USA > New York > Westchester County > Rye > The bar of Rye Township, Westchester County, New York; an historical and biographical record, 1660-1918 > Part 5
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Mr. Munro's early education was under the direction of his distinguished uncle, Chief Justice John Jay, and at the age of thirteen, he accompanied him to Madrid upon the latter's appointment, in 1779, as Minister to Spain from the United States. He resided for three years in Madrid and two years in Paris, and became proficient in the Spanish and French languages. Returning to America in 1784, he studied law with Aaron Burr. It was not long after his admission to the Bar that he acquired a large practice and established a reputation as a leader of the Bar.
Mr. Munro lived in Mamaroneck for many years, but practiced mainly in New York City where he maintained an office. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1821, and chairman
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of its judiciary committee by appointment of Gover- nor Tompkins. He served in the 38th Assembly during the years 1814 and 1815.
In 1826, while in the discharge of his professional duties, Mr. Munro suffered a stroke of paralysis, which caused him to retire from active practice. The rest of his life he spent quietly at his home in Mamaroneck, where he died September 23, 1833.
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Thomas Wetmore
Thomas Wetmore was born in the town of Rye, September 20, 1767. He was the son of Timothy Wetmore, who has been credited with being Rye's first lawyer, and Jane Haviland Wetmore.
Thomas Wetmore removed with his father, at the close of the Revolutionary War, to the province of New Brunswick, and after studying law in the office of Ward Chipman, one of the most prominent lawyers of the province, was admitted as attorney in the year 1788. In 1793, he and his father formed a copartnership, and engaged in the practice of the law at St. John, maintaining also an office at Frede- ricton, which was then the seat of the government. Mr. Wetmore was recorder of the city of St. John in 1809-10, and attorney-general of the province 1809-28.
We are indebted to the Hon. J. B. M. Baxter, until lately attorney-general for the province of New Brunswick, for much information concerning both Timothy Wetmore and Thomas Wetmore. In The Judges of New Brunswick and Their Times, a copy of which has been presented us by the Hon. Mr. Baxter, there appears the following:
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"Thomas Wetmore, in 1793, married, at Gagetown, a daughter of James Peters, and on the death of Colin Campbell, in 1796, was appointed Clerk of the Crown of the Supreme Court. The year 1809 was a red-letter one to Thomas Wetmore, as on the appoint- ment in that year of Ward Chipman to the Bench, he succeeded to the recordership of St. John, and on the appointment of Jonathan Bliss as Chief Justice, he succeeded to the office of Attorney- General, and was elected as one of the members of the Legislature for the City of St. John. Shortly
afterwards, Mr. Wetmore removed with his family to York County. His daughter Margaret married Thomas Carleton Lee, and another daughter, Ann Peters, married Dr. John Head; the latter died at an early age, leaving a daughter, who subsequently became the wife of the Rev. Canon Ketchum, Rector of St. Andrews; Sarah married George Pidgeon Bliss; Susan, George J. Dibblee; and Emma, John Bedell.
"There were four sons, George Ludlow Wetmore, father of the Honorable A. Rainsford Wetmore, a puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of New Bruns- wick, and Charles P. Wetmore, for nearly fifty years Clerk of the House of Assembly, who died at Frederic- ton in 1883, in his 86th year; the latter's son, E. L. Wetmore, is a Judge in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Timothy R. Wetmore, the third son, held an important office in Queens County; he died at Gagetown in 1883, aged 82 years; a daughter married the Honorable D. L. Hanington, a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick; Thomas, the youngest son, followed the medical profession, and in 1840 married a daughter of the Honorable F. Robinson, Auditor-General, who died at Fredericton. Attorney-General Thomas Wetmore has been de- scribed as a man eminently distinguished for his
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talents, benevolence, and hospitality. His hand was always open to the poor, and he was a friend to all. As a lawyer and advocate, he stood high in his pro- fession. He died at his residence, Kingswood, York County, March 22, 1828, aged 62 years."
Thomas Wetmore seems also to have been promi- nent in Masonic circles, reference being made to him in Bunting's History of Freemasonry in New Bruns- wick, showing that on September 28, 1816, acting as Grand Master, he laid the corner stone of the Ma- sonic hall in St. John.
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Jonathan F. Vickers
Whether Jonathan F. Vickers was ever a lawyer is open to question. He taught school in Port Chester, then known as Sawpit, for some years immediately prior to the year 1800, being succeeded by Henry Kelly in that year, and was familiarly known as "Lawyer" Vickers. Dr. Baird, in his History of Rye (page 269), says of him:
"Jonathan F. Vickers, who taught school at Sawpit toward the close of the last century, and was something of a lawyer also, lived in a house which stands on Fountain (now King) Street, east of the rear end of J. Lounsbury's store, and opposite was the house of Samuel Morrill, a boatman."
Diligent search among the records in the county court house at White Plains and elsewhere fails to disclose whether "Lawyer" Vickers was ever licensed to practice or not. It appears, however, from the records of the Court of Common Pleas, that he re- presented litigants.
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John McDonald
John McDonald is said to have practiced law in Westchester County from 1814 until 1826. He was a native of White Plains and presumably was born there prior to 1788, when that town was part of the town of Rye. In 1826, he moved to New York City where he became a Master in Chancery. He spent the latter part of his life in gathering materials for a history of Westchester County. The result of his labors, according to Mr. Scharf, was a manuscript which was later deposited in the Lenox Library, but inquiry at the New York Public Library, which afterward acquired the Lenox Library, has disclosed no such manuscript there.
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NEHEMIAH BROWN
Nehemiah Brown
Nehemiah Brown, one of Rye's most eminent citizens, and familiarly known as Judge Brown, was born on Ridge Street, in the town of Rye, Novem- ber 29, 1775. He was a son of Nathaniel Brown, although frequently in the records he is referred to as Nehemiah Brown, Jr., which would indicate that he was a son of Nehemiah and not Nathaniel Brown. He was a grandson of Peter Brown, who died in 1752, and who at one time owned the historic Square House. His maternal grandfather was Peter Disbrow. He was of the ancient family of Brownes of Rye and of Hastings, England, and a lineal descendant of Peter Brown, whose name is inscribed on the Pilgrims' Monument at Plymouth, Massachusetts. While still a young man he served, from 1802 to 1806, two terms as assistant justice of the Court of Common Pleas of this county. In the War of 1812, although seeing no field service, he was commissioned a cap- tain, and had to do with the fortification of Throgg's Neck and the strengthening of the coast defenses along the Sound. He served as a member of the Assembly in 1823 and 1824.
He was thrice married, his first wife, Mary, being a daughter of Major Seymour of Greenwich, his 6
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second wife, Pamelia, a daughter of Dr. Clark San- ford of Petersburg, Virginia, and his third wife, Abby Jane, a daughter of David Brown of Rye. His only children were of his second marriage, they being Sanford C., who died in Asia Minor, Mary P., wife of Samuel K. Satterlee, and Anna Evelyn, wife of Dr. Arthur F. Russell of New York.
Judge Brown occupied the lands on Ridge Street, on which he was born, until his death, which occurred November 1, 1855. After his death the property was occupied for many years by his daughter, Mrs. Satterlee, and her husband.
Mr. Scharf, in his History of Westchester County, says of Judge Brown:
"Few men were better known in his county or held in higher esteem. Of sound judgment, inflexible in- tegrity, withal genial and given to hospitality, his counsel was widely sought and valued. A righteous man and beloved, he left a rich heritage to his family and friends."
Some years ago the Brown family presented to the county of Westchester a fine oil painting of Judge Brown, which occupies a permanent place in the court house at White Plains. The portrait represents him as he looked when he occupied a place on the Bench.
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Samuel E. Lyon
In his day, Samuel E. Lyon was unquestionably one of the leaders of the Westchester County Bar. He is described as having been "a lawyer of great ability and an eloquent speaker." From his practice he doubtless accumulated a competency. He lived in White Plains, just south of the old Episcopal Church, in an imposing residence surrounded by fine grounds. He was married and had several children. Later he moved to New York City.
His period of greatest activity in Westchester County seems to have been about the year 1840. For a number of years before he moved to New York he maintained an office in White Plains where he conducted an extensive practice. In Holley's New York State Registers for the years 1843 and 1845, we find the name Samuel E. Lyons among the list of White Plains lawyers. His correct name, how- ever, was Samuel E. Lyon. Mr. Lyon's name is by some associated with that of Minott Mitchell, who at the same time was also located at White Plains and who in his day certainly had no peer at the Westchester County Bar. It appears that these two men often had contact with each other in the courts. "Lawyer" Lyon, as some of the few remaining
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people who knew him call him, may have been a resident of the town of Rye at one time, but this has not been established to our satisfaction. Possibly he was born in Rye, but this we seriously question. From a most reliable source we learn that he once resided in Rye, while on the other hand this is dis- puted. Unfortunately we have not succeeded in gaining any information concerning Mr. Lyon's family history.
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Amherst Wight
Born on the ancestral farm, Bellingham, Mass., June 15, 1791, Amherst Wight was the fourth child of Eliab and Jemima (Hawes) Wight. Eliab's ancestors were Elnathan, Joseph, Samuel, and Thomas Wight. The last named founded the Wight family in America previous to 1637, when he settled at Dedham, Mass. Mr. Wight was of pure English descent.
He was a graduate of Brown University (A.B.), 1813. Removing to New York City he began the study of law in the office of Peter Hawes, a relative, and was afterward admitted to the Bar in 1816. On April 12, 1826, he married Joanna Gosman, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Blake) Sanderson. Eliza- beth's sister, Mary, was the first wife of Peter Bon- nett, a descendant of the early Huguenot settlers in this country. Peter adopted Joanna Sanderson upon the death of her father, and it was by reason of Mr. Wight being Mr. Bonnett's lawyer, that he met Joanna Sanderson. After their marriage they lived at 147 Spring Street, and then at 119 Spring Street. In 1845, they moved to the house 93 (old No.) West 13th Street, which Mr. Wight had purchased. Here he lived until 1861, when he purchased the residence on King
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Street, Port Chester, N. Y., which was later occupied by the late George W. Carpenter. There he lived until his death. His children were Jane Elizabeth, born Feb. 28, 1827, Amherst, Jr., born Aug. 15, 1828, Mary Morrell, born Aug. 16, 1831, Julia, born Sept. 18, 1833, Jemima Hawes, born Oct. 7, 1835, and Peter Bonnett, born Aug. 1, 1838. The only surviv- ors are Jane Elizabeth Meeker and Peter Bonnett Wight.
Mr. Wight first had an office at 100 John Street, New York, and later at 95 John Street. Still later he had an office at 96 Beekman Street, where his son, Amherst, Jr., joined him as partner, the firm being known as Amherst Wight & Son. Thereafter the firm moved to the American building, corner of Broadway and Barclay Street, and there remained until the destruction thereof by fire, about 1865. In this fire Mr. Wight lost many valuable papers, in- cluding abstracts of title, some "Americana," and other treasures. A new office, a block or so north of Trinity Church, on the west side of Broadway, was then taken, and in 1869 an office was opened in Port Chester, in the building wherein are now located the town offices of Rye. Mr. Wight preferred the New York office and for many years made the regular daily railroad trip to and from New York.
An accident which befell him, after he was eighty years of age, nearly cost him his life. While stand- ing in a carriage, his horse started and caused him to be thrown backward, resulting in his striking his back and bending his head forward almost to the point
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of parting his vertebrae. From this he recovered, but he never afterward possessed the erect carriage which had always been a striking characteristic. He still made the daily trip to New York, and con- tinued to do so until about three years before his death, when he practically retired. The death of his son, Amherst, in 1877, was a severe blow to him.
Mr. Peter B. Wight, his sixth child, who has fur- nished the material for this sketch, in speaking of his father, says:
"His life in later years was much bound up with the political and social development of the town of Rye and the county of Westchester. It will not take many words to tell of my father's professional experience, although it covered a period of more than sixty years. He never had a very extended court practice, but was, nevertheless, well fitted for it, having a fine presence, a good voice, and many gifts of oratory. He had the confidence and intimate friendship of many persons prominent in the business, political, and social life of the city of New York, and became almost an encyclopedia of the history of old New York families. It was seldom that he missed a day at his New York office, even after he was obliged to make the train journey from Port Chester. He enjoyed this daily trip because he was almost always surrounded by friends. He possessed a rare sense of humor. My father was spoken of in his last years as a lawyer of the old school. He was not of the old school, but was always abreast of the times, and as alert intellectually as the average middle-aged man. He was of the living school of those who aspire to learning and uprightness, who live up to Plato's ideal of the Just Man, and
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whose lives are faithful to the best interests of their fellowmen."
Mr. Dustin P. Hubbard, secretary of the New England Society, in referring to Mr. Wight in an article published in the New York Evening Post, soon after Mr. Wight's death, paid him this tribute:
"He was a man of fine and venerable presence, with a beautiful eye and a hearty, sweet counte- nance, beaming with life, which would attract notice anywhere. He was the oldest member of the New England Society, and in January, 1817, was elected secretary, and retained that office until 1822. After the fire in Barclay Street, which burned up his valuable collection of abstracts of title, he began again with the energy of a young man to replace and add to the list. His carriage was remarkably dignified. He had a very pleasant voice and an easy flow of language. The children of the street would stop and smile and talk with him. He was an earn- est, religious man, and very lately was engaged in reading a Greek testament so as to ensure a strictly true understanding of the Bible."
In politics Mr. Wight was a Republican, and while a resident of Port Chester became one of its leading citizens. His death occurred at Port Chester, January 10, 1879, and his funeral services were held in Saint Peter's Church, in that village. His wife died at Brooklyn, July 28, 1882. The remains of both are interred in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.
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John Adams Dix
John Adams Dix was born at Boscawen, N. H., July 24, 1798, and died in New York City, April 21, 1879. He studied at Phillips Exeter Academy and the College of Montreal. As a boy he took part in the War of 1812, and became a second lieutenant. In 1828, having attained the rank of captain, he resigned, and for two years practiced law at Coopers- town, N. Y. He became prominent and powerful in Democratic circles. He was Secretary of State and superintendent of schools in New York, from 1833 to 1839. In 1842, he was a member of the Assembly. From 1845 to 1849, he was United States Senator from New York. In 1848, he was nominated for governor of New York by the Free Soil Party, but was defeated by Hamilton Fish, his acceptance of this nomination earning for him the enmity of the south- ern democrats. He became postmaster of New York City in 1860, and from January, until March, 1861, he was Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. While in the latter capacity he issued the order, a copy whereof is appended, which made him famous:
"Treas. Dept .- Jan. 29, 1861. "Tell Lieut. Caldwell to arrest Capt. Breshwood, assume command of the cutter, and obey the orders
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I gave you. If Capt. Breshwood after arrest under- takes to interfere with the command of the cutter, tell Lieut. Caldwell to consider him a mutineer and to treat him accordingly. If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot. "JOHN A. DIX, "Secretary of the Treasury."
He was appointed major-general of volunteers in 1861, and had several commands during the Civil War. From 1866 to 1869, he was Minister to France and in 1872 was elected by the Republicans, Gover- nor of New York. He was also president of several railroads. As an author of a number of literary works he gained considerable distinction. The Rev. Morgan Dix, Rector of Trinity Church, and John A. Dix, Governor of New York, were his sons.
General Dix lived in the town of Rye for several years, maintaining a residence on Manursing Island.
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WILLIAM PATTERSON VAN RENSSELAER
1
William Patterson Van Rensselaer
William Patterson Van Rensselaer, who was born at Albany, New York, March 6, 1805, was the second son of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who died in 1839, and who was the last patroon and owner of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, comprising about seven hundred thousand acres of land now included within the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and Columbia. Stephen Van Rensselaer was also a lieutenant governor of the State of New York, a member of Congress, and one of the original commissioners for the building of the Erie Canal. The mother of Mr. Van Rensselaer was a daughter of William Patterson, Governor of New Jersey and a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
After graduating at Yale University, in 1824, Mr. Van Rensselaer was commissioned aid-de-camp to Governor Clinton, with the title of Colonel, which post he soon relinquished, and from 1826 spent four years in Europe, traveling extensively and for a time pursuing his legal studies in Edinburgh. Upon his return to this country, he entered the law office of Peter A. Jay, of New York City, and was later admitted to the New York Bar. He afterward resided in Albany, and at Beaverwick, Rensselaer
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County. In about 1852, Mr. Van Rensselaer removed to the town of Rye, and erected a home on the southerly end of Manursing Island, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in New York City, November 13, 1872. For several years he served as trustee of the Port Chester Savings Bank.
Mr. Scharf, in his History of Westchester County, says of Mr. Van Rensselaer:
"The uprightness and elevation, the kindliness and generosity of his nature, his fine intellectual gifts and high culture, and with all an unaffected humility, the fruit of true religion, made him the marked example of a Christian gentleman."
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CHARLES THORNE CROMWELL
Charles Thorne Cromwell
Of the ancestors of Charles Thorne Cromwell may be mentioned: Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Secretary of State to Henry VIII., who was beheaded July 28, 1540; Sir Henry Cromwell of Hinchinbrook, surnamed for his munificence the Golden Knight; and Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England. Two nephews of the Lord Protector came to this country, one settling in South Carolina and the other in Westchester County. From the latter Charles Thorne Cromwell is descended.
Mr. Cromwell was born in New York, May 8, 1808, the third child of John I. and Elizabeth (Thorne) Cromwell. His father, a wholesale dry-goods mer- chant, gave up his business at the time of the War of 1812 and actively participated in a number of battles, being brevetted first lieutenant as a reward of merit. At the close of the war, he removed to Glen Cove, where he purchased a farm, and resided upon it until his death in 1824.
After attending private schools at Jamaica and Flushing, Long Island, Mr. Cromwell entered Union College and graduated therefrom in 1829. While there he was one of four who organized the Sigma Phi Society. He afterwards entered the law
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office of Minott Mitchell, at White Plains, where he remained for two years, and then spent some time touring Europe. On his return to New York he was admitted to the Bar and thereafter opened an office in New York City, where he conducted his practice for many years.
Mr. Cromwell married Henrietta Amelia Brooks, daughter of Benjamin Brooks, of Bridgeport. She was a descendant of Colonel John Jones and Theophi- lus Eaton, first Governor of the New Haven Colony. Of this marriage there were three children, Charles B. who was drowned, Oliver Eaton, and Henrietta, who married John de Ruyter, of New York.
For many years Mr. Cromwell lived on Manursing Island, in the town of Rye, and spent his winters in New York. He died at his Manursing Island home, September 25, 1893, and is buried in Greenwood Union Cemetery, Rye.
He was a member of Christ's Church, Rye, and contributed liberally toward the erection of the pres- ent edifice.
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James W. Willson
James W. Willson, or James Willson, Jr., a son of Dr. James and Elizabeth (Willis) Willson, is reputed to have been a lawyer. His grandfather was Thomas Willson. His father, Dr. Willson, who was born November 13, 1785, and died November 19, 1862, was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. After practicing in that city for some years Dr. Willson removed to Rye in about the year 1825. He was "a man of fine professional education, marked and decided in char- acter, and successful in practice." He lived for many years on the Post Road near Regent Street, Port Chester, and owned a large tract of land in that locality.
Considerable investigation has failed to disclose when and where James W., or James, Jr., was ad- mitted to practice, yet it is certain that he or one of his brothers must have been, because some of our informants, who were personally acquainted with the family, have actual knowledge of a son of Dr. "Jim" Willson being a lawyer, and of his maintain- ing an office in New York City for some years. In Holley's New York State Register for 1843, among the list of New York City lawyers appears the name
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of James W. Wilson, and in Bell & Gould's Law- yers' Diary for 1847 of the New York City lawyers we find listed a James W. Wilson, at I Nassau Street. One of our informants is under the impression that it was Thomas, a brother of James, who was the lawyer. The fact is, however, that James was unquestionably the lawyer, but probably his name was not James, Jr., but James W., possibly James Willis. The spell- ing of the surname in the lists is different from that as given elsewhere.
Thomas, it is said, located in New York City, and Henry, another brother, removed to Baltimore. Thomas, it appears, survived both Henry and James. Extended inquiry concerning the families of these men has proved fruitless.
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Edward Pitkin Cowles
Edward Pitkin Cowles was born at Canaan, Connecticut, January 19, 1815, a son of the Rev. Pitkin Cowles, a prominent Presbyterian clergyman, for many years a resident of Canaan, and Fanny (Smith) Cowles. He was a descendant of John Cowles who migrated from England in 1635 and settled at Farmington, Connecticut. Under the tutelage of his father, Mr. Cowles early developed a desire for study and took readily to his books, so that in 1832 he passed his examinations for and entered Yale University. He was graduated there- from in 1836, at the age of twenty-one, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He later studied law and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1839, taking his examination in Columbia County, whither he had moved. In the same year he began the practice of his profession at Hudson. In 1853, he moved to New York City where he took an office at 33 Wall Street, and continued in his practice. He soon attained to a position of emi- nence in the profession and his ability and integ- rity were recognized by Governor Clark, who, on March 10, 1855, appointed him a Justice of the
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