USA > New York > Westchester County > Rye > The bar of Rye Township, Westchester County, New York; an historical and biographical record, 1660-1918 > Part 8
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He was of a retiring and unassuming disposition, almost, at times, to the point of embarrassment, and disliked notoriety or display. He possessed a remarkably even and lovable disposition and per- formed many acts of charity in a quiet way. He incorporated the Ladies Hospital Association of Port
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Chester (now United Hospital), and continued to be its counsel to the time of his death, accepting no recompense for the large amount of work he did, and, on the other hand, contributing liberally towards its support.
He conducted much important litigation in this locality and had frequently represented the village, the town, and the school district in legal matters. Not seeking trial work, most of his practice consisted of office work, real-estate law, and the settlement of estates. During his time, he doubtless enjoyed a larger surrogate's practice than any of his local con- temporaries.
At the time of his death, and for several years before, he resided on Sound View Street, Port Chester. He was an authority on general literature and possessed a large and well selected library at his home, and a splendid law library at his office. Indeed, his books were his most valued possessions. Beside his leaning toward literature, he was to no small extent an authority on music and art.
He was a member of the Westchester County Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Catholic and Lotus Clubs of New York. Frequently he had been urged to become an officer of the Westchester County Bar Association, but with characteristic modesty had always declined. He did, however, serve as a member of its Grievance Committee for a number of years.
His death occurred most suddenly while he was returning to his home from his office, at about six
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o'clock in the evening of October 24, 1913. Mr. Dillon never married. He was survived by three brothers, Edmund Dillon, of New Britain, Connecti- cut, and John and Jeremiah Dillon, of Denver, Colorado, and by the children of a deceased sister, Mary Dillon Mulville, of Norfolk, Connecticut.
For more than thirty years, Mr. Dillon had been a part of the life of the village of Port Chester, and had become a familiar and prominent figure therein. There was mourning throughout the community when his death was learned. Among the members of the Port Chester Bar, he was unquestionably the leader, and the dean as well.
His funeral was held at St. Mary's Roman Catho- lic Church, Port Chester, where he had been a communicant for many years, the services being conducted by the Rev. John A. Waters, who for many years had been an intimate friend of his. Mr. Dillon's remains were interred in his family's burial plot at Norfolk, Connecticut.
Both the county and supreme courts adjourned out of respect to his memory, and in adjourning the county court, Judge William P. Platt made the following remarks which were spread on the court records:
"We record with sorrow the sudden death of Maurice Dillon, one of the most distinguished members of the County Bar, who has passed nearly all of his professional career in this county. He was endowed with the highest and best qualities of man- hood. Esteemed and beloved by all, he was an
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example of perfect morality and high integrity, God-fearing and honorable among men."
On March 9, 1914, joint memorial services were held by the Bar of Westchester County on the death of Mr. Dillon and of former Surrogate Frank V. Millard, who had died not long after Mr. Dillon. At these services addresses were made by the president of the Bar Association and by Justice Martin J. Keogh and others.
The following tribute was paid Mr. Dillon by the members of the Port Chester Bar:
"At a meeting of the members of the bar of the Village of Port Chester, New York, held at the chambers of the Surrogate of Westchester County, in said village, on the 30th day of October, 1913, for the purpose of taking action upon the death of Maurice Dillon, Esq., the following memorial was presented and adopted:
"The death of Maurice Dillon, a member of the Port Chester Bar, coming so unexpectedly, on Friday, October 24, 1913, while in the full enjoy- ment of his intellectual power and at the height of his usefulness, must be regarded as a severe loss to the profession, as well as to the community at large.
"He had pursued his profession in this village for more than thirty years and as he possessed, at the time of his death, the distinction of having served in Port Chester the longest of any member of the Bar, we entertained for him a peculiar affection and regard.
" He was a man of learning, probity, and sympathy.
"Throughout his professional career he strove to maintain and uphold the highest ideals and best
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traditions of the Bar. He never violated a trust, shirked a responsibility, or took an unfair advantage of any one.
"He possessed the happy faculty and acquired the reputation of bringing litigants to an adjustment of their differences without recourse to the courts, and that he was a peace-loving man is typified by an expression to which he frequently gave voice: 'There never was a good war nor a bad peace.'
"To the poor and oppressed he was a friend, and to the struggling young lawyer an inspiration and a help.
"Aside from his attainments as a lawyer, he pos- sessed a fund of information on matters in general and was particularly well versed in the arts and in literature.
"As a citizen he was identified with many public movements looking to the betterment of local condi- tions, freely giving his time and encouragement to anything that stood for the well-being and uplift of the community. His acts of charity and benevo- lence were many and varied, but never ostentatious.
"He had the respect and esteem of all who knew him and his friendship was a privilege to be highly prized.
"A lawyer's life, especially in the country, is usually uneventful. The performance of his daily duty ex- cites little or only passing notice, but when the end comes and we review the career of a lawyer such as that of our late associate, we realize that he did not live in vain and that his memory and example will become dearer as the years pass on.
"We had in our deceased brother a type of that just and upright man whose path the sacred word likens to the 'shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'
"(Signed) Jerome A. Peck, DeWitt H. Lyon, A.
R. Wilcox, William A. Sawyer, Charles F. Dalton,
IO
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Walter A. Ferris, Wilson F. Wakefield, John L. Coward, Herman A. Schupp, Charles W. Stevens, Samuel Wein, Louis C. A. Lewin, Frederick W. Sherman, George A. Slater, William Baruch, William D. Sporborg, William A. Davidson, Benja- min I. Taylor, Frederick G. Schmidt, Thomas F. J. Connolly, Moses Miller, Robert R. Rosan, Roy L. Burns, William C. Young."
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John Penrose Maule
Born in Pennsville, Ohio, September 15, 1852, John Penrose Maule was a son of Edward and Hannah (Penrose) Maule, and a grandnephew of Joshua Maule, founder of the Quaker sect of Maule- ites, descendant of Lord Penhyr. He traced his ancestry back to William the Conqueror. The Maule family is conspicuous in history, including among its members lawyers, statesmen, and reform- ers. Mathew Maule, the first one of the family in America, who located at Salem, Massachusetts, was condemned as a heretic and gained the name of "No Devil Maule" because he denied the existence of a devil, in consequence of which his property was confiscated.
Mr. Maule was admitted to the Nebraska Bar in 1876, later to the Colorado Bar, and to the New York Bar, March, 1906. He was also admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court. At one time he was city attorney of Lincoln, Ne- braska, and from 1878 to 1882, was district attorney of the fifth judicial district of Nebraska. He was also district judge of that district, and later was chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of Nebraska.
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On August 15, 1877, at Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. Maule married Mary Katharine Finigan, daughter of Henry P. and Margaret F. Finigan. Of this marriage the issue were Frances, born October 24, 1878, Florence, born December II, 1880, and Harry E., born July 13, 1887.
Mr. Maule maintained a law office in Port Chester, N. Y., for a short time, and spent his summers in the town of Rye from 1903 until he died. His death occurred at Kingston, N. Y., November 26, 1913.
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CORNELIUS EUGENE KENE
Cornelius Eugene Kene
Cornelius Eugene Kene, the son of John R. and Ellen J. (Newnan) Kene, was born in Brooklyn, November 6, 1852. In childhood he removed with his parents to Tuckahoe, Westchester County, where he was educated in the public schools, until 1867. He then studied in preparatory schools in New York, and in Baltimore and Ilchester, Maryland, until 1871. He was graduated from Columbia University Law School in May, 1873, and in December of that year was admitted to the New York Bar. He shortly afterward entered the law office of Close & Robertson, at White Plains. In 1876 and 1877, he was clerk to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and assisted Montgomery H. Throop in revising and editing the code of civil procedure. In 1877, he became a member of the firm of Banks, Keogh & Kene, composed of Charles G. Banks, Martin J. Keogh, and himself, with offices in New Rochelle and Port Chester, N. Y. This firm was superseded by that of Banks & Kene. From Janu- ary, 1879, he conducted his practice independently, opening an office in New York in 1885. He served as police justice and also as corporation counsel of New Rochelle. Mr. Kene married Miss Emma C.
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Ehrhart, of New York City. Their children are Cornelius E., Jr., and Julian. Mr. Kene died at New Rochelle, on February 10, 1900. He is buried there.
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EDWARD BOIES COWLES
Edward Boies Cowles
Edward Boies Cowles, the eldest child of Edward Pitkin Cowles, former Supreme Court Justice of the State of New York, and Sarah Ely (Boies) Cowles, was born at Canaan, Connecticut, on October 2, 1854. He was graduated from Williston Seminary (Mass.) in 1871, and thereafter took up the study of law. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1875, in the first department. In 1871 he had en- tered his father's office at 33 Wall Street, New York City, with whom he continued to be associated until the latter's death in 1874, when his brother, Charles P., joined him, and a copartnership was formed under the name of E. B. & C. P. Cowles. This name was continued until 1911, and became widely known, Charles P. Cowles, after the death of Edward, and Justus A. B. Cowles, another brother, conducting their practice thereunder.
Mr. Cowles moved with his parents to the town of Rye in 1870, and continued to reside there until the date of his death. He never married. He was a Republican and a member of the Union League and Laurentian Fishing (Montreal) Clubs. At the time of his death he was a member and trustee of the Rye Presbyterian Church. He died at his residence on
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Milton Road, August 10, 1887, and is buried in the Hudson City Cemetery, Hudson, N. Y. Although less than thirty-three years of age when he died, he had, nevertheless, risen to a place of prominence in his profession.
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Daniel Edward Seybel
Daniel Edward Seybel was born in New York City, April 5, 1858, son of Frederick and Sophie (Veoltzel) Seybel. He was of French ancestry. He gradu- ated from the College of the City of New York, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and, in 1877, from the Columbia University Law School, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He took his Bar examination in New York City in 1879, and was admitted to the New York Bar in that year, in the first department.
Mr. Seybel was a member of the firm of Fettretch, Silkman & Seybel from 1890 until 1910; of the firm of Fettretch & Seybel from 1910 until 1912, and of the firm of Seybel & French, from 1912 until 1915.
He married Lala Baldwin Morton, of Staten Island, daughter of Washington and Laura Geddes (Baldwin) Morton. Of this marriage two children were born, who died in infancy. Mrs. Seybel is also dead. Mr. Seybel was a resident of the town of Rye for ten years, owning a large estate on Ridge Street, where he died May 4, 1915. He is buried in Kensico Cemetery.
Mr. Seybel was a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and of the Union League, Riding, New York Athletic, Hardware, Lawyers, Apawamis, and Larchmont Yacht Clubs.
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Alonzo Draper
Alonzo Draper, who was born at Waquoit, Mass., in 1858, removed in early life to Sing Sing, now Ossining, N. Y., whence he removed to Port Chester, N. Y., and there practiced law during the years 1882, 1883, and 1884, maintaining an office in the Kelley building, now the Imerblum building, on Liberty Square. After closing his office in Port Chester he returned to Sing Sing where, in the later years of his life, he conducted a co-partnership with Smith Lent, one time county judge of Westchester county, with offices in Sing Sing and New York City. For a time he acted as deputy collector of internal revenue, and later was an appointee in the State Treasurer's office at Albany. He also served as a member of the board of auditors of the town of Ossining.
Mr. Draper was the son of Charles T. and Ellen (Childs) Draper, both of Massachusetts. He was descended from a long line of Puritan and Huguenot ancestors, of whom may be mentioned such well known family names as Sylvester and L'Hommedieu. In early years he attended Dr. Holbrook's Military Academy, Sing Sing, and later was graduated from the Albany Law School.
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ALONZO DRAPER
The Bar of Rye Township
Mr. Draper died at Sing Sing in 1895. For a number of years he was a member of the vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church of Sing Sing, and also served as clerk of the vestry of that church. He was an ardent republican and an active campaign worker and speaker. He was also a writer of con- siderable ability and for some time contributed largely in the way of editorials to various republi- can newspapers. Mr. Draper was a man of excellent reputation, and his death, particularly at such an early age, was no small loss to the profession.
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William Washington Smith Roome
William Washington Smith Roome practiced law in Port Chester, N. Y., for a number of years. In 1877, he was in the office of John H. Clapp, on the south- east corner of Main and Adee Streets, Port Chester, where he remained for two years. In 1881, he was practicing on his own account. He resided with his stepfather at Byram Shore, East Port Chester, Con- necticut. He married and afterward went to Kansas, where he purchased a sheep ranch. Later he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he married a second time.
We are informed from another source, however, that Mr. Roome married but once, and that he died in New York City very shortly after the death of his wife, where she also died.
Mr. Roome was a son of Charles Oakley Roome, who was born September 17, 1833, and died June 22, 1876, and Evelena E. Smith. They were married April 29, 1856, and, beside Mr. Roome, had a daugh- ter, Frances O. Roome, born January 21, 1859, died April 20, 1864. Charles Oakley Roome married again, January 28, 1864, Marie Reviere, of which marriage the issue were Charles Oakley H., Adolphe R. Edward, and Samuel Douglas.
Mr. Roome's grandfather was Edward Roome, who was a son of Nicholas Roome.
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Jacob Halstead
Jacob Halstead was born in the town of Harrison, April 9, 1860, a son of David P. and Fannie A. (Cooley) Halstead. He was educated at Exeter, N. H., at New York University, and Columbia University Law School, receiving the degree of LL.B., from the latter in 1883. He began the study of law in the office of Winsor & Marsh, New York City, and after being admitted to the Bar in Febru- ary, 1884, became managing clerk in the office of Knox & Woodward, New York City. From and after 1886 he practiced independently.
At one time Mr. Halstead lived in the town of Rye, and, in about 1893, removed to Mamaroneck. On April 8, 1885, he married Clara S., daughter of Richard and Mary Kenworthy, of Poughkeepsie.
For several years he served as a member of the Republican county committee, was at one time trustee of the village of Mamaroneck, was a member of the district committee of the second Assembly district, and frequently was a delegate to the State, county, and local conventions of the Republican party. He took an active interest in the incorpora- tion of Mamaroneck and Rye Neck as a village.
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He was a member of the Republican, Manhattan, Larchmont Yacht, Wykagyl Country, and Cutty Hunt Clubs, and Zeta Psi Fraternity. He died about three years ago.
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R. Burnham Moffat
R. Burnham Moffat, son of Dr. Reuben Curtis and Elizabeth Virginia (Barclay) Moffat, was born January 7, 1861. He was graduated from Harvard University in 1883, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and from Columbia University Law School in 1885, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1885.
On June 5, 1895, Mr. Moffat married Ellen Low Pierrepont, of which marriage the children were Jay Pierrepont, born at Rye, 1896, Elizabeth Barclay, born at Rye, 1898, and Abbot Low, born 1901. Mrs. Moffat is a great-great-granddaughter of John Jay.
Mr. Moffat died at Plainville, Connecticut, on June 21, 1916, and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn. He resided in the town of Rye, during the summers of 1896-97-98-99.
Mr. Moffat was a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York Genealogical and Biographical So- ciety, the New York Historical Society, the Society of Colonial Wars, and the University, Century, Down- town, Harvard, Automobile of America, and St. Andrew's Golf Clubs. His politics was Democratic. He was an Episcopalian. Mr. Moffat was eminent in his profession, and altogether highly respected.
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Waldron Williams
Waldron Williams became a resident of the town of Rye in 1905, and died at his home, Stonehouse, Kirby Lane, Rye, July 19, 1917. He was born in New York City, June 5, 1863, son of Ichabod T. and Elizabeth (Skelding) Williams.
Mr. Williams was graduated from Columbia University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1885, and from Columbia University Law School with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1887. Taking his Bar examination in 1887, he was admitted to the New York Bar in June of that year, in the first de- partment. From 1885 to 1887, he was in the' office of Stewart & Boardman, and from 1887 to 1889, in the office of McFarland, Boardman & Platt. A few years thereafter he discontinued the practice of law and became interested with his father in the lumber business in New York City.
Mr. Williams married in November, 1891, Jose- phine Hotchkiss of New York City, daughter of Horace L. and Clara (Taylor) Hotchkiss. Of this marriage were born Constance W., Josephine W., Hope W., and Barent W.
From 1906 until 1913, Mr. Williams was president of the Rye Village Board of Health. He was at one
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time chairman of the Westchester County Demo- cratic Committee and at the time of his death was an active member of the Rye Home Defense Battalion.
Mr. Williams was a member of the University, Racquet and Tennis, Automobile of America, Aëro of America, Columbia University, Apawamis, Ameri- can Yacht, and Miantonomah Clubs. He was an Episcopalian. II
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William L. Conklin
William L. Conklin practiced law in Port Chester, N. Y., about the year 1901, with William J. Walsh, under the firm name of Conklin & Walsh, having an office in what was then known as the Henderson building, 18 North Main Street. Mr. Conklin was at one time in the office of Martin J. Keogh, and was admitted to the New York Bar in June, 1876, at Al- bany, being then a resident of Mount Vernon. He afterward entered the office of the late William J. Marshall, in Mount Vernon, and while there was appointed assistant corporation counsel of that city. He died several years ago.
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Rawson Lockwood Smith
Rawson Lockwood Smith, who was born in New York City, November 12, 1870, came to the town of Rye with his parents in August, 1881, where he resided until his death, which occurred suddenly from heart disease, at his home 30 Melbourne Ave- nue, Mamaroneck, February 7, 1918.
Mr. Smith was a son of William Harvey and Mary Alsop (Lockwood) Smith. On his paternal side he was a descendant of Joseph Lockwood, captain of the militia raised in Poundridge, Westchester County, to whom a commission was issued September 13, 1775, and who, while a lieutenant, led reinforce- ments to assist Ethan Allen in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. On his maternal side Mr. Smith was a descendant of Ebenezer Lockwood, a first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Westchester County, a member of the second, third, and fourth Provincial Congresses, a member of the committee which selected the site for, and supervised the building of, the second county court house at White Plains, and major of the 2d Westchester County Militia.
Mr. Smith was graduated from Columbia Univer- sity Law School with the degree of Bachelor of Laws June 10, 1891. He took his Bar examination and
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was admitted to the New York Bar at Poughkeepsie, May 12, 1892, being also admitted subsequently to practice in the United States Circuit and District Courts for the Southern District of New York. From 1891 to 1894, he was in the office of Joseph S. Wood, Mt. Vernon, N. Y., and from 1895 to 1908, was a member of the firm of Hunt & Smith, com- posed of himself and the late David H. Hunt, of White Plains. From 1908, Mr. Smith engaged in practice on his own account, with an office at Mama- roneck. In 1898, he acted as corporation counsel of the village of Mamaroneck.
Mr. Smith was a lawyer of considerable ability and wide acquaintance throughout the county of West- chester. He was a familiar figure at the county court house. Because of the large number of cases that he handled without thought of compensation, he gained the name of the "Poor Man's Lawyer." He never married. In politics he was a Democrat, and occasionally took an active interest therein in his home town. He attended St. Thomas's Protestant Episcopal Church, in Mamaroneck.
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ERNEST PECK
1
Ernest Ferris Hibbard Peck
Ernest Ferris Hibbard Peck, or Ernest Peck, as he preferred to be known, was born at Port Chester, N. Y., August 16, 1874, a son of Cephas and Jose- phine (Ferris) Peck, and a brother of Jerome Alvord Peck. He was a descendant of William Peck, who settled in the New Haven Colony, in 1637.
Mr. Peck attended the Port Chester public schools, and in 1898 was graduated from the New York University Law School, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In that summer he removed from Port Chester to the West and traveled as far as Alaska, where he remained for some time. Returning to the State of Washington, he was admitted to the Wash- ington Bar at Olympia, in October, 1899. He fin- ally settled at Chesaw, where, on December 25, 1902, he married Stella Smalley, of that place, daughter of Mathew A. and Eliza (Benson) Smalley. One child was born of this marriage, Helen Josephine, November 26, 1904.
Mr. Peck attained to a position of prominence in his profession and was elevated to the bench, serving as Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Washington from 1909 until his death, which occurred suddenly from an attack of pneumonia on
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December 3, 1910, at Spokane, Washington. He is buried at Chesaw, Washington. Judge Peck was a resident of Port Chester from the time of his birth until the summer of 1898.
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Noah Loder, Jr.
Noah Loder, Jr., was born in New York City, September 6, 1874, a son of Noah Loder, who was born at Rye, N. Y., July 7, 1847, and who died at Port Chester, N. Y., May, 1914, and Mary Elizabeth (Johnston) Loder, who was born in New York City. His paternal grandparents were Moses Jarvis and Jane Eliza Loder, and his maternal grand- parents were William and Martha Johnston. Mr. Loder attended the Port Chester public schools, the Greenwich Academy, Princeton University, and the New York Law School, receiving from the last the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to the New York Bar, June 29, 1896. In 1901, he was with the firm of Redfield & Redfield, and in 1903 was a member of the firm of Peletier & Loder.
On September 8, 1897, Mr. Loder married Sarah L. Purdy of Port Chester, daughter of James Brown and Phebe Hatfield (Merritt) Purdy, and of this marriage were born Mary Elizabeth, April 23, 1900, and James Purdy, October 21, 1901.
Mr. Loder was a member of the Princeton Club, and in politics a Republican. He was a Methodist. He resided in the town of Rye from 1879 until 1897,
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