allegiance September 26, 1687, to William, Prince of Orange, in "yc thirde year of his majes- tie's raigne."
Thus we have an introduction to the first repre- sentative of the family in America, who are de- scended from an old and respected noble family in the Low Country, and the present members there still preserve a remembrance of their Ameri- can cousins. In 1654, among the carlier settlers of Flatbush, was Dominie Theodorus Johannes Polhemus (died June 9, 1696), who came to New Amsterdam from Brazil with his wife, Catherine Van Werven, and was the first clergyman to set- tle on Long Island. To Anna Polhemus, the daughter of this Hollander, Cornelius Barentse Van Wyck was married, and they were enrolled among the church members residing at Flatbush.
Theodorus, son of Cornelius and Anna Van Wyck ("born Sept. 19th, 1668, dicd Sept. 4th, 1753, in ye eighty-sixth ycar of his age"), mar- ried April 29, 1693, Margretia, daughter of Abra- ham and Altie (Stryker) Brinckerhoff, the latter being a daughter of Jan Stryker; the former, who was a son of Joris Brinckerhoff, of Hissingen, Holland, was born in 1675, and died August 27, 1741. Records show that Theodorus was one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace from 1718 until his death, and Supervisor of Queens County in 1726. He and his brother, Johannes, were kirk masters in the Jamaica Dutch Reformed Church. In 1701 he removed to Great Neck and bought the property that is now in possession of Benjamin Hicks. The homestead is in a good state of prescrvation, the rooms commodious and the ceilings high, and it is located near the water, commanding a full view of Cow Bay. He was a prosperous farmer and owned extensive tracts in Queens County. His large family Bible, printed in Holland in 1690, is now in possession of Theo- dorus Van Wyck Brinckerhoff, of Fishkill.
At his death Theodorus Van Wyck left four sons: Cornelius and Theodorus were the progen- itors of the Van Wycks of Fishkill; Gen. Charles H. Van Wyck, a descendant of the former, was United States Senator from Nebraska. Abraham. the third son, settled in New York, and among his descendants is Pierre Van Courtlandt Van Wyck. for many years Recorder. Barent, the young- est, was born March 4, 1703, and died in January, 1750. Ilis marriage, November 12, 1727, united
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him with Hannah, daughter of Thomas Carman, of Merrick. He was a prosperous land owner, and in religious belief a firm supporter of the Dutch Church, having been voted an honorary seat as a compliment for his services. After his death his wife and six of her children were bap- tized in St. George's Episcopal Church, Hemp- stead. The widow died January 9, 1790, aged eighty-six.
Of the sons of Barent and Hannah Van Wyck, Theodorus became the ancestor of the Van Wycks of Woodbury; Thomas was Captain of the loyal Queens County militia, and went to Nova Scotia after the Revolution; Abraham was Cap- tain of the Provincial militia; Samuel, who was born August 4, 1735, died November 6, 1810. He was united in marriage August 30, 1766, with Hannah, daughter of Capt. John and Hannah (Jackson) Hewlett, the latter a daughter of Col. John Jackson, of Jerusalem. Hannah (Hewlett) Van Wyck was born July 25, 1733, and passed away May 16, 1808.
Abraham, son of Samuel, was born October 21, 1767, and died January 30, 1852. He married January 24, 1790, Zeruah Van Wyck, who was born October 15, 1771, and died May 22, 1851. She was a daughter of his uncle and aunt, Capt. Abraham and Elizabeth (Wright) Van Wyck, who were married June 23, 1761, and resided in West Neck, Suffolk County. The aunt was a daughter of John Wright of Oyster Bay, and the uncle, Captain Van Wyck, was born March 22, 1738, and died February 5, 1809.
. Shortly after his marriage Abraham Van Wyck purchased the extensive and beautiful tract of land overlooking Huntington Harbor, which his father-in-law had bought in 1787, and which is still in the possession of his great-grandchildren, being known as the Van Wyck homestead. The long rambling house built in the old Dutch style is at the water's edge. and its half doors, upper and lower, its wainscoated mantel, its corner closets, small window panes and large open fireplaces in which the hickory still burns, all indicate the age, as well as the substantial character of the struc- ture. Upon entering the gate, which is nearly a half mile from the house, a picturesque scene
presents itself to the eye. Long Island Sound and the rising hills of Connecticut stretch in the distance, while Eaton's Neck, with its lighthouse, Lloyd's Neck, with its red beacon, East Neck, Northport, Centreport, Lloyds and Huntington harbors are in the foreground.
Of the children of Abraham and Zeruah Van Wyck, we note the following: Mary was born December 21, 1791, and died February 20, 1850. having married, May 28, 1817, Henry Fleet, son of Hon. John and Margery (Tobias) Fleet, of Oyster Bay; Samuel A. was born January 24, 1794, and died May 19, 1875; Elizabeth was born March 15, 1796, married Joseph Lawrence Hew- lett, of Great Neck, and died August 30, 1875: Abraham H. was born August 13, 1798, and died June 24, 1849; Joshua Hammond was born Sep- tember 9. 1800, and died February 11, 1847, and William was born January 24, 1803.
Joshua H. Van Wyck, attorney-at-law. was united in marriage October 30, 1822, with Sarah M. Hewlett, daughter of Whitehead Hewlett. of Great Neck, L. I. She was born July 31, 1803. and died March 16, 1890, having become the mother of four children: Mary married N. Shel- ton Mills: her son, Charles Edgar, is a lawyer; April 24, 1879, her daughter, Mary H., married George C. Coffin, a lawyer. Mrs. Van Wyck's oth- er children were Anne, Jane and Whitehead Hew- lett. The last named was born March 7. 1838, and passed from earthi May 26, 1888, aged fifty years. December 17, 1857, he married Mary Kate Fleet. daughter of John and Margaretta Fleet, and granddaughter of Henry and Mary ( Van Wyck) Fleet. of Oyster Bay. She was born September 24, 1840, and died January 7, 1884, having had eight children, as follows: Zeruah, born October 13. 1858. died March 12, 1863; a son born October 5. 1860, . died unnamed; Harry, born March 4. 1864, died September 17, 1865; Helen ; Frank, who died at Denver, Colo., January 30. 1890; Al- bert Barent: Edward Whitehead, and Mary Kath- arine Van Asch.
The Fleet family is of English origin, and their lineage is traced as follows: Thomas Fleet, who was born November 1, 1681, married Esther Par- rot. Their son, Simon, born October 7, 1703.
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married Hannah, daughter of Samuel Bailey, and died June 16, 1729. Next in line of descent was Thomas Fleet, born April 3, 1725, who married Deborah, daughter of Daniel Underhill, of Ma- tinecock, a descendant of Sir John Underhill, Governor of Exeter and Dover, 1641. Hon John Fleet, who was next in line of family history, was born April 13, 1757, married Margery, daughter of Dr. Christian and Catherine Tobias, of Nova Scotia; she was born August 3, 1760, and died March 29, 1845-
The next generation was represented by Henry Fleet, only surviving son, who was born January 22, 1784, married, May 28, 1817, Mary, daughter of Abraham and Zeruah Van Wyck, of West Neck, and died October 20, 1852. His son, John Fleet, the only surviving child, was born April 12; 1818, and died September 29, 1852. His wife. Margaretta, whom he married November 20, 1839, was born July 15, 1817, and was the only child of John and Mary (Reynolds) Selleck. Mary Reynolds, who was born October 5, 1793, and died in 1867, was a daughter of James Reynolds (born July 28, 1768, died May 16, 1834) and his wife Elizabeth Weeks (born December 6, 1764, died November 23, 1838), and she was a grand- daughter of Caleb Reynolds, of Dutchess County.
The children of John and Margaretta Fleet were as follows: Mary Kate, who married White- head Hewlett Van Wyck, of West Neck; Capt. Harry, born December 27, 1842; Lydia Maver- ick, born November 19, 1844, died December 5. 1863; and Samuel Van Wyck. The last-named married, December 1, 1873, Anna Youngs Mc- Coun, granddaughter of William Townsend Mc- Coun, first Vice-Chancellor of the state of New York. Their children were John, who died young; Cecile, Henry Youngs, Samuel Van Wyck, David Jones and Gilbert Sidney McCoun.
In private schools and Columbia College Whitehead Hewlett Van Wyck obtained a thorough education, and later became a practicing attorney of New York City. Politically he was a rigid Democrat and was actively identified with public affairs in Queens County. At the age of forty he was obliged to quit business on account of ill health, and in ISSI he took up his residence
at the Van Wyck homestead, which had been willed to him by his uncle, Samuel A. Van Wyck. His idea of justice and equality was so great that he left it in common to his sons and daughters, rather than make a choice. His generosity of dis- position, geniality of manner and keenness as a lawyer will long be remembered.
Hon. William, the youngest son of Abraham and Zeruah Van Wyck, married Lydia Ann. daughter of Samuel Maverick, of South Carolina. She was born in 1813 and died September 25. 1885, having had five sons and two daughters. Concerning them we note the following: Dr. Samuel Van Wyck, who was born April 14, 1835, and died November 30, 1861, married Margaret, daughter of Dr. Robert Broyles, and settled in South Carolina, in 1855; his children were Sam- uel, born April 1, 1857, and Oze, August 1, 1858. William, a lawyer of New York, was born April 17, 1840, and died May 28, 1887; in 1861 he mar- ried Mary, daughter of Judge Battle, of North Carolina, and their daughter, Mary Battle Van Wyck, is now a resident of Baltimore, Md. His second wife, whom he married in 1880, was Har- riet R. Early, and they have two children, Anne, born in November, 1881, and William, in March, 1882. Zeruah married Charles, son of David Banks, of New York, and their children are Lydia Ann and Zoe. Judge Augustus Van Wyck, of the Supreme Court, Brooklyn, married Leila, daugh- ter of Dr. William Wilkins, of Virginia, and they have two children, William (a lawyer) and Leila Grey. January 8, 1896, the latter was united in marriage with James W. Osborne, a lawyer and Assistant District Attorney of New York City. Judge Robert Anderson Van Wyck is Chief Jus- tice of the City Court of New York. Lydia be- came the wife of Gen. Robert Hoke, of Raleigh, N. C., and their children are Michael, Van Wyck and Lydia. Dr. Benjamin S., who was educated in England, died August 31, 1888, in New York City, aged thirty-four years.
From a letter written by Judge Anthony Van Wyck to Miss Anne Van Wyck, of Jamaica, who has spent many years upon the genealogy, we quote the following in brief: The family originat- ed at the town of Wyck bei Diersteede, situated on
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
a branch of the Rhine, about seventeen miles be- low Arnheim. It is a picturesque town of three thousand inhabitants, has a dike on the river side, and on the land side massive walls and three gates with a large wind mill over each. A handsome old church and the remains of a castle are the points of sight. The family descended from Chevalier Hendrick Van Wyck, who lived about 1400. They were Roman Catholics until Jan Van Wyck, a member of the Council of Utrecht, married Wy- ander Van Asch, a Protestant, in 1575. Her brother dying without heirs left her his property on condition that her descendants take the name of Van Asch Van Wyck and join the family coat of arms. From her son, Jacob V. Asch V. Wyck (born at Utrecht February 28, 1584, died March 30, 1635, Councillor and Receiver General), who married Anna van Rynevelt (born in 1590, died June 10, 1639), the whole Protestant branch de- scends. The arms are a cross of gold on a field of black with two silver thistles in each quarter. Tradition says that one of the ancestors was a Crusader, and the flowers represented some that grew in Palestine. The whole is surmounted by a crown, uplifted by two griffins.
A leaf from the Holland record bears the fol- lowing: Hendrick Van Wyck, Chevalier, 1400; Jan Van Wyck, Chevalier, 1464; Hendrick Van Wyck, Canon of St. Mary's, 1490; Reinant Van Wyck, Chevalier, 1510; Hendrick Van Asch Van Wyck, Lord of Prallbragh, Burgomaster of Ut- recht, Knight of St. John of Jerusalem; Hubert Matthias Henry John v. Asch v. Wyck, Burgo- master of Utrecht, President of the National As- sembly; Anthony Michael Cornelis v. Asch v. Wyck married Isabella, Baroness von Leer, Chev- alier, Judge, member of English Society of Science and Art, London; Lodewyck Hendrick v. Asch v. Wyck, Lord of Hallenburgh; Cornelia Ann Alexandrine v. Asch v. Wyck married Jacob, Baron von Leer and Lord of Zutphens.
Letters, photographs and visits have been ex- changed, from time to time, between the Van Wycks of Holland and America, the correspond- ence having been carried on in French and Eng- lish. In both countries they occupy positions of trust in the army and on the bench. They are
wedded to their name with undying veneration and affection, and it is associated with good, true and virtuous qualities, which have been transmit- ted through generations of sons and daughters. making them honored and respected by all. The family has intermarried with the Provoosts. Schuylers, Gardiners, Hewletts, Livingstons. Van Rensselaers, Van Courtlands, Hamiltons, Baileys. Lawrences, Thornes and other well-known iam- ilies.
J OHN R. SCUDDER, who resides one mile east of Huntington and is a well-known farmer of this locality, is a native of Hunt- ington Harbor and was born November 15, 1832. He is a son of Gershom Bradley and Ruth ( Ketch- um) Scudder, and was one of four children who blessed the union of his parents, but of these be alone survives. His father, who was born in Huntington April 1, 1789, was the son of Na- thaniel Scudder, also a native of Huntington, born October 7, 1757, and died July 18, 1829. Grand- father Nathaniel was the son of Thomas and Abi- gail (Sanınıis) Scudder, of whom a more complete sketch will be found under the name of Gilbert Scudder, of East Neck. Gershom B. Scudder was reared to agricultural duties and followed that oc- cupation all his life. He was a man highly es- teemed among his contemporaries and was deeply mourned when his death occurred, June 20. 1864.
John R. Scudder, of this sketch, spent his boy- hood days as did the majority of the youth of his time and locality. He was sent to the common schools and acquired a good education. At the age of seventeen he apprenticed himself to learn the trade of a wheelwright and although he has made but little use of this knowledge has never felt that the equipment was in vain. His father was advanced in years and felt that he needed his son's strong shoulder to lean upon. Thus tile management of the home farm fell to his lot, and from that time on he has given his attention to tilling the soil.
In 1888 our subject sold the old homestead at Huntington and purchased the place where he
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