USA > New York > New York City > Prominent families of New York; being an account in biographical form of individuals and families distinguished as representatives of the social, professional and civic life of New York city > Part 25
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One of the prominent representatives of the family in the last generation was the Reverend Dr. Cornelius C. Cuyler, who was born in Albany in 1783 and died in 1850. Graduated from Union College in 1806, he studied theology, and in 1809 became pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in Poughkeepsie, and occupied that pulpit for more than twenty-five years. He then became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, and remained in that charge until his death. He received the degree of D. D. from Union College in 1838.
Theodore Cuyler, the only son of the Reverend Cornelius C. Cuyler, was for many years a distinguished member of the bar of Philadelphia. He married the eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas De Witt, for forty years pastor of the Collegiate Dutch Church of New York. Thomas De Witt Cuyler, the eldest son of Theodore Cuyler, is a graduate from Yale College and a member of the Philadelphia bar. He is, however, well known in New York and has many interests here, both business and social. He is a director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society and of several railroad and other corporations, and is a member of the Lawyers', University and other clubs, the Holland Society and the Society of the Cincinnati. Mr. Cuyler married Frances Lewis. Their country place is Edgewood, Haverford, Pa. Cornelius Cuyler Cuyler, second son of Theodore Cuyler, was graduated from Princeton University in 1879. He entered the banking profession, and is now head of the firm of Cuyler, Morgan & Co., of this city. He is a member of the Union, Princeton, City, University, Manhattan, Calumet and University Athletic clubs, and also belongs to the Holland Society and the Downtown Association.
The Georgia and Virginia branch of the family descends from Henry and Katherine (Cruger) Cuyler, of New York, whose son, Captain Teleman Cruger Cuyler, removed to Savannah, Ga., in 1768. He married Jeanne de la Touche and died in 1772. One of his daughters married Captain George Bunner, the ancestor of Henry Cuyler Bunner, the author. The eldest son, Captain Henry Cuyler, was killed at the siege of Savannah. The third son, Jeremiah La Touche Cuyler, was the first Federal Judge in Georgia. His eldest son, Richard Randolph Cuyler, was presi- dent of the Central Railroad of Georgia. Another son, Dr. John M. Cuyler, 1810-1884, was Surgeon and Brevet Brigadier-General, United States Army, and married Mary Wayne. Their son, James M. Cuyler, married Alice Holden; the only child of this marriage, Caroline Campbell Cuyler, married Sir Philip Egerton, Baronet, of England. The youngest daughter of Judge Jeremiah La T. Cuyler, Estelle Cuyler, married Captain Henry Hunter Smith, their son being Teleman Cuyler Smith, a lawyer of Atlanta, Ga.
The Reverend Theodore Ledyard Cuyler, son of B. Ledyard Cuyler, has added to the distinction of the family. Born in Aurora, N. Y., in 1822, he was graduated from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1846, and was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in 1848. His early pastorates were in Trenton, N. J., and New York, and since 1860 he has been minister of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn.
151
ERIC B. DAHLGREN
J OHAN ADOLF DAHLGREN, 1744-1797, the great-grandfather of the present generation of the American bearers of his name, was an eminent Swedish scientist and physician. A graduate of the University of Upsala, his scientific writings were honored at that seat of learning, and he also held professional positions in the service of his native country. His son, Bernhard Ullrik Dahlgren, born in 1784, was also a graduate of Upsala. Espousing liberal opinions, he became involved in a republican movement in 1804, and was obliged to flee from Sweden. After a time, the Swedish government took him once more into favor, and he became its consul at Oporto, Portugal, and afterwards at Philadelphia, where he was a merchant, and where he died in 1824. He married an American lady, Martha Rowan, daughter of James Rowan, who during the Revolution served with General Lacy's Brigade of the Pennsylvania Line.
Their famous son, Admiral John Adolf Dahlgren, U. S. N., was born in Philadelphia in 1809. Entering the navy as a midshipman in 1826, his subsequent life was part of the country's history. He created the ordnance department of the navy, and by his scientific labors fairly revolution- ized the prevalent ideas of ordnance, while his active service in the defense of Washington, at the beginning of the Civil War, in the South Atlantic blockade squadron, and in the naval opera- tions against Charleston, S. C., made his part in the conflict successful and conspicuous. He was one of the five Admirals created by special Act of Congress with the thanks of the nation. He died in Washington, while commandant of the Navy Yard there. Admiral Dahlgren wrote a num- ber of scientific works relating to gunnery and ordnance. He married Madeline Vinton, only daughter of the Honorable Samuel Finley Vinton, of Ohio, a distinguished lawyer and states- man, who was a Member of Congress for twenty-two years, and was author of the Act of 1849, which established the Department of the Interior. Vinton County and the town of Vinton, O., were both named after him. His wife was Romaine Madeline Bureau, whose father, the son of a Revolutionary soldier, emigrated to Ohio in 1792, and was one of its early State Senators. Mrs. Madeline (Vinton) Dahlgren survives her husband, and is well known in the literary world. She has written a Memoir of Admiral Dahlgren and other works.
Several of Admiral Dahlgren's sons were conspicuous in the public service. The eldest son, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, 1842-64, had a heroic career in the army during the Civil War, and was killed while engaged in a cavalry raid designed to liberate Federal prisoners confined in Richmond. In 1872, a memoir of his life was published by his father. Another son, Captain Charles Dahlgren, served with distinction in the navy under Admiral Porter and under his father. Lieutenant Paul Dahlgren served in the army, and afterwards was United States Consul-General at Rome, where he died in 1874. He married Annie Rutherford Morgan, who survives him, their daughter being Romola Dahlgren.
Eric B. Dahlgren is the fourth and eldest surviving son of Admiral John Adolf and Madeline (Vinton) Dahlgren. He was born in Washington, D. C., September 15th, 1866, and was graduated from Harvard College with the degree of A. B. in 1889. He married Lucy Drexel, daughter of the late Joseph W. Drexel, of this city, a member of the banking firm of Drexel, Morgan & Co. Her mother, Lucy (Wharton) Drexel, is a lineal descendant of the Revolutionary patriot and first Governor of Pennsylvania, Thomas Wharton.
John Vinton Dahlgren, the youngest son of Admiral Dahlgren, was born in Valparaiso, Chili, April 22d, 1868. He was graduated from the University of Georgetown, D. C., in 1889, and from the law school of the same institution in 1891. In 1892, he was admitted to the bar, and, removing to New York, entered the law office of Lord, Day & Lord. In 1895-96, he was attorney to the Building Department of this city, and compiled the Dahlgren Building Law Manual. He married Elizabeth Drexel, sister of the wife of his brother, Eric B. Dahlgren. His residence is in West Fifty-sixth Street, and he is a member of the Catholic, Republican and New York Athletic clubs, and of many literary and historical associations.
152
CHARLES P. DALY
A S far back as Irish history extends, the O'Dalys, of County Galway, are mentioned, and have given to their country scholars, soldiers, legislators and others prominent in the public eye. Ex-Chief Justice Daly, of our own Court of Common Pleas, descends from this ancient race, his father having come from the North of Ireland in the earlier part of this century and settled in New York.
Judge Daly was born in this city October 31st, 1816. He received a sound education in a private school, with the object of fitting him for one of the learned professions. Among his schoolmates were the late Cardinal-Archbishop of New York McCloskey and the eminent advocate, James T. Brady. The death of his father, while he was still a lad, clouded his prospects; but filled with a determination to make his own way, he went to Savannah, Ga., and found occupation as a clerk. Dissatisfied with his occupation, he went to sea as a sailor before the mast. In this rude employment, he visited many distant parts of the world, but from his seafaring life he gained the love of geographical research, which was to play a part in his subsequent life second only to his professional career. Forsaking the sea after an experience of three years, he returned to New York and apprenticed himself in a mechanical trade.
His intellectual qualities now, however, asserted themselves. He devoted his spare hours to study, and joined a debating society, in which he soon distinguished himself by his ability and eloquence. One of his fellow members was William Soule, a lawyer, who, struck with the young mechanic's ability, advised him to study law, and offered him the means for a course at Union College. He, however, not only declined this, but on the death of his master, which released him from all obligation, voluntarily remained and worked for his employer's widow till his indentures had expired. Hardships were disregarded in his intense application to his studies, and such was his progress that in 1839 Chief Justice Nelson relaxed all rules in his behalf on the score of his fitness and admitted him to the bar. He then formed a professional partnership with Mr. McElrath, who was afterwards associated with Horace Greeley in founding The Tribune. He subsequently formed other partnerships, and soon came into notice at the bar for the soundness of his legal attainments. In 1843, he served in the Legislature of the State and refused a nomination, equivalent to an election, to Congress, preferring his profession to politics. In 1844, however, promotion came in the form of an appointment to the bench of the Court of Common Pleas of New York City by Governor Bouck. That position he held for forty-two years, till 1885, when he retired under the age provision of the State Constitution. When Judge Daly assumed his office it was appointive. When, however, the Constitution of 1846 made it elective, he was promptly elected to succeed himself, and was four times reelected, being chosen in 1858 as Chief Justice of the Court to succeed Judge Ingraham. In 1871, when the end of one of his terms was expiring, the so-called Tweed Ring, having no favor for a magistrate of Judge Daly's integrity, were determined to defeat his renomination. The overthrow of the ring prior to the election, however, checked this plan, and Judge Daly received evidence of the approval of his fellow citizens in the form of a nomination from all political parties, so that the votes at the election were cast unanimously for him.
During his judicial career, Judge Daly sat in many important cases. One of the most noted incidents was when he presided at the trial of the Astor Place rioters, in 1849. On this occasion, he gave ample evidence of his firmness and impartiality as a judge, defining the law of riots so that, while the result was the conviction of the guilty persons, he fixed the legal principles involved for all time in New York. On leaving the bench, in 1885, Chief Justice Daly received the exceptional honor, on December 30th of that year, of a general meeting of the bar, presided over by ex-President Arthur and attended by the leaders of the legal profession, at which resolutions expressing profound respect and admiration for the retiring judge were feelingly adopted. On the evening of the same day, Judge Daly was offered a further
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tribute in the form of a complimentary dinner at Delmonico's, given by all the judges of the courts of New York City and county. Since that time, he has retained full interest in the profession to which he devoted his early life, and which in his judicial capacity he did so much to dignify.
Judge Daly's services to the public were not, however, confined to his duties on the bench. A Democrat always, he nevertheless gave his unswerving support to the Union in the Civil War, and was frequently consulted during the struggle by President Lincoln, Secretary William H. Seward, Chief Justice Chase, and the other leaders of the national cause. Upon the expression of Judge Daly's opinion, that, although the seizure of Mason and Slidell would be justified by the English interpretation of the law, it was contrary to the law of nations and the decisions of our own Supreme Court, Secretary Seward unwillingly consented to surrender them, though previously strongly opposed to doing so; by which a war with England was averted. In 1867, Judge Daly was a member of the State Constitutional Convention.
Outside of his profession, Judge Daly has won fame as a man of letters and scientist. In 1851, he visited Europe and made the intimate acquaintance, among other famous men, of Lord Brougham, Freiherr Von Bunsen and Baron Von Humboldt. In his published corre- spondence, Humboldt writes to Bunsen: "Few men have left upon me such an impression of high intelligence on subjects of universal interest, and in the judgment of apparently opposite directions of character among the nations that inhabit the ever-narrowing Atlantic basin. Add to this, what is very uncommon in an American, and still more uncommon in the practical life of a greatly occupied magistrate, that this man of high character and intellect is not wanting in a lively interest for the fine arts, and even for poetry. I have led him from conversations on slavery, Mormonism and Canadian feudalism to the question so important to me-whether anything can be expected from the elegant literature of a nation of which the noblest productions have their root in a foreign country ?" He was one of the earliest members of the American Geographical Society, and has been its president for thirty-four years, making it one of the most useful scientific institutions of the metropolis. The annual addresses he has delivered before the society have taken rank among the most valuable contributions to geographical literature. Foreign men of science have paid him many tributes, and he is an honorary member of the Geographical Societies of England, Germany, Russia, Holland, Spain, Sweden, Brazil and Portugal, and a member of the National Geographical Society of Washington, and the Geographical Club of Philadelphia. In 1860, Columbia College conferred upon him the degree of LL. D., in recognition of his professional and literary services.
Judge Daly is a lover of books, and has collected one of the choicest private libraries in New York. He has written much, among his published works being an Historical Sketch of the Tribunals of New York, 1625-1846, The Nature, Extent and History of the Surrogate's Court of the State of New York, Comparisons Between Ancient and Modern Banking Systems, and a History of the Settlement of the Jews in North America, besides addresses, essays and articles upon many subjects, legal, scientific and literary, including poetry and the drama, upon both of which he is an authority.
While an honored member of many leading social organizations, there is no notable literary, artistic or scientific body in the metropolis with which he is not connected. He is a life member of the National Academy of Design, of the New York Historical Society, and of a number of Historical Societies throughout the United States. Besides that, he is an honorary member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and of the Mercantile Library Association, a member of the American Museum of Natural History, as well as of the American Philosophical Society. For many years he was president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and is a member of the Century, Union, Authors', City and Players clubs.
In 1856, Judge Daly married Maria Lydig, a lady belonging to an old and eminent New York family. His residence in Clinton Place is noted for its cultured hospitality, and there Judge Daly is rounding out the evening of a laborious, useful, successful and happy life.
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JOSEPH F. DALY
O NE of the most conspicuous New Yorkers of Southern birth is the Honorable Joseph F. Daly, of the Supreme Court, and Presiding Judge of the Appellate Term. Judge Daly is a New Yorker by education and life-long association. Born in Plymouth, N. C., in 1840, his family removed to New York before he was nine years old. Here he received his schooling ; began the study of law in the office of S. W. & R. B. Roosevelt ; in May, 1862, was admitted to the bar, and in 1865, upon the dissolution of the firm, succeeded to their business, entering at once upon an extensive general practice, and quickly took high rank as one of the most promising young attorneys of that time.
One of the first things to bring him notably to the attention of the public was the part which he took in the citizens' movement against municipal corruption during the years between 1864 and 1870. He was one of the most active counsel of the reform movement, and gave valuable legal assistance in the work of securing better government for the city, under the leadership of Peter Cooper and such eminent lawyers as Charles O'Conor, Benjamin D. Silliman, Alexander Hamilton, Jr., Benjamin W. Bonney, Charles Tracy, James R. Whiting, William Curtis Noyes, and others. His duties embraced the prosecution of charges of official malfeasance before the Governor, making arguments upon the tax levies and reform bills before legislative committees, and the bringing of injunction suits to prevent the misappropriation of public funds.
Judge Daly was elected first to the Court of Common Pleas in May, 1870, when he was twenty-nine years of age, and in 1884 he was re-elected, he and his associate, Judge Larremore, being the only candidates elected on their ticket. Judge Daly's popularity was attested by the fact that he led the list of nine candidates in the field. He is now serving his second term, to which he was chosen by votes from all political parties, and which expires in 1898. He was chosen by his associates in 1890 to be Chief Justice, and was the last Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which was abolished by the Constitution of 1896, the judges being transferred to the Supreme Court. He has long been recognized as one of the ablest lawyers in the city or in New York State, and is one of the most upright members of the judiciary that the bench of this city has ever known, being noted for his high judicial attainment and his profound legal knowledge.
Outside of his professional life, Judge Daly is deeply interested in art, literature and science. He is a man of high culture, thoroughly well informed in general literature, and especially interested in the drama. He was one of the founders of the Players Club, with Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett and his brother, Augustin Daly, the eminent dramatist and manager, who has done probably more than any man in the annals of the American stage to uphold the dignity of the profession and bring the theatre up to the highest standard of literary and dramatic excellence. Justice Daly belongs to the Metropolitan, Manhattan, Democratic, Players and Catholic clubs (of the latter he is president for the fourth term), the Bar Association, the Southern Society, the Dunlap Society, the New York Law Institute, the Geographical Society, and the Board of St. Vincent's Hospital, and has been for many years a manager of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. He received the degree of LL. D. in 1883, from St. John's College. His city residence is 19 East Sixty-second Street.
Justice Daly is the son of Captain Denis Daly, who was born in Limerick, about 1797, and who, after serving as purser's clerk in the British Navy, resigned and came to America, where he built and sailed his own vessels, finally settling in Plymouth, N. C., in 1838, as wharfinger and merchant. He married, in 1834, Elizabeth Therese Duffey, born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, W. I., in 1812, the daughter of Lieutenant John Duffey, of the One Hundred and First Regiment, and of Margaret Moriarty, of Tralee, Ireland. Justice Daly married, in 1873, Emma Robinson Barker, step-daughter of the late Judge Hamilton W. Robinson, by whom he has two sons, Edward Hamilton and Wilfrid Augustin, and a daughter, Elizabeth Theresa. His wife dying in 1886, he married, in 1890, Mary Louise, daughter of Edgar M. Smith, of this city.
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CHARLES ANDERSON DANA
M ANY distinguished men in the United States have borne the name of the family whose first American representative was Richard Dana, who came from France to Boston about 1640. From him have descended the Danas of Massachusetts and other parts of the country, who have been famed in law, statesmanship and literature, or men of mark in other pursuits. Among them the names of Chief-Justice Francis Dana, of Massachusetts, and Richard Henry Dana, father and son, lawyers and authors, will naturally suggest themselves.
One branch of the family settled in Pennsylvania, Anderson Dana, who came to the Wyom- ing Valley in 1772, being a grandson of Jacob, who was a son of the original Richard Dana of Massachusetts. He was a volunteer aide to Colonel Zebulon Butler when the settlement was attacked by the Indians, and perished in the Wyoming Valley massacre. One of the great-grand- sons of Anderson Dana was General Edmund L. Dana, of Pennsylvania.
The late Charles Anderson Dana was a great-grandson of Anderson Dana, the first of the name, being the son of Anderson Dana and his wife, Ann Dennison, and the grandson of Daniel and Dollie (Kibbee) Dana. He was born in Hinsdale, N. H., August 8th, 1819. His father, Anderson Dana, was a merchant in Hinsdale, but was not successful, and his son, when a boy of only ten years of age, went to Buffalo, where he was employed in his uncle's business house for several years, but in 1839 began a college course in Harvard. Failing eyesight compelled him to leave college after two years study, but later in life Harvard conferred on him the degree of A. M. In 1842, he joined the Brook Farm community, where he was associated with Nathaniel Hawthorne, George Ripley, John S. Dwight, Minott Pratt and others. For several years he had been writing for The Harbinger, a Brook Farm periodical, and at the age of twenty-seven began to work regularly on The Boston Chronotype, where he earned his first money in the newspaper profession.
In 1847, Mr. Dana came to New York and joined the staff of The Tribune, and in 1848 spent eight months in Europe as a correspondent of The Tribune, Chronotype, Commercial Advertiser and other papers. Returning in 1849, he became managing editor of The Tribune and held that place for fifteen years. Differences with Horace Greeley regarding its attitude on the Civil War led him to leave The Tribune in 1862. Secretary Stanton then employed him in the War Depart- ment and finally appointed him Assistant Secretary of War. He held the position until hostilities were over, and while in office rendered invaluable service to the Union cause, spending much of his time at the front in confidential and perilous missions. After the war he was engaged for a short period on The Chicago Tribune, but in 1867 came to New York and in partnership with several friends bought The Sun. From that time until his death in October, 1897, the history of The Sun was Mr. Dana's, and he was regarded as the dean of American journalists.
His country residence on Dosoris Island, near Glen Cove, Long Island, is a magnificent garden and he was an authority upon horticulture. He was also an art connoisseur, and his city house, 25 East Sixtieth Street, contains a large and valuable art collection, while he was also an authority on pictures and an expert upon the subject of porcelains.
Despite the exactions of daily newspaper work, Mr. Dana found time for extensive travels abroad as well as to cultivate literature. He was a remarkable linguist, having command of nearly all modern and ancient languages. He compiled The Household Book of Poetry, Fifty Perfect Poems, and other anthologies, wrote a Life of General Grant in collaboration with General James H. Wilson, and with George Ripley planned and edited The New American Cyclopedia. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the New England Society, and a supporter of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1846, Mr. Dana married Eunice McDaniel, of Maryland, who survives him. They had three daughters, Ruth, who married William H. Draper, M. D .; Eunice, who married Dr. John W. Brannan, and Zoe, who married Walter M. Underhill. Their only son, Paul Dana, born in 1852, married Mary Duncan. He was at one time president of the Board of Park Commissioners of New York, and has succeeded his father as editor of The Sun.
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RICHARD STARR DANA
R ICHARD DANA was the progenitor of a family that has been illustrious in many walks of life in this country during the last two centuries and a half. He left his native country. England, in 1640, and coming to America, settled in Cambridge, Mass. He was a man of education and means, and his Cambridge property is still in the family. The third son of Richard Dana was Benjamin Dana, the great-grandfather of the Reverend Samuel Dana, of Marblehead, Mass., who was the grandfather of Mr. Richard Starr Dana. The great-grandfather of Mr. Dana was Joseph Dana, who was born in Pomfret, Conn., in 1742, and died in Ipswich, Mass., in 1827. Graduated from Yale College in 1760, he studied theology, and in 1765 was ordained minister of the South Congregational Church of Ipswich, retaining that pulpit during the greater part of his life. His son, the Reverend Samuel Dana, followed in the footsteps of his father, and became one of the most eminent clergymen of Eastern Massachusetts.
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