USA > New York > Dutchess County > The history of Dutchess County, New York > Part 44
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that the cost of attending the school was $2.00 per week, which in- cluded tuition, board, lodging and laundry work, and provision was made for free education of those unable to pay for themselves. When Mr. Wing (who had been a pupil in the school) bought the property he modeled it into a country residence.
He afterwards moved this house to a hilltop overlooking the village of Millbrook, and a wide expanse of hills, vales and mountains, and with additions on every side and many touches of architectural beauty it is expanded into a mansion which, with its acres of gardens, lawns and farmland, has the appropriate name SANDANONA, which is the Indian for sunshine.
Millbrook is the youngest village in the town, but is already larger and busier than all the others combined. It owes its birth to the build- ing of the railroad in 1869 and the placing of the station. Its name was taken from the name given to the station, which the railroad officials chose as a compliment to Mr. Brown, whose energy brought the road to completion and who had named his estate Millbrook Farms:
Millbrook became an incorporated village December 31, 1895. It has about 1,100 inhabitants, four churches-Roman Catholic, Friends, Methodist and Protestant Episcopal. n
It has two school buildings, a bank, a public library housed in a beautiful building, forty business places, including grocers, plumbers; barbers, butchers, hardware, jewelers, druggists dry goods, etc., etc. It has a Masonic and Knights of Pythias lodge, Knights of Columbus and Millbrook Club, Junior Order American Mechanics, a Women's Christian Temperance Union and a weekly newspaper.
GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, now under the guidance of Rev. Charles K. Gilbert, was a mission of St. Peter's Church, Lithgow, from 1863, when Rev. E. C. Pattison, its rector, began regular service on Sunday afternoon, September 6, 1863. He organized a parish September 13, 1866. The corner stone was laid and in 1867 the building was con- secrated. This building, which was burned September 28, 1870, was situated in or near Hartsville. A new lot was secured in Millbrook, a new building erected at a cost of $6,000, which was consecrated by the Right Rev. Horatio Potter November 3, 1871. In 1901 this property was sold and a new site having been given by John D. Wing, a new church was built, the corner stone of which was laid September
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16, 1901, and the completed building was consecrated October 15, 1902. Soon after a rectory was built adjoining the church; both are beautifully situated at the head of the main street of the village.
The rectors have presided in the following order: Revs. E. C. Pattison, B. F. Miller, J. C. S. Weills, J. H. Nimo, J. C. Weills, Charles Pickells, John Tunis, C. H. Duncan, J. C. Rodgers, Charles K. Gilbert.
METHODIST. The Methodist Church was a gradual growth, origi- nating in the heart of some consecrated Christians, growing into meetings held in private houses, consisting of class meetings under some fervent leaders, and prayer meetings, held by good "Mothers in Israel," until the pastors from Lithgow and Verbank were appointed by the conference to do such work as might be possible. Public meet- ings were first held in a wagonmaker's shop in Hartsville. A village hall was built in Hart's Village in 1843, where meetings were held occasionally. The first mention of Millbrook in the minutes of confer- ence is in 1872 when Rev. Robert Kay was in charge of Lithgow and Verbank. In 1877 Rev. J. W. Felous secured and partly paid for a lot. Other ministers, Revs. W. Sweetman and George B. Mead, con- tinued the spirit and work in connection with their conference appoint- ments. In 1886 Rev. Percy I. Fenn was appointed, and he succeeded in building a church, by persistent canvassing with his subscription book.
Rev. H. L. Heroy followed Mr. Fenn, and after him Rev. S. P. Cadman, who has since given himself world-wide fame. He was fol- lowed by Revs. W. R. Evans, L. D. Robbins, C. H. Grubb, C. C. H. Adams, W. T. Otterson, W. W. Wilcox, U. G. Warren and the present pastor, Rev. William L. Cadman. Under Mr. Warren's regime an addition was made to the church for a Sunday School room and a pastor's study. A parsonage was built under the pastorate of Rev. S. P. Cadman.
FRIENDS. The Friends Society, which is known as the "Orthodox" branch, dates back to 1828. At least that was the date when at one of the quarterly meetings in the brick meeting house, after an un- usually earnest discussion a large number rose in a body and left the meeting. These "Friends" soon built a frame structure on a lot adjoining the brick meeting house, where all who believed themselves more true to the teachings of George Fox and of the New Testament,
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might gather for worship. Very many on both sides deeply felt the misfortune of the separation, but each went on, conscientiously believ- ing that truth was best conserved by parting. The orthodox Friends maintained their meetings in Mechanic until 1882. They then moved their building to Millbrook, using much of the old frame, but in reality making a new structure. The first service in this location was held Sunday, December 3, 1882. They have a flourishing Sunday School, a vigorous Christian Endeavor Society, and are doing aggres- sive Christian work.
SCHOOL. The Millbrook public school is a union of the school dis- tricts which formerly had buildings, one at South Millbrook and the other at Hartsville. It now has two large buildings in the village and has been for twelve years under the able management of Prin- cipal William Roe Anderson, who has eleven other teachers to assist in the instruction of the pupils. This school is a worthy successor of Nine Partners' School in its palmiest days. It gives preparation for college and for practical life, and its pupils have gone to Cornell, Brown, Princeton, Amherst, Rutgers, University of Illinois, Troy Polytechnic, West Point Military Academy, and Vassar, and have taken good positions in these colleges.
For the high school building the village is indebted to the generous spirit, the careful planning, and the wise supervision of Mr. Samuel Thorne, who associated with himself his brothers and sister and built it and equipped it as a memorial to his father and mother, Jonathan and Lydia A. Thorne, in 1894. The building is of white brick with marble trimmings, and is situated at the head of the main street on a commanding site. The northerly end of the building is a beautiful auditorium for lectures, concerts and other public entertainments. The school has an ample endowment, which by deed of gift, may not be used for teachers' salaries but for the care of the building and grounds, for free lectures and concerts, and for providing such special courses as in the estimation of the donors will best equip for prac- tical life, and a portion is used for prizes. This fine building, with its land, large horse sheds, furniture and endowment, was deeded to the village trustees at a meeting held September 18, 1896, at 4:30 P. M.
The part of the building designed for the school has three recita- tion rooms on the first floor and three recitation rooms and a large assembly room on the second floor. In the basement are two play-
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rooms for boys and girls. On the third floor are living rooms for the janitor. The heating is effected by hot air furnaces and the ventila- tion is after the most approved modern method.
The primary school is a two-story brick building with two recita- tion rooms on each floor. This was built by taxation, and is modern in all its appointments.
LIBRARY. One of the latest additions to the village is a beautiful public library building, the gift of Mrs. R. S. Hayes, a memorial to her husband, the late Captain Richard Sommer Hayes. This timely and generous gift is centrally located and admirably adapted to the needs of a growing village. Previously to the occupancy of this building our library was housed in a room in Thorne Memorial School, but the room was inadequate for the enlarging library, and was needed for the growing school. In this dilemma Mrs. Hayes came to the rescue with her most generous proposal and the transfer of the books was made to the completed building in December, 1908.
THE BANK. The Bank of Millbrook, which was organized May 18, 1891, bought the brick building used formerly as an office of the N. D. & C. R. R. It has a capital of $50,000. The first president, John J. Donaldson, an old New York banker, who made his home in the village, inaugurated the bank and brought it to success. His successors have been Richard J. Scoles, and the present official, James Reardon.
THE CLUB. The Millbrook Club was incorporated in 1902. Its first officers were: President, Oakleigh Thorne; vice-president, F. W. Hallock ; secretary, R. T. Monfort ; treasurer, Henry Shaw; steward, Myron Smith. This club built its present house. The incorporators other than the officers above named were Dr. J. O. Pingry, W. E. Smith, S. H. Cutler, E. S. Hallock, Dr. S. I. Jacobs, Dr. S. Henry, Smith L. De Garmo, J. J. Donaldson, H. S. Van Derburgh, Thomas Smith and J. Haight.
GOLF. The Golf Club was established in 1900, when it bought land and built the club house on a sightly hill, and laid out links and con- structed tennis courts. Its first officers were: President and treas- urer, H. R. McLane; vice-president, John Morgan Wing; secretary, G. Howard Davison.
BUSINESS. The pioneer business house in Millbrook was Tompkins & "Smith, who opened a general store in 1870. They continued until 1884, when George P. Tompkins, the senior member, died. From this
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date W. E. Smith took entire charge and became so much a favorite and so large a part of the life of the place that he has been called the "father" of the village.
In everything for the good of the village he was interested and became a liberal supporter, and was called to fill many a place of im- portance. He was wise in his advice, faithful in every position he was called upon to fill, the confidant of many who were in trouble or in need, "the trusted man" of the community, and his death in January, 1909, was regretted deeply by all.
POSTOFFICE. The Millbrook Postoffice began with the life of the village and has been a third-class office for about seventeen years. The present postmaster, F. W. Hallock, was appointed by President Mckinley in 1896, and by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, and again in 1906.
JAIL. With the growth of the village came, as is always the case, some "undesirable citizens," and because of such, police became need- ful and a jail, which was built in the autumn of 1902.
GAS. Millbrook also has the benefit of an acetylene gas plant, which was incorporated in 1898 and built and equipped for service in 1899. The chief man in this enterprise is Mr. Charles F. Deitrich, who has been the father of the acetylene gas business in the United States. This plant furnishes gas for our streets, churches, public halls, business places and many of the homes in the village, and to the outlying residences of most of the New York gentlemen who have made homes here.
W. C. T. U. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was or- ganized in 1878. Its first president, Mrs. Rhoda Swift, held that office for twenty years, when she asked to be released, and Mrs. Gurdon Swift was elected to succeed her and has held the position for eleven years.
Their hall was built in 1882, and entirely remodeled in 1887. It furnished rooms for the society and a public hall for concerts, lec- tures, etc., until Memorial Hall was available in 1894. This Union of Christian ladies has done more for the village than is now usually credited to them. They have consistently advocated and ably abetted the cause of temperance. They furnished, year after year, a course of lectures for the uplift of the community. They established and cared for a circulating library, which has now grown to our present
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library association, with its beautiful building, and its doors open six days in the week. They have constantly done what they could to influence the town in favor of the no-license policy, and on every election day they have furnished lunch and hot tea and coffee for all who wished for this refreshment. They maintain a weekly prayer meeting on Thursday afternoons.
Millbrook also has a fire company, which with a large chemical engine and an organized bucket brigade, has done good work already and is hoping shortly to have a building in which to properly care for such apparatus as they have or may obtain.
THE MILLBROOK ROUND TABLE was founded by W. L. Swift, and its first number was issued August 20, 1892. For seventeen years it has made its weekly appearance. When W. L. Swift, through ill health, was constrained to lay down the responsibility of publication, the Round Table was managed by H. W. Higgins, who a few years ago sold the plant to William Tyldsley, who is now editor and pro- prietor.
The town of Washington is fortunate in the men who have come to make homes within its limits in recent years.
Samuel Thorne, who has returned where his ancestors have been for generations connected with all that is best in the history of the past, perpetuates their Christian character and broad minded philanthropy.
Oakleigh Thorne, who occupies "Thorndale," the old homestead made famous by the horses bred by his father, Edwin Thorne, and more so by the herd of short-horn cattle, bred by his uncle, Samuel, which were widely known on both sides of the Atlantic, has given his name prominence by the large and successful financial institutions which he has inaugurated and conducted.
John D. Wing has also returned to the scenes of his boyhood days, after having attained great success in other parts of the world.
Charles F. Dietrich, whose estate is the most extensive and with its many beautiful features is worth a long journey to see; the late H. J. Davison, who built Altamont; and the late and much lamented Col. Daniel S. Lamont, so widely known in public affairs, both in this State and in the Nation; Roswell P. Miller, of the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul railroad, who has built a fine "Colonial" mansion ; H. R. McLane, a Brooklyn gentleman of literary and artistic taste; Harry Harkness Flagler, whose interest and co-operation in local
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affairs has been constant, and who is a member of the Board of Education, an active trustee of the Library Association, president and chief promoter of the Millbrook Choral Society, and a supporter of everything that pertains to the general good of the community; the late Captain R. S. Hayes, in whose memory the library was erected; Miss Mary Lenox Kennedy, whose mother was a member of that fine old family so identified with the religious, literary, educational, philan- thropic and civic life of New York City; Charles Clinton Marshall, whose ancestors have been in Dutchess County since Revolutionary days ; G. Howard Davison, whose stock farm is famous for its horses, cattle and sheep ;- these are some of the "Millbrook Colony" to whom the town has proved attractive on account of its healthy climate and scenic beauty.
The following is the succession of Supervisors from 1866:
1866
George H. Brown
1883
John Tompkins
1867-'69
George Titus
1884-'86
Andrew B. Hammond
1870
Walter Woodin
1887-'88
Stephen H. Cutler
1871
John P. Anderson
1889-'91 Lewis D. Germond
1872
James B. Sisson
1892
Oakleigh Thorne
1873
John P. Anderson
1893-'95
John M. Ham
1874
Timothy W. Preston
1896-'01 Stephen Robinson
1875
James Deming
1902-'07
Stephen H. Cutler
1876-'78
George P. Tompkins
1908-'09
Minot D. Andrews
1879-'82
Lewis D. Germond
L
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CHAPTER XXXV. THE BENCH AND BAR OF DUTCHESS COUNTY. BY FRANK B. LOWN.
I N the accompanying series of sketches nothing more is intended than to briefly set down the names of lawyers, dead and living, who have at one time or another practiced in the courts of Dutchess County, and have filled judicial or other offices necessarily filled by lawyers.1 Time marches rapidly, and the lawyers of one gen- eration, except they be of remarkable ability and achievement, are for- gotten by the next. The distinguished and great need no historians. Their lives and deeds pass from father to son, their names and reputa- tions never suffering in the telling. It is hoped by the following lists and sketches to perpetuate and keep in mind not only the dis- tinguished lawyers who have adorned, and now adorn the county bar, but the much greater class who have filled, and are filling worthily and well, the ranks of the legal profession, each doing his quota of good in the enforcement of the legal rights and remedies, which are our common heritage.
OUR COUNTY COURT.
In 1691 a general assembly of freeholders of the then Province of New York was held, which assembly abolished all courts then existing, and took measures for the judicial reorganization of the Province. It created a county court, among others giving it a jurisdiction described in the quaint language of those days as follows :
"County Court. The County Court for Common Pleas hath cognizance of Civil Accons to any value, excepting what concerns the title to land, and noe Accon can be removed from this Court, if the damage be under twenty pounds."
This court was re-established in 1777, and was again continued by the constitution of 1821. Down to the time of the enactment of the
1. The names of the County Judges, Surrogates and District Attorneys, with their years of service, will be found on page 77.
S A Milli eu. Fut kaker.
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constitution of 1846, the presiding official was styled "Judge of the County Court," and was appointed by the governor. He seems in many instances to have been a layman, and not a lawyer, it being deemed sufficient to have a man of practical sagacity and sense in the ordinary pursuits of life. The disputes which arose and which were triable in the county courts of that day, or which came before them for review on appeals from the judgments of Justices of the Peace were petty in character, involving but small amounts, and were such as arose between members of an agricultural community; and hence the anomaly of a layman acting as judge in a court of law.
THE EARLIER LAWYERS.
Among the earlier lawyers residing and practicing in our county, who, if not known to men yet living are yet fresh in their memories, James Kent, the great Chancellor, of course stands preeminent. He was admitted to the bar in 1785, and shortly afterwards commenced the practice of law in a hamlet in Dutchess County. Tradition has it that so little was he and other lawyers valued at the time that a committee of citizens one day made him a visit, informed him that the people regarded lawyers as destructive of the peace and good order of the town, and requested him to leave. Whether on account of this interview or not, he soon came to Poughkeepsie and entered into part- nership with General Livingston, then Surrogate. The same year, he then being twenty-one years of age, married Elizabeth Bailey, aged sixteen. The chancellor speaking of his life immediately after mar- riage, in his memoirs, says :
"I owned one acre of ground, and fitted up in neat style for that day, a snug and endearing little cottage, and I cultivated an excellent little garden; and my income by practice did not exceed $500 per year. I studied in my little cottage mornings, and devoted one hour to Greek and another to Latin. I soon increased it to two for each tongue in the twenty-four hours."
The cottage and garden referred to were at or near where the Mor- gan House now stands, on the north side of Main street, then called the Filkintown road, and the cottage was firmly anchored to the soil by a mortgage for $335.00, which is recorded in the Clerk's office.
"Great oaks from little acorns grow."
Judge Beekman, Col. Henry Beekman, Gouvernor Tillottson, Ed- ward Livingston, Charles Ten Broeck, Francis A. Livingston and
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Henry B. Livingston were all practitioners in our courts in the early days, but we know little of them save that they were men of reputa- tion and standing, and well skilled in their profession. Undoubtedly they loomed large in their day, and one of them, Francis A. Livings- ton, was District Attorney of the county from 1821 to 1829. He was located at Rhinebeck, and it was in his office that John Thomp- son and other later and distinguished lawers studied.
A little later Augustus Schell, afterwards prominent in railroad enterprises, and Walter W. Schell practiced in the upper part of our county.
One of the most useful lawyers that our county has produced was James Hooker, who was born in 1792, and died in 1858. He was elected Surrogate in 1824, and retained the office until 1840. He lived in the old building on the west side of Market street, recently torn down to give place to the new building of the Young Men's Christian Association. He was very fond of flowers and sylvan sur- roundings, and in the rear of his residence was a large garden, with shady walks and beautiful shrubs, and trees of every nature, which was kept up until a comparatively recent date. One of his daughters mar- ried a John W. Hammersley, who was also a lawyer, and his grandson, J. Hooker Hammersley, now deceased (also a lawyer), is well remem- bered by many of the present generation. Mr. Hooker was a great believer in real estate and its value as an investment, and considerable tracts of land in this city are still held and owned by his descendants.
Mr. Hooker had among his co-temporaries many men of training and ability as lawyers. Among them were John Cleveland, John Brush, Ulysses Cole, Philo Ruggles, Samuel B. Ruggles, Charles H. Ruggles, David V. N. Radcliffe, William Radcliffe and Jacob Rad- cliffe, and many other men who might be named all "good men and true."
In passing upon the merits of this earlier group of men the reader should bear in mind the difficulties under which they labored. Law reporting had not become the fine art it now is. Blackstone's and Kent's Commentaries, Chitty's Pleadings, a dozen or fifteen text-books, Caine's Cases and a shelf or two more of similar books constituted the working library of the average lawyer.
The lawyer of to-day only has to find the law. It is already made
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and established, and it is but a matter of industry and research and comprehension of legal principles for him to ascertain what has already been laid down as the law on almost every subject. The ancient lawyer-and by ancient is meant the lawyer who practiced only a generation or two ago-had few of these aids which are avail- able to the lawyer of to-day. He could but determine the legal prin- ciple involved, and then reason out in his own mind what ought to be the law of his particular case.
This naturally involved an independence of thought, and a courage in advancing new and undetermined propositions not called in play by the practice of this day; and the mental effort involved had the effect of strengthening and broadening the mind, so that our prede- cessors were in fact better and more forceful reasoners than we of the later generation.
So, too, with the adjuncts of the best regulated office. Even a steel pen was unknown, much less the ever present typewriter. A stenog- rapher, even to report cases upon trial, had not yet been dreamed of. Pitman had not yet invented his marvellous art. The Judge, with his quill pen, scratched down brief minutes of the proceedings before him. Every one of the interminable pleadings and proceedings required by the practice of that day had to be written out by hand by the prac- titioner, and then laboriously duplicated by him or his clerks.
The writer well remembers, even as late as 1870, when there was no method of duplicating law papers except by hand copying. Finally some daring innovator introduced press copies on necessarily very thin paper. The courts naturally and properly objected, and would have none of them. Then that genius, Edison, invented what was called an electric pen, which was nothing more or less than a miniature electric engine, run from a battery, and which held in the hand and guided on the paper, produced a stencil which, rubbed over with an inked roller duplicated the writing on the sheet beneath. Cumbrous and awkward as the machine was, it was the first step toward escaping the thraldom which bound the average lawyer in preparing his plead- ings and papers.
And then along came the typewriter, the greatest of all boons to the lawyer, with its accompanying typist. Last of all the combined stenographer and typist, who has lifted the burden of drudgery from the shoulders of the profession. For long, long after the writer com-
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menced his studies (1870) not an office in the city had a stenographer, and now an office without one could hardly be conceived or found.
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